Donald Trump has created quite a stir in naming about 40 nominees for Cabinet and other high-level positions. A couple of individuals are controversial, but no one has gotten the attention in Washington as much as the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE).
It’s not really a department; more of an advisory team headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. They are determined to identify wasteful projects and programs.
Senator Lankford of Oklahoma already has a list from 2023, including these highly questionable expenditures of our tax dollars: Free Drag Shows in Ecuador; a study of the value of wearing seat belts and helmets in Ghana; building a Wine Country Walking Trail in Napa Valley ($4 million); a project to re-educate people who are ignorant about climate change ($400,000); and almost a Billion dollars on tents along the Mexican border to process illegal immigrants.
Will Rogers summed it up in 1932, “The crime of taxation is not in the taking it, it’s in the way that it’s spent.”
As Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20, what can we expect in the first months of the second Trump Administration? Remember, he survived two assassination attempts and many supporters say he was saved by the Hand of God. We have heard him say he’ll immediately start deporting criminal illegal aliens, including gang members. And expand oil and gas production, including more facilities for exporting LNG. He will eliminate many excessive regulations that add costs to almost every product and service that we buy.
Concerning tariffs, I think Trump will use them mainly for bargaining for better trade deals with other countries. Except for China. Items we are used to buying at low prices from China will increase in price. This is either because of the tariff, or they will be manufactured in a more expensive country, including here.
What about Democrats who despise Trump and said he is a “threat to democracy?” Do they think there will be an election on Nov. 7, 2028? Are they still convinced he is another Hitler? Reminder: Hitler killed 6,000,000 Jews. Perhaps it’s time to permanently ban such derogatory names when referring to prominent politicians from either Party.
As a fun question, we can ask what magazine will be the first to put a flattering photo of First Lady Melania Trump on the cover?
Here’s another fun question: what if acres voted instead of people? We all know about “red” states (Republican) and “blue” states (Democratic). But have you seen a map of red and blue COUNTIES? For the 2024 Presidential election, the map of counties is almost 90% red. Of course, the counties with big cities have vastly more people than a typical rural county.
For discussion, exclude land owned by government, churches, and other non-tax paying entities. Suppose every privately owned acre of land had one vote. One acre equals one vote.
You may say that wouldn’t be fair. But do you realize that every acre is taxed? A farmer pays property taxes on every acre whether it makes any money or not. Every business pays property taxes. Don’t forget that forests and cropland provide a valuable service to us and animals. Plants “breathe in” carbon dioxide and expel oxygen. Without millions of acres of green plants, we wouldn’t have any oxygen to breathe.
How would this work? In towns and cities, for example if an apartment complex had 10 adults living on one acre, they would meet and decide which candidate gets their one vote. For a business or manufacturer, the owner or a Board of Directors would cast the votes for their acres.
Don’t worry. There’s no way three-fourths of the states would pass a Constitutional Amendment to make this change. Three-fourths of counties, yes. But not states.
Historic quote by Will Rogers:
“Did you charge off money given to the Democratic campaign? You could, it’s a legitimate charity, not organized, but a charity nonetheless.” DT #822, March 15, 1929