March 17, 2016   The middle class is angry because of economic anxiety over job security, health care costs, family destruction and the lack of reliable pensions. Whoever wins the Presidential election is going to deal with a highly polarized country looking for solutions. Here are some suggestions:          Extend Medicare to all Americans for catastrophic illness. Bernie Sanders is correct. No American should lose his or her life savings because of an illness. His solution to extend Medicare to all Americans would be too costly, and more importantly, discourage the investment needed for medical innovation. A reasonable compromise would be to extend Medicare to cover all Americans for medical bills that exceed $75,000. Patients could then purchase insurance to cover this $75,000. This would be affordable to most.  Obamacare’s provisions that prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage for preexisting conditions along with the requirement that employees purchase this insurance for low-wage workers should remain.  Not only would such a plan be a boon for small business, but it would encourage large corporations to keep jobs in the United States as … [Read more...]

March 2, 2016 I am not a Donald Trump fan. He is first and foremost a salesman, cherry picking issues that best inflame the population and giving vague or unworkable solutions. Pundits of all political stripes say he is unelectable and that Hillary Clinton will eat him alive. They are missing one point – Trump is well positioned on issues: 1. Trump supports tightening our borders and re-evaluating Muslim immigration. While America’s overclass is aghast, public opinion polls show that at least 50% of the population agrees. Even Latinos – the supposed subject of Trump’s opprobrium - are more concerned about jobs and the economy than immigration. 2. Trump opposes the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and criticizes NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). While the theorists at National Review and The Wall Street Journal tout the wonders of free trade, American workers are not amused. Their wages have plummeted and the life spans of the white working class are decreasing due to an epidemic of alcoholism, drug abuse and depression. Hillary now opposes the TPP but once supported it. In fact, as Secretary of State, she negotiated many of its provisions. Her husband passed … [Read more...]

    January 4, 2016   The Republican Part is in the midst of a slugfest. Conservative activists who have toiled in the trenches for decades feel that they have been betrayed by pragmatists who compromise with the Democrats too easily. Whether this is actually true or not is irrelevant. In politics, perception is reality. Thus many of these activists have gravitated to Donald Trump. These activists are of the opinion they get nothing, even when they win. George H.W. Bush reneged on his promise not to raise taxes in order to goad the Democrats to bail out the Savings and Loans. He appointed the liberal John Souter to the Supreme Court. His son started unwinnable wars, wanted to appoint the liberal Harriet Myers to the Supreme Court, increased the deficit $3 trillion and bailed out the Wall Street Welfare State. Alarmed with the liberalism of President Obama, these activists worked like dogs to deliver the House and Senate to Republican hands. Yet the present Republican Congress – fearing the political consequences of a Government shutdown – has been a doormat for the Democratic agenda. The activists are not pleased. The success of President Obama has … [Read more...]