Musings:
•The Sins of Donald J. Trump (chapter four): He has:
Fired the staff of the National Security Administration (which manages the nation’s nuclear stockpiles);
Transferred trans-women in Federal prisons to men’s prisons;
Turned over sensitive documents to DOGE;
Targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for dismantlement;
Fired the Director of the Office of Government Ethics (!);
Forced a merger with a Saudi business in order to benefit his golf courses;
Hired an ultra-right Hungarian – no, not B.S.! – as deputy assistant to the president and to the National Security Council’s Director of Counter-terrorism;
Fired the highest-ranked black woman in the military, Admiral L. Fagan, “with cause” because she had charge of DEI programs in the U.S. Navy;
Signed an executive order which will “reign in independent agencies” and bring them under the control of the executive branch, freeing the President from congressional and judicial oversight;
Fired the Director of the National Labor Relations Board;
Targeted the U.S. Postal Service for privatization by reducing the number of postal offices (especially in rural areas) and raising the costs of services; and
Fired a high-ranking trans-woman in the military, Lt. General T. Crossland, “with cause” because of “poor performance.”
•Social Security has been in the news a lot lately. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth have been heard over the possibility of cuts in payouts being made when the so-called ”baby-boomers” reach retirement age. T. Rump has stated time and again that he will not cut anyone’s benefits; on the other hand, he has thought about ending the taxation of Social Security payments which represents a major source of revenue for the program. Given the fact that he changes his mind nearly as often as he changes his underwear on any topic because he can’t remember which lie he has told from one day to the next gives most retirees and retirees-to-be the screaming Mimis.
The amount of FICA tax deducted from one’s paycheck is 7.65%. This covers both the SS and Medicare (6.20% for SS alone), no matter how much one earns. Congress is loathe to increase these numbers for fear – and rightly so – of not being re-electedad infinitum. What they will do, however, is to raise the cap on who pays the tax. This year the cap will be $176,000 (up from $168,000 last year). Additional wailing and gnashing of teeth, don’t you know?
In case you’re wondering, dear reader, those who earn above the cap do pay the tax, but the amount of their tax obligation is a lower percentage of their income. In a rational society, the tax obligation should be progressive in nature. “To each according to his need; from each according to his ability (Karl Marx).”
Since that is not likely in a capitalistic society, the alternative is to raise the cap to, say, $300,000 immediately and increase it by $100,000 every 10 years. This plan will assure that Social Security will never run out of funds and likely will increase every retiree’s monthly benefits.
•It should be crystal clear that T. Rump is attempting to run the U.S. government in the same manner as he would a private company. That is to say, he will decide which departments and agencies will remain intact and which ones will not. He will decide which departments and agencies will be funded and which ones will not. He will decide which employees will keep their jobs and which ones will not. He will decide which rules he will abide by and which ones he will not.
This is, of course, illegal and unconstitutional. Congress created all of these departments and agencies, approved their budgets, and appropriated their funds, and only Congress can giveth and taketh away. Read Article One of the U.S. Constitution, dear reader. If Congress wants to cede its authority to the executive branch, then why should We the People have to pay for their humongous salaries, their humongous pension plans, and their humongous expense accounts, huh? Fire them all, The Chas says, all 535 of them, no exceptions! (In a future essay, he will explain how this can be done.)
•B.S. believes Wayne Johnson and yours truly are having nightmares over what is going on in Washington, D.C.. I can’t speak for Wayne, of course, but the only nightmare I can envision is learning that B.S. is right about something, anything! Since that is not likely to happen, I can sleep as soundly as a baby. Heh-heh-heh.
Just a thought. Zzzzzzzzzz!