Who is Minding the Store?

After the major tax cut of 2017 that favored mainly huge
corporations and a few of the very wealthy, and which
has depleted the US treasury, Trump is talking about another
tax cut before the election of 2020.  We have already racked
up a trillion-dollar annual deficit, now The Donald wants to
go for broke.
Yes, we have had a trillion-dollar deficit before, back in
2009 a mere ten years ago in fact.  But that occurred as a
result of the 'great recession' when ours, and the entire
world's economies, were in the tank. Thanks to Obama's
stimulus package the economy began mounting a come-
back.  The economy that Trump inherited was strong
and getting stronger.  That is what is so troubling about
todays huge deficit and national debt,because the economy
is humming along with close to full employment
maximizing tax revenues.  Most economist say the idea
of another tax cut is insane.  There has never been, in
our history, such a deficit while the economy is booming.

In 2007, the ration of debt-to-GDP was 62%, today the ratio
is 106%.  After pressure from the president, and because of
talk of a slowdown, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates again.
So what will happen when the inevitable downturn occurs, and
tax revenues shrink; the low interest rates will begin to rise and
our debt payments will be a further drag on the economy.

As grim as the outlook is, it is amazing that no one seems to
care.  Certainly not the White House, or the Congress.  In
2011, during the Obama administration, the Republican
Senate was so overwrought with the national debt and deficit
levels they wanted to pass an amendment to the Constitution
calling for a balanced budget.  That appears to be dying a slow
death these days. One of the signature promises Trump made
during his campaign, was his vow to eliminate the national debt
in eight years.  There's a laugh!

So what happened to all the deficit hawks?  With the impeachment
proceeding sucking all the oxygen out of the room, it seems
no one is watching the checkbook.

While Trump is pushing to reduce our forces in the middle-east,
and our military presence every where else in the world, which
should significantly reduce our spending on defense, he is on the
other hand increasing military spending.

The Republicans have always maintained that tax cuts lead to
economic growth and that growth translates to more tax
revenue which pays for the tax cuts.  Get it?  This voodoo
economics has never worked in the past, but despite those facts
the Republicans still hold to it.

So where are the Democrats?  They have closed their eyes to
the whole budget controversy. Those candidates running in
the presidential primary have been promising the moon, with
exorbitant plans such as; Medicare for all, free child care,
free college tuition, forgiving student loans, and the green
new deal.  All well and good, but should any of these
candidates actually defeat Trump, they will find the Federal
Piggy Bank empty, except for a few billion in IOUs.  So to
fulfill those promises it will mean a massive tax increase, and
not just on the wealthy.

We have been lucky so far, the huge deficits have not brought
on higher inflation rates, and Government borrowing has not
slowed consumer borrowing, though businesses have cut back,
due more to the uncertainty of the tariffs.  The good news from
the Stock Market and the unemployment figures have given
Trump impetus to continue his ruinous economic policies of
more spending, more tax cuts and bigger deficits.  My God,
who is minding the store?

I'm just askin'.

Welcome to the 21st Century

The Wisconsin State Assembly passed a measure recently, with
bi-partisan support 82-13, that would allow pharmacists to
prescribe hormonal birth control to women over the age of 18,
both in pill and patch form.  The Bill still has to go to the Senate
for approval and then on to the Governor for his signature.  It
is being opposed by right-to-life activist who say it will lead
to an increase in extra-marital sexual activity and an increase
in unwanted pregnancies and more abortions.  DUH! I may be
dense, but how will using effective birth control lead to
unwanted pregnancy and more abortions?  We will leave that
objection for the time being.

If the birth control bill passes, and becomes law, Wisconsin will
join ten other states and the District of Columbia that have
already enacted similar legislation.

Five years ago, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
issued a policy statement saying it is time to make hormonal oral
birth control an over the counter drug.  The American Association
of Family Physicians support the measure also, saying it would
greatly reduce unintended pregnancies.  However, only the FDA
can change the status of a drug from prescription to over the
counter, and as of yet no manufacturer has petitioned the FDA
to do that.  Even if a manufacturer did request a change in status,
it would be years before the FDA could conclude the testing
required to move hormonal contraceptives from prescription to
over the counter status.

One other concern is selling the pill to persons under the age of
18.  Right now the pill may be prescribed to those under 18 but
no states allow for purchase of the pill without a doctor's orders.
Researchers say there is no evidence that teens are at risk from
using the pill, in fact the reverse is true, teens do not have the
increased risk of blood clots that some adults do.  And studies
have shown there is no increase in sexual activity, in fact, teen
pregnancy rates are down in the United States by 36% from
2007-2013, and the abortion rate has fallen also.

The hormonal birth control method has been around for nearly
sixty years, it was first approved for use in June of 1960, but
didn't begin to be used as a contraceptive until July of 1961.
At that time, it could only be prescribed to married women for
birth control, and it was not until 1972 that doctors were allowed
to prescribe it to unmarried women for use as a contraceptive.
Though many doctors were prescribing it off label use for acne
and to regulate a woman's cycle.

The pill was the first form of birth control that did not interfere
with the spontaneity and sensation of sexual intercourse. It
allowed women to take control of when and how many children
she wished to have.  It was a key player in expanding women's
economic role.  After the pill was introduced, there was a sharp
rise in college attendance and graduation rates for women.  There
was no longer the fear of unplanned pregnancy interrupting a
woman's life, and employers were more inclined to invest in a
woman's future in their corporate structures.

Today the pill is used by 100 million women world-wide and
12 million women in the United States, and if used correctly,
it is 0.3% effective in preventing pregnancy.  For most of the
world, the pill does not require a doctor's prescription, and in
many countries it is free or at very low cost.  The biggest obstacle
in the United States is the cost.  Since the Affordable Care Act,
insurance companies must cover the cost of birth control pills,
and Medicaid also covers their cost.  But, and this is a big but,
insurance and Medicaid will not cover over the cost of the pill
if it were over the counter.

It is unclear whether that means the pill has to be prescribed by a
physician or if insurance will still pay for the pill if you can get it
through the pharmacy.  Regardless, those states that have opted to
by-pass the doctors prescription for a pharmacist direct filling of
the script, have not seen a big increase in pharmacy participation.
The service is not mandatory in most states and in California
only 11%  of retail pharmacies are offering the service.  The
requirements for such a service vary from state to state, but all
states require some training of the pharmacist, forms to be filled
out and filed and blood pressure must be monitored.  The initial
consultation cost may vary also, but range from $25-$50 and it
is not covered by insurance, however Oregon is the only state that
requires Medicaid to pay for the consultation.

So as usual it is the ones who need the help the most who will be
priced out of receiving it.  A family with more children than they
can afford, is priced out of the one thing that could help them
prevent another pregnancy.  Fifty dollars would go a long way
to feed the brood around the table.  We know that the hormonal
birth control method is safe and effective, now we must make
it affordable and easy to access for all women.

I'm just sayin'.
control

Get it Done, Get it Over, and Move On

And so it begins, I was eagerly tuned to the radio last Thursday,
(Halloween, of all days) but I fear I was in the minority, even
amongst my fiends.  They are getting tired of me and my obsession
with all things Trump.  They have moved on with their lives.  In
the beginning they were as appalled as I at Trump's unpresidential
behavior, his speeches elicited laughter, his demeanor resulted in
head shaking disbelief.  There were jokes about his limited
vocabulary and his penchant for lying in the face of overwhelming
evidence to the contrary.  But the jokes have wore thin and the daily
onslaught is wearyingly banal.

If these women, strident female libbers that they are, can ignore the
ever-worsening news from the White House and not be incensed,
ignore the increasing aberrant antics of a man who seems to be losing
his grip on reality, if they can say they just don't care anymore, what
chance is there for the rest of us?  The general consensus seems to be
nothing will ever change, it's all a tempest in a teapot, all done for show.
Both side prancing and preening for their constituents and nothing more.

But there is something more, and everyday more and more of it is revealed,
and with each new testimony something new is discovered.  It is becoming
harder and harder to deny the evidence.  So, what do the Republicans do,
they attack the proceedings.  They say the hearings are done in secret, and
they are not allowed in, both of which are blatantly false, they stormed
the hearing room at the behest of the President, and when the pizza ran out
they quietly went home like sheep being herded out of the pasture, and
like sheep they may be headed to the abattoir.  

The Republicans protested the closed-door hearings and when the House
announced that the hearings will be opened to all, including TV, they protested
that also.  They don't like the rules, though they are the same rules that they
established for the Clinton impeachment.  They want to see the transcripts
from the closed-door hearing, and when Rep. Adam Schiff said the
transcripts will be available in the coming week, the Republicans said,
not soon enough.  There seems to be a pattern emerging here.

Trump had said that the call to Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president-elect, was
beautiful and his denial of wrongdoing just doesn't hold water anymore.
What now? Trump and the Republicans say that, OK the President did
ask Zelenskiy to look into Hunter Biden, but that there was nothing wrong
with that.  Holding back money and presidential influence is done all the
time.  It is at the discretion of the President.  So, the defense changed; Trump
did it but it wasn't wrong, except his own intelligence people saw it differently.
The testimony of Lt. Col. Vindman, a decorated war hero, who was listening
in on the call, said he found it 'troubling'.  The President was asking a foreign
government to investigate a potential political rival in exchange for money
and a visit to the White House.  And his testimony was just one of several others.
In addition to asking about the Bidens, Trump also asked about the computer
server that was used to hack into the DNC data base in 2016.  It appears
that Trump just cannot get over the vote count in 2016.

So let us reiterate, first Trump didn't do it, then he did do it but it wasn't wrong,
and finally it was wrong, but it doesn't rise to the level of high crimes and
misdemeanors necessary for impeachment.  Ah, but obstruction of Congress
does, and the more the administration stymies the investigation the closer
it get gets to obstruction.  The cover-up is what brought down the Nixon
presidency.

Today, November 3, 2019, is exactly one year to the date of the 2020
presidential election, and only three months to the Iowa Caucasus, and
what is going on in Washington hasn't even rippled the waters, but it
should.  A president who believes what he is does is justifiable because he
is the president is dangerous.  If Donald Trump is allowed to walk away from
this, he will be emboldened to try something else.  After all it was just one
day after the Mueller Report announced no collusion with Russia during the
2016 election, that Trump tried to coerce the Ukraine government to
interfere in the 2020 election.  it is frightening to think of what he would attempt
after being found not guilty in the Senate trial.  And if the Senate thinks they
could contain him in 2020 they are bigger fools than I believe them to be.  It is
time for the Congress to stand up and take back the powers they have been
ceding to this president.   Or...There may be another way out; censure!

Censure by the entire Congress, the House and Senate with a super majority vote.
Andrew Jackson was censured by the Senate, and John Tyler was censured by the
House, both were strictly political actions.  I firmly believe there are enough
Republicans who think that Donald Trump is unfit for the presidency, and they
would be judged harshly by history if they acquitted him, but they are afraid to
come forward.  The Democrats know if they proceed with the impeachment,
they will lose.  They will lose the trial and the House and the White House in
2020 and who knows how far beyond.  That is a big price to pay.

But Trump cannot get away with his distain of the Constitution, he must be
brought to heel.  A record of censure by the entire Congress would be something
Trump has never had to deal with, being told he is wrong, by his peers.  And
there is always the threat of prosecution once he has left office.

Time is running out and to quote the bard: "If it were done when 'tis done, then
'twere well it were done quickly... That but this blow, might be the be-all and
end-all here".

I'm just sayin'.