The picture above shows a bunch of letters flying toward the center of one of the Hubble Deep Field images. The “Power” the title references is a bit more mundane. (I don’t have the address of the All-That-Is.) The “Power” in the title is composed of a number of people in the Federal Government of the United States of America … including the President-elect, my Senators, my Representative in the House, and other members of Congress. *
Whenever I write to one of these leaders, I’ll add it to this article. As with other on-going articles on this website new letters will be added at the top. Beyond this preamble, the article will be a Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) stack.
These are the letters that I have sent so far:
To Future Senate Minority Leader Schumer and Probable Continuing House Minority Leader Pelosi on November 19, 2016 (Same e-mail sent to both)
Future Senate Minority Leader Schumer and Probable Continuing House Minority Leader Pelosi,
In the 115th Congress, the Republican Party will enjoy the opportunity and responsibility that the Democratic Party enjoyed in the 111th Congress … control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency. Democrats in Congress have two choices. They can be the same kind of obstructionists that many Republicans have been … or, they can work for the citizens of the United States.
The election of President-elect Trump showed that a lot people in the middle of the country feel that they have been left behind and forgotten. The have had enough “business as usual”. The President-elect is more Populist than Republican. Some of his proposals will not sit well with the pay-as-you-go elements in Congress, but President-elect Trump understands investment.
I believe that a massive infrastructure project will increase jobs and income for the forgotten Americans, jump-start the economy, and create continuing growth and revenue for the country. I think you would do well to support such a project and encourage the President-elect to ask for an even bigger infrastructure program than he is proposing. In addition to creating wealth, such a project will increase National Security, inspire new technology and new businesses, and … in time … allow for lower taxes. You might even get some support from the other side of the aisle.
Thank you for your attention.
Terry Bahn
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To Senate Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker of the House Ryan on November 19, 2016 (Same e-mail sent to both)
Senate Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker of the House Ryan,
President-elect Trump will begin his Presidency with the same advantage that President Obama had when he began … his own party in control of both houses of Congress. The Republican Party has both a great opportunity and a great responsibility. The opportunity is that you CAN accomplish a lot. The responsibility is that you MUST accomplish a lot … and you must do it quickly. The forgotten Americans who carried President-elect Trump to victory have made it clear that “business as usual” is no longer acceptable.
I have written to the President-elect suggesting that a massive, government-sponsored infrastructure project would give jobs to his constituents, jump-start the economy, and generate immense, long-term growth and revenue. I have written to my Senators and Representative encouraging them to support such a project. I encourage you to do the same.
Thank you for your attention.
Terry Bahn
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To Representative Niki Tsongas on November 15, 2016
Representative Tsongas,
I am writing to offer my ideas about where and how you might be able to work with President-elect Trump.
In a November 11th letter to the President-elect, I suggested that he focus on quickly getting jobs for our blue collar workers who the economic recovery has left behind. I recommended a massive infrastructure repair campaign. He’ll need support in getting funding from the Republican-controlled Congress. He understands investment. Many in Congress seem fixated on gaining the profit before providing funding.
In his interview with “60 Minutes” on Sunday, November 13, 2016, President-elect Trump said that he wanted to retain some features of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act when he simultaneously repeals and replaces it. He’ll definitely need help getting that by the next Congress. He may even see that it makes more sense to fix rather than destroy the PPACA … if the idea is properly presented to him.
President-elect Trump does not seem to be a party-line Republican. He seems willing to compromise with those who present points of agreement … and, particularly resistant to the kind of dogmatism that many House Republicans have demonstrated.
Thank you,
Terry Bahn
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To Senator Ed Markey on November 14, 2016
Senator Markey,
I am writing to offer my ideas about where and how you might be able to work with President-elect Trump. In a November 11th letter to the President-elect, I suggested that he jump-start the economy with jobs for our blue-collar workers who the economic recovery has left behind. I recommended a massive infrastructure repair campaign.
He’ll need support in getting funding from the Republican-controlled Congress. President-elect Trump understands investment … and borrowing money to make that investment … many in Congress don’t. One often needs to spend money in order to make money.
To the Federal Government, that money is made through increased tax revenue coming both from the now-employed workers and from as yet undefined economic efficiency and expansion produced by the revived and modernized national infrastructure.
Some infrastructure improvements will add to national security too. Bringing our airports into the 21st Century and hardening our electrical grids are two obvious examples. Both will bring increased employment to unskilled, skilled, and professional workers.
Thank you,
Terry Bahn
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To Senator Elizabeth Warren on November 13, 2016
Senator Warren,
I am writing to offer my ideas about where and how you might be able to work with President-elect Trump. My background is similar to yours. My father was a Dairy Farmer in Pennsylvania. I voted Republican when I was younger. Although I am registered as “Unenrolled”, the last time I voted for a non-Democrat was Ross Perot in 1992. I have a B.S. in Psychology (focused on research); an M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (focused on Instructional Design). I was a College teacher for several years.
The President-elect is a Populist; not a Republican. He has already expressed some ideas that are more in line with you and Senator Sanders than with Senator McConnell. The President-elect is much more responsive to those who say nice things about him. When you agree with his intentions, let him know.
In my first letter to President-elect Trump, I suggested that bootstrapping the economy with jobs for our blue-collar workers who have been left behind. I recommended a massive infrastructure repair campaign. He’ll need help getting that passed by a pay-for-everything-first Congress. The President-elect understands investment … and borrowing money to make that investment.
Another area where you may be able to work with President-elect Trump is cleaning up the mess in our tax code. During the campaign, he commented that we needed to reconsider regulations that let him and corporations write-off millions of dollars for less-than-reasonable reasons. If you eliminate enough anti-Populist, “Mickey Mouse” deductions, you can lower the tax rates AND bring more revenue into the Treasury.
Thank you,
Terry Bahn
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To President-elect Donald Trump on November 11, 2016
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(Originally published on this website in the article
……………………………. “Where Do We Go From Here?“)
Mr. President-elect … I believe that the most important task facing your administration is jobs for the forgotten Americans. We need to jump-start the economy. We can’t wait for the results of reduced taxes, re-negotiated trade deals, etc. I think that we’ll get the most change, fastest by a massive, nationwide infrastructure upgrade. The jobs will be immediate. Improvement in the economy, security, and national unity will quickly follow. You’ll have to fight the traditional Republicans in Congress to get the funding without covering the cost before the fact, but negotiating is one of the things you do best. Cut through the bureaucratic crap. Bypass levels of government that get in the way. Get the funding where the work is … to states, counties, cities and towns, even the neighborhoods, if that’s where the broken infrastructure and the unemployment exist. States need to fix their roads and bridges; cities (like Flint, MI) need to fix their plumbing; neighborhoods need to convert vacant lots into gardens that provide fresh, nutritious food. All else will follow. If, during your first hundred days, you can create more jobs than we can fill, you’ll be a hero to all Americans. Thank you for this opportunity to help … Terry A. Bahn
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My Less Than Humble Opinion 