State of Delusion

645

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so that does.” – Mark Twain

Our fearless leader should have listened to Mark Twain. The State of Union left out the most important issues. Most of what we heard is what Trump sees in his mind.

State of the climate

The climate emergency was ignored, again. The increasing concentration of carbon dioxide at 412 parts per million, growing at 2 ppm per year, is a world away from the 350 ppm target.

State of migration

The brave Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were recognized as heroes defending a “very dangerous border.” Trump ignored the thousands of migrant children taken from their mothers to discourage others from seeking asylum.

The zero-tolerance “humanitarian” measures were rushed. Border Patrol Agents detained the parents seeking asylum and ICE took the children. ICE had no plans to reunite the children with their families, then claimed it would take an extraordinary effort, and now the Health and Human Services Department says even if they could “the children would likely be emotionally harmed.”

State of deception

Trump said, “We are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence –- not government coercion, domination, and control. We are born free, and we will stay free.”

I don’t know where Trump gets his news, but I found a likely source. Socialism Is Evil: The Moral Case Against Marx’s Radical Dream, by Justin Haskins, 2018. Haskins writes, “Whatever problems exist in a capitalist society, they pale in comparison to the moral tragedies that must accompany Marx’s socialism.” Haskins is the Heartland Institute’s executive editor and a frequent guest of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Fox News, and the Drudge Report.

E = M + G is a simple model of the economy based on the roles of the market and the government. In capitalist countries, individuals own most of the land, factories, and everything else in the market. The government builds sewers and roads for the common good. In socialist countries, the government owns most of the property.

Morality and evil are not economic concepts. You may notice that forests, rivers, wetlands, and all other life-giving systems are ignored in traditional economic models, driven by profits and growth. Compassion, kindness, hunger, suffering, and survival of life are immaterial. Trump ignores all that can’t be measured in billions of dollars.

State of the economy

The U.S. national debt was ignored, again. The national debt is growing over $1 trillion per year to an alarming $22 trillion today. Most of the debt, $16 trillion, is held by the American people.

The Denver teachers’ strike is a clear indication that our most important people are underpaid. Why would they have to work two other jobs to pay their bills?

No one knows much about the jobs Trump says he created. Headcount is meaningless without knowing the quality of the jobs in terms of safety, benefits, number of hours per week, duration, and wages. What was not said is the number of people laid off or out of work, due to poor health or other reasons.

State of oil

In December 2018 the U.S. became a net oil exporter. Dreadful news for the U.S. The cost of extracting a barrel at the well is higher than the price per barrel.

When the U.S. ran out of oil fields, fracking became the only game in town. Oil is a traded commodity, where the price is set based on oil supply, demand, and perceived risk. Oil investors ignore the cost, hoping the price of oil will go back to over $100 per barrel.

Banning fracking would pay for the Green New Deal!

Flooding the oil market has kept the price per barrel below $50. Big Oil gets massive subsidies disguised as tax exemptions. Poor public health from deadly wastewater, aquifer contamination, toxic air, and pipeline leaks is the price of oil exports. April 15 is coming, file on time. Taxpayers will cover the booming financial losses of fracking madness!

Dr. Luis Contreras

6 COMMENTS

  1. You are fake news man does this paper only post points of views from Democrats or what. Can normal people post on here or what

  2. Just wow. If I were on here bagging all the illegal crap that Clinton had done, It paints a target on me as a person. Say somthing sideways about aborting children who are almost ready to be born, and ur the psycho… I’m really concerned that I live among demons, and heretics… There are reasons no one wants to send there kids to our schools, or let them lose at the playground outta fear that ur children will teach my children how to think while there heads are up there butts…jesus may not save some of u and to be honest your cries for help will fall on def ears, even as I forgive you for bringing the rest of us here.

    • Hello,

      I agree with you, but what I write is based on reliable references, not stuff I make up

      Here is a deal. Tell me the one thing that you really hate in my op-ed and I would be happy to explain and give you some references.

      Peace

  3. Congressman Steve Womack (AR-R) said on his weekly email:

    “President Trump delivered a powerful and unifying message. He outlined an inspiring vision of American greatness, where the key to forging new solutions and unlocking the extraordinary promise of our nation’s future is rooted in a united people working together to face our challenges.”

    “By concentrating on what unites us, we can rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, fix our broken immigration system, stand up for U.S. workers, deliver cost-savings for patients, bolster our national security, and build a stronger country. I also think he did a great job of making his case for better border security—an issue that has this country at an impasse on funding the government. American exceptionalism has always stemmed from a pursuit of bold ideas, and these proposals reflect just that.”

    ============

    This time I have to disagree. What do you think?

Comments are closed.