Why Trump's Secretary Of State Is Wise To Avoid Speaking To The Press

Donald Trump is foxy.  He criticized President Obama for letting the press know that he planned  an attack on an ISIS occupied city.  He claimed that Obama allowed ISIS to prepare for the attack.  He was too smart to provide advance warning to ISIS.  Of course, that assumes that ISIS was too stupid to otherwise prepare a defense for the city.  Trump's new secretary of state Rex Tillerson is also as foxy as Trump.  He claims that he does not allow the press to travel with him as he tours the globe because he does not want our enemies to know what our plans are.

A professor at the Fletcher School Of Law And Diplomacy once criticized Tillerson for taking that position with the press.  He now argues that it was a good idea. 

However, his reason for declaring it a good idea was not favorable to Tillerson.  He lists all of the mistakes that Tillerson has been making as he attempts to learn that his job is not like his job as the CEO of Exxon.  He then concludes that its best that his mistakes are less visible to the rest of the world.

Donald Trump Properly Understood Healhcare Policy In 2000

This is an interesting article.  The bulk of the article is about comparisons between the US healthcare system and the more efficient and less costly systems that provide universal access in other nations.  The US system provides a good example for other nations about what not to do.  Many of our politicians believe that there is no difference between purchasing a TV and purchasing healthcare.  They are married to a free market vision of healthcare that was destroyed by a Nobel Laureate free market economist many years ago.  Kenneth Arrow, who provided the critique, was one of the most highly regarded economists in the world.  However, his message has been ignored by politicians who use free market ideology to reject almost any kind of system subsidized by government.

Obamacare, which is built on a model developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation,  was designed as a compromise between free market advocates and those who would have preferred a single payer system like the Canadian system.  It allows consumers to purchase healthcare insurance in the health insurance market.  That was not enough of a compromise for most Republicans.  The government provided subsidies that enable low income citizens to purchase insurance policies and the government played a role in defining the benefits available on the market.  In order for any insurance market to work it was also necessary for the government to provide insurance companies with a risk pool of potential consumers that included healthy individuals who might otherwise not purchase insurance.  Without government mandates insurance companies would be forced to charge premiums that reflected the high costs of insuring a pool of high risk consumers.

Not too long ago, Donald Trump argued that the Canadian system provided a good model for a universal coverage system that was efficient and less costly:

“I’m a conservative on most issues but a liberal on this one. We should not hear so many stories of families ruined by healthcare expenses. . . . We must have universal healthcare. . . . The Canadian plan . . . helps Canadians live longer and healthier than Americans. There are fewer medical lawsuits, less loss of labor to sickness, and lower costs to companies paying for the medical care of their employees. . . . We need, as a nation, to reexamine the single-payer plan, as many individual states are doing.”

We all know what happened to Trump's good idea.  He ended up with a plan cobbled together by Paul Ryan that he could not sell to Republicans were even more conservative than Paul Ryan. Trump would have been able to sell the Canadian plan to Democrats but not to Republicans who cater to the interests of the insurance industry and to a free market system of healthcare insurers.

Can We Survive An Ignorant Demagogue?

Donald Trump exploited the concerns that many Americans have about their economic situation and many of the cultural value issues that Republicans have exploited since Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy.  He demonstrated that he is an effective demagogue.  He made many Americans believe that he would improve their lives as he reshaped the government to serve the interests of his billionaire supporters.  He was better at this game than most Republicans who have been at that game for a long time.  This article describes the complex set of issues that we, and other nations, face today and asks whether an ignorant demagogue will make matters worse.  Trump has failed the intelligence test that we give to our elected officials.  He is not only ignorant about the issues that he must deal with; he is ignorant about his ignorance.  He is totally unprepared to manage the national and international issues that are omnipresent today.  He is also totally unprincipled.  His only principle is self interest.

We are stuck with the demagogue that we elected for the time being.  Our challenge is to find a way to deal with the problems, that are well described in this article, while Trump is working hard to make them worse.  We have seldom had a problem like this in our recent history.  The well informed members of our society, who are fully aware of Trump's weaknesses, must become more actively involved in politics. We have to put continuous pressure on the political system at all levels.  A good start would be to examine Trumps spending proposals in this article and ask what you can do to about them.  It would also be helpful if you can let your friends in Europe, who are dealing a similar problem, have a better understanding of how this happened in our country.

Senate Intelligence Committee Takes On Investigation Of Russian Influence

The chair of the House Intelligence Committee has shown that his job is to cover up any connections between the Trump campaign and Russian interventions in the campaign.  The Senate is set to make a real effort of doing this job.  Thus far, it has been more bipartisan than the House committee which was chaired by a member of Trump's transition team.  Senior senate Republicans like John McCain will support the investigation.

Will Jerad Kushner Make The US Government More Efficient?

The Donald has given his son-in-law Jerod Kushner the task making government more efficient.  Previous presidents have had some success in the use of digital technology to increase government efficiency.  However,  they have done so by putting experienced people in charge of the process.  Jerad Kushner is inexperienced both in business and in government.  Unlike his predecessors, who could focus on that job, Kushner has been loaded up with multiple assignments by his father-in-law.  More importantly, Kushner's efforts to improve government efficiency are in conflict with Steve Bannon's goal of deconstructing government.  Bannon prefers anarchy to a more efficient use of government resources.  Kushner's real job is probably a cover for reducing the role of government and perhaps the privatization of government functions.  "Making government more efficient" is similar to The Donald's slogan of "Making America Great Again".  It's a way of giving a nice sounding name to a nefarious intention. 

Why Trump Has Little Control Over Freedom Caucus In GOP House

During the presidential election campaign Paul Ryan stated that he could not support The Donald after the video illustrating his behavior towards women was made public.  Trump quickly brought Ryan back on his side.  All he had to do was make a negative tweet about Ryan and Trump's base let Ryan know what the score was.  He needed Trump's support to get reelected. 

The Freedom Caucus voted against the Ryan/Trump healthcare bill.  That made it impossible to get enough Republican votes to pass the bill.  Unlike Ryan, who lives in a competitive district, the members of the Freedom Caucus do not have to worry about a negative Trump tweet.  Their districts have been gerrymandered so that they do not have to worry about getting reelected or facing a more conservative opponent in a GOP primary.  For example, the head of the Freedom Caucus faced no opposition in his election campaign.  The conservative Democrat who represented the district chose not to run against the Republican after his district was gerrymandered.  The liberals in Ashville, who elected the Democrat, were splint into two districts to dilute their power.  The district was made ultra conservative through gerrymandering.  Control or the state legislatures, which have the power to redraw district lines, have made the majority of House districts noncompetitive.  There are no seats in the House more immune from competition than the seats held by members of the Freedom Caucus. Neither Ryan, who is the Speaker of the House, or President Trump have the power to prevent the Freedom Caucus from blocking the passage of bills that don't meet the rigid beliefs that unite its members.  That is why Trump made an effort to bring Democrats over to his side so that a bill could be passed.  Republican control of the House makes it possible to block Democratic initiatives but it does not enable the GOP to pass bills that are not supported by the Freedom Caucus.





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Trump's Attack On Global Warming Accord Is Part Of His Nationalist Ideology

Trump has taken his first steps to attack the EPA and the US commitment to the Paris Accord.  His actions have been cheered by the fossil fuel industry but this article explains the connection between his "America First" campaign and Trump's policies on the environment.  The fight against global warming cannot not be accomplished by any nation acting alone because all nations emit carbon into the air.  Trump has adopted a nationalistic approach to solving all of our problems.  He opposes trade agreements, NATO, the UN and almost all international organizations.   His attack against our efforts to mitigate global warming is totally consistent with his nationalism.  Far right nationalist groups in Europe have taken a similar stance on global warming.