The American media has reduced the coming presidential election down to a simple sinister matter: whether Hillary Clinton is too corrupt or if Donald Trump is too crazy to be the next president. The answers to those positions are quite simply, yes and yes. Hillary has proven herself to be too corrupt; and indeed, Trump appears to be too crazy – or at the very least, the craziest this generation has ever experienced.
But so what? These two are all we have to choose from. One will be the next U.S. President, like it or not. Pick your poison.
Like so many others before this vote will come down to who is the lesser of two evils. We have been here before – and yes, we have survived. But each time we make prosperity harder to achieve.
But it is what it is.
Voters now only have one legitimate course left to travel: to allow a candidate’s proposed solutions to major issues – not Party affiliations – determine where to cast the big vote. To allow a political Party to undermine policy positions is to not care about the future condition of the State. It is to prioritize the power of the Party over what’s best for the People. And that position is totally misguided.
A legitimate vote has nothing to do with Party and all to do with positions and solutions to current problems that face the State.
That said, there are some that say if a person doesn’t vote then they have no say in how things go. I totally disagree with that premise. A no-vote is an action, and a legitimate action if both candidates are considered to be repulsive. A no-vote is a valid action of free expression.
NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick exercised his free speech by not standing for the American National Anthem – an anthem that salutes a country that stands for the freedom for his right to sit through the Anthem and not get executed. Try to do that in Iran or Cuba. Russia or China. Kaepernick’s protest is misplaced. But in a free country a person is free to be stupid.
But to be fair, Colin has a right to sit it out. And so do voters who can’t stand Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, those who can’t vote for either for whatever the reason. Those people should stay home and sit it out – just like Colin Kaepernick.
The way I see it this vote is one that should be fought out by the two extremes. And yes, if the ambitious middle wants to jump into the fray then by all means go for it. All votes are always welcome. But know upfront that this election is not for the faint of heart. It’s a dirty-ugly-street-fight. Tempers are high on both sides.
And maybe that’s good.
The next president will run into a burning building. The world is at war, militarily, ideologically, economically, and monetarily. The global economy is a wreck, and America’s isn’t much better.
An already low second quarter GDP number was recently revised lower. The U.S. is growing at a rate less than one percent per year and employment is weak. Wages are down. National debt is up and deficits are close to a trillion dollars each and every year. And it’s Trump versus Hillary.
The IMF is calling for urgent preventive action to avoid another financial disaster but the rest of the world think she’s crying wolf.[1]
Not me.
This is the worst recovery from recession in the history of our lives. By rights Hillary Clinton should have no chance to win. She stands on the same platform as Obama. To think that her performance would be anything near Obama’s is a pipedream. That method has nearly run its course. To do more of the same will have worse results and consequences. Nothing works forever.
And this is what this election should be about. Who identifies the key areas that are failing? And what’s the best course of action going forward? Corrupt or not. Crazy or not. Who has the best solutions?
Illegal immigration is without a doubt a huge issue for Americans. That’s why Trump struck such a powerful nerve by bringing it up as aggressively as he did. This is a major problem that threatens the well-being of the State.
Trump’s policy objective to build a wall sounds better than more new laws to many people because the U.S. already has a ton of immigration laws that aren’t being enforced. That makes it impossible for We the People to know whether or not what is already on the books can work. And furthermore, by not enforcing current laws gives the American people no assurance that more new laws will actually be enforced, and for any length of time. A wall like the one Trump advocates represents an automatic method of enforcement, which is why so many Americans support it.
The Democrat position on immigration is purely political. They believe if they make immigration easy with an open border policy and then provide illegal migrants with free healthcare, welfare, education, housing, and the right to vote, that such action will guarantee the future success for the Democrat Party. Increasing their voter base in this manner, they believe, ensures their political dominance. Such a stance has nothing to do with making America better, stronger, or more fiscally responsible to her taxpayers – for if it did, Democrats would articulate such reasoning.
But immigration isn’t the only huge issue facing the American people. And for as long as the debate is reduced to whether Hillary is too corrupt and Trump is too crazy, other big issues will continue to be removed the debate. And that’s the real travesty because there is still plenty of room for these two candidates to separate themselves well beyond immigration and to lift the debate into something much more meaningful than what is currently had today.
For instance, the U.S. Federal Reserve has turned itself into an illegal hedge fund with absolutely no constitutional authority to do so. They say their balance sheet is worth approximately $5 trillion – more than four times the amount it was before the crash. But I’d be shocked if it wasn’t closer to $10 trillion. But heck, we’ll never know because the Fed can’t be audited. And that enables the problem to get worse.
How?
Below is a recent quote from Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve Chairwoman, who was discussing actions that the Fed could take during the next financial crisis and recession. (She seems to be expecting one too.)
“Though outside the narrow field of monetary policy, many possibilities in this arena are worth considering, including improving our educational system and investing more in worker training; promoting capital investment and research spending, both private and public; and looking for ways to reduce regulatory burdens while protecting important economic, financial, and social goals,” Yellen said[2].
Two questions: Who the hell does Janet Yellen think she is – and what does the Federal Reserve think they are???
Ladies and Gentlemen, these are not the roles and functions of an unelected group of private bankers! These are central government priorities and actions. These are policies that Americans must endorse or vote against.
We have a runaway Federal Reserve that must be reigned in. They are abusing their power and role; they have lost focus, and are devaluing money to a gross extent. And I don’t want to hear the lame argument that the U.S. dollar is doing well because it is strengthening against other global currencies. That’s happening because everything else is getting weaker. The dollar only looks stronger. It’s a paper tiger, otherwise, interest rates would be much higher than they are today and the Federal Reserve would be tightening monetary supply and not looking for ways to make it looser.
The Federal Reserve needs a complete and utter overhaul and Janet Yellen needs to be the first one to go. They need their scope tightened, their abilities reduced, and their budget cut.
Where do Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump stand on this?—That’s what We the People should be debating right now. These are the things our votes should be based on, corrupt or crazy notwithstanding.
But no, no one is talking about important issues like the runaway Fed. And the reason for that is simple: America has chosen two polarizing candidates for president and the media is enthralled with the polarizing elements of each. Issues be damned.
Stay tuned…
