The GOP Party Platform 😨

Straight out of Project 2025

The 2025 Presidential Transition (aka Project 2025) was created by the Heritage Foundation to develop a plan for a possible Trump Administration. The project produced a 920 page document. I have not read that document, but a quick scan of its paragraph headings make it the likely source of most, if not all, of the Republican Party’s 2024 Platform. (I did review this document. It’s only 22 pages.)

When I started to work on this article, I used the same format that I’ve been using since 2020 … writing designed to be read linearly with “bookmark” links to End Notes that provided “parenthetical” thoughts that the reader could choose to check out or ignore. As I worked, I realized that the article was becoming rather long. I began to wonder whether I would exhaust my readers. On September 25th, I decided to check just how long it had become.

With Party Platform planks 1 through 18 completed (i.e., 2 more to go), the article is the equivalent of 35 and a half printed pages … not counting the End Notes. That’s two-thirds as long my 3 articles on the Constitution and its amendments combined. I decided that I needed to include the following Table of Contents. Each item’s number is a bookmark link to my discussion of that item. At the end of each discussion is a [ ToC ] bookmark link that will return you to the Table of Contents. (Of course, you can scroll past the Table of Contents and read the article linearly, if you prefer.)

Table of Contents ^[1]

01. Seal the Border and stop the migrant invasion.
02. Carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.
03. End inflation and make America affordable again.
04. Make America the dominant energy producer in the world by far.
05. Stop outsourcing and turn the United States into a manufacturing superpower.
06. Large tax cuts for workers, and no tax on tips.
07. Defend our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our fundamental freedoms,
including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms.
08. Prevent World War III, restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East, and build a great Iron Dome missile defense shield over our entire country – all made in America.
09. End the weaponization of government against the America people.
10. Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders.
11. Rebuild our cities, including Washington D.C., making them safe, clean, and beautiful again.
12. Strengthen and modernize our military, making it, without question, the strongest and most powerful in the world.
13. Keep the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
14. Fight for and protect Social Security and Medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age.
15. Cancel the electric vehicle mandate and cut costly and burdensome
regulations.
16. Cut Federal funding for any school pushing Critical Race Theory, radical
gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.
17. Keep men out of women’s sports.
18. Deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again.
19. Secure our elections, including same day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship.
20. Unite our country by bringing it to new and record levels of success.

The Platform’s Items One-by-One

SEAL THE BORDER. AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION

I wonder how they plan to separate the legitimate asylum seekers from the invaders. Oh … that’s right, they don’t know that seeking asylum is part of international law and ours. To them, anybody crossing our southern border are invaders … unless they’re white, Christian, males or accompanied by one.

[ ToC ]

CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Deportation is defined as the action of forcing someone to leave a country, especially someone who has no legal right to be there or who has broken the law.

The Supreme Court has declared that a President is immune from prosecution when exercising the ‘core powers’ of the presidency … with no definition of “‘core powers’ of the presidency”.

Who decides what are and are not a President’s ‘core powers’ seems to be an open question. Suppose a President were to conclude that he or she gets to decide. Could that President contrive a way to decide that a citizen who criticizes the President has broken the law and/or has no right to be here? The country has come dangerously close to that in the past. (The Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 may have violated the 1st Amendment’s freedom of speech requirement. The Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II violated parts of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments.

To where would this hypothetical rogue president deport those deemed undesirable or dangerous. One of my father’s ancestors arrived in Pennsylvania in 1731. One of my mother’s arrived in Massachusetts in 1620. I live in Massachusetts now. Would the “Imperial President” deport me to Pennsylvania if I displeased him?

[ ToC ]

END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN

Really? Inflation is already coming down. It’s not happening in all aspects of the economy at once. I’ve noticed a small drop in the price of gas. My grocery bill has just leveled off. At least it’s stopped rising.

Can the Republicans end inflation? Let’s look at their record.

This graph shows the average yearly inflation rate for all presidents from Eisenhower through Biden. Aha, say the Republicans. The highest rate was under a Democrat, President Carter. Not only that, Biden’s inflation rate is 3.8% higher than Trump’s.

Ignoring the fact that, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and Trump’s total mishandling of the problem, the economy was frozen throughout of 2020; ignoring the fact that, from the day he was inaugurated, Biden’s efforts to control COVID-19 and restart the economy was expensive; let’s look at how the two parties have handled inflation over the 70-year period from Eisenhower through Biden.

The chart above shows 13 Presidents … 7 Republicans and 6 Democrats. The average inflation rate across all 13 is 4.47%. The average across all 7 Republicans is 4.10%. The average across all 6 Democrats is 3.88%. The inflation rates of 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats are above the 4.47% overall average.

What does all that mean? Over 70 years, Republican Presidents have been no better at dealing with inflation than Democratic Presidents … and, they may be a little worse.^[2]

[ ToC ]

MAKE AMERICA THE DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, BY FAR!

Sorry, Republicans. We already are the leading producer of energy in the world.

Does “dominant” mean something else to you?

[ ToC ]

STOP OUTSOURCING, AND TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO A MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER

Although PolitiFact data shows that neither a President nor his Party has made much difference relating to the growth in manufacturing jobs in recent years, I’ll give them this one.

I don’t think they can do it, but I wish them luck.

[ ToC ]

LARGE TAX CUTS FOR WORKERS, AND NO TAX ON TIPS!

When Republicans cut taxes, the national debt increases. In the first 24 years of the 21st Century, there have been 12 years under Republican Presidents and 12 years under Democratic Presidents … 8 years (2001-2008) under George W. Bush, 8 years (2009-2016) under Barack Obama, 4 years (2017-2020) under Donald Trump and, in fewer than 5 months, 4 years (2021-2024) under Joe Biden.

There have been 3 cuts in Federal Income Tax … one in 2001, one in 2003, and one in 2017. You guessed it. All three were passed into law under Republican Administrations. Each time, the deficit increased and the gulf between the “haves” and “have nots” has become wider. These charts show who gained the most from the tax cuts passed under the Bush and Trump Administrations.

Since the Reagan Administration, Republicans have been espousing the “Trickle Down” theory. Basically. it says that if you reduce taxes on the wealthy and corporations, it will expand the economy and increase profits. The expanded economy and increased profits at the top will trickle down to everyone. There’s only one tiny problem. From personal experience, I can tell you. it doesn’t work.^[3]

[ ToC ]

DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS, AND OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS

This certainly seems reasonable. It is composed of three somewhat distinct pieces.

The Constitution
The Presidential oath of office is:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

“Defending the Constitution” is included in the oaths taken by the Vice President, and members of the House and Senate as well. Everybody agrees that our Constitution is a good idea … unless you’ve lost a Presidential election and your Vice President insists on performing his duty as defined therein.

Our Most Basic Freedoms
It’s unclear why they felt a need to say, “our Bill of Rights, and our fundamental freedoms,”. Our Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the Constitution they’re defending … it defines our fundamental freedoms. Perhaps they threw in “our Bill of Rights” just because it sounds good.

The first amendment to the Constitution … the beginning of the Bill of Rights … says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Why did they leave out three-fifths of it. Do they believe that freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition the government when we have a grievance are in good shape … or, do they want to eliminate those fundamental rights?

Freedom of Speech
How is our freedom of speech being threatened? Being criticized for what one has been saying is not a violation of one’s freedom of speech. It’s others exercising theirs. Being banned from social media platforms is not the government interfering with one’s freedom of speech. Social media platforms are run by privately owned companies. Being sued for defamation of character doesn’t count either. Getting investigated and/or impeached for extorting a foreign ally, pressuring state election officials, and inciting an attack on Congress are because one violated one’s oath of office.

I wonder if they consider book banning to be a violation of freedom of speech. Considering that the current wave of book banning is coming from “red states”, I guess they don’t. Maybe they consider anything in print to be “the Press”. (They don’t seem to be concerned about freedom of the Press.) What if it’s an audio book? Would banning that violate their idea of freedom of speech? 🤔

Freedom of Religion
If anyone is guilty of violating freedom of religion it’s a former President and current Presidential candidate who tried to ban all Muslims from entry into the United States. (Muslims are followers of the religion of Islam, Donald.) A Speaker of the House, a Senator and Vice Presidential Candidate, and other members of Congress who espouse Christian Nationalism are flirting with religious establishmentarianism. Even though Christianity is the most common religion in the world,^[4] the 1st Amendment to the Constitution forbids the government to force it (or any other religion) upon the People.

The Second Amendment
They did get the critical part of the Second Amendment right:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Perhaps they think that their idea of freedom of speech and freedom of religion require them to be armed.

[ ToC ]

PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, RESTORE PEACE IN EUROPE AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY — ALL MADE IN AMERICA

Although my own initial reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was panic over the possibility World War III, I quickly decided that it didn’t seem that probable. Although Putin is an autocrat in complete control of his country and has been “rattling his nuclear saber” from time to time, he’s not stupid. Unlike his great admirer^[5] in the U.S., Putin knows that nuclear war with an evenly armed NATO is a no-win situation. Of course, Global Thermonuclear War is just the worst case scenario that arose during the Cold War … as elaborated in a lot of science fiction at the time.

Having not heard much about World War III recently, I had to do some research on the topic. Were knowledgeable people expressing concern? Was it coming from marketeers trying to sell survivalist homes and supplies? Is the threat of World War III being spread by right-wing politicians to scare their constituents? Is it the latest nut-job conspiracy theory? (Are the two preceding questions the same thing?) I learned that some presumably knowledgeable people believe the wars in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza show that World War III is imminent; some think it’s unlikely; and some think we’re already in the middle of it.

OK, let’s assume World War III is coming, We know how Donald Trump would restore peace to Europe. He would pull all support from Ukraine; get out of NATO; and praise Putin for being “very strong”. If Putin’s forces destroy Ukraine quickly, Trump will probably encourage him to take the Baltic states in celebration.

Restoring peace to the Middle East would be much harder. Conflicts in the part of the world now called the Middle East have been going on for not decades; not centuries; but eons. The Battle of Siddim, mentioned in Genesis 14:1-17,^[6] has been estimated to have occurred between 1822 and 1764 BCE. There’s a lot of bad blood in all that history. Trump adds his own biases to the formula … and some of his followers add more.

I have no doubt that Donald Trump supports Israel … or, at least, Benjamin Netanyahu. Their goals align. Both want to be/remain president of their respective countries to avoid their “problems” with the law. Trump’s first impulse would probably be to encourage Netanyahu to bomb the Gaza Strip into the stone age … killing as many Palestinians as possible quickly. He’d say that none of them are innocent; that they all support Hamas; that they’re supported by and agents of Iran.

There’s only one problem. The majority of Palestinians practice Sunni Islam. The Iranian Republic is a Shia Islam Theocracy. Hamas may be dominated by Shiites, but the populace are Sunni. The two major branches of Islam don’t get along very well. The Gazans have probably been oppressed by both Israel and Hamas for a long time. Of course, none of that matters to Trump … except for one tiny inconvenience. The majority religion in Saudi Arabia is Sunni Islam.

Donald Trump is an admirer of Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (aka MBS), Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner is rather fond of MBS too. After leaving his position in the White House, Kushner’s equity firm got 2 billion dollars from Saudi Arabia. Does Donald have any deals with the Saudis and their Crown Prince? Who knows. He certainly wouldn’t want to alienate MBS any more than he would Putin. Decisions, decisions, decisions …

Trump, Netanyahu, and MBS do have one thing in common. They all hate Iran … and, they’re all willing to manipulate people, including each other, for their own benefit. (Don’t tell Donald that Putin and the leaders of Iran are buddies. They’ve been supplying some of the weapons he’s using to attack Ukraine.)

In my less than humble opinion, the people of Gaza, the Israeli hostage and their families, and many of the citizens of Israel are the innocent victims in a struggle between two groups of self-serving autocrats … the Leaders of Hamas on one side; Netanyahu and the far right extremists in his government. 🤔 😡

Iron Dome
“Build a Great Iron Dome Missile Shield over our Entire Country” sounds familiar … a lot like “Build a Great Wall across our Southern Border“. (Play it again, Don? 😏 ) Basically, an Iron Dome System is a lot of automated radar/anti-missile missile systems spread all over a country. When the radar detects an incoming short-range weapon, the automation assesses whether that weapon threatens a built-up area. If the incoming device is a threat, the system fires an interceptor. (Doesn’t that sound a lot like the fictional Skynet and Colossus systems? 🫨 ) The U.S. version called SkyHunter is “made in America” by Raytheon.

[ ToC ]

END THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

When I came to this one, I didn’t know what they were talking about. 😕 After a bit of research, I learned that this entry is related to the United States House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government … a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. The chairman of the subcommittee, Jim Jordan, has said, “We expect to hear from Americans who have been targeted by their gov- ernment.” Upon learning this, I thought to myself, “Oh, that’s what Jim Jordan’s yelling about this time,”^[7]

Apparently, they believe that some government agencies like the DOJ and the FBI are being used to attack conservatives and to violate their civil rights. Never mind that Donald Trump regularly pressured his DOJ to investigate his perceived enemies. Never mind that they didn’t show any concern when senate Democrat Bob Menendez was investigated, indicted, and convicted on corruption charges. After all, that’s entirely different from Donald Trump attempting to walk away with government documents.

[ ToC ]

STOP THE MIGRANT CRIME EPIDEMIC, DEMOLISH THE FOREIGN DRUG CARTELS, CRUSH GANG VIOLENCE, AND LOCK UP VIOLENT OFFENDERS

The Migrant Crime Epidemic
There is no “Migrant Crime Epidemic”. It’s a myth that began in the late 19th Century. It comes back every time there’s an increase in immigrants who are “different” from those groups in power who believe their group are the “real Americans”. (Too bad that the indigenous peoples didn’t think of that in 1492.) Trump and his allies in the government resurrected the myth to prove their contention that the country is going to Hell in order to frighten people into voting for them.

Several studies have shown the opposite of the myth is true.^[8] Migrants, whether documented or undocumented are less likely to commit crime than U.S. born citizens are.

The Foreign Drug Cartels
“Demolishing the Foreign Drug Cartels” sounds a lot like “Restoring Peace to the Middle East” … a problem that’s a lot easier to talk about than solve. How do they plan to do that? Are they going to lock up or deport any non-white person who they choose to call cartel members? Are the going to send our military to violate the sovereignty of countries in Central and South America? What if the cartels have taken over the governments of other countries. Will the Republicans declare war on those countries?

The Republican Party claims to be pro-business. Their Presidential candidate claims to be a great businessman and “a very stable genius”. Have they ever heard of the Law of Supply and Demand? The drug cartels flourish because there’s a demand for their product. Perhaps we need to consider “hitting the cartels in the pocketbook” by decreasing the demand. (Yeah, I know. That’s easier said than done too.)

We need to consider why the illicit drugs are so popular. One reason is based on their illegality. Trying them in the first place brings the excitement of “getting caught” and/or the warm feeling of “group acceptance” to otherwise boring and/or lonely lives. Remember your first smoke or alcoholic beverage … or cup of coffee? I do. I didn’t enjoy any of them.^[9]

Nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine are all addictive substances. All can damage one’s health. None of them are on the Federal Government’s Controlled Substances List. This is not to say that they are a free-for-all. All are subject to being taxed somewhere in the United States. There are licensing restrictions on selling tobacco products and alcohol and you must be 21 to purchase them. Being addicted to these products is not a crime. It is treated as a medical condition or, in the case of coffee, ignored.

Have you ever heard of a Tobacco, Alcohol, or Coffee Cartel? Alcohol was illegal after the passage of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. It didn’t work out too well. Small producers, distributors, and bars and restaurants went out of business. Criminals took over the production, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages. Crime increased in other areas as well. The 21st Amendment overturned the 18th, but the damage had been done.

Today, Marijuana remains a Schedule I substance (up there with Heroin, LSD, Ecstasy, etc.) on the Controlled Substance List. The Federal Government considers it an illicit substance that is highly addictive and provides no benefits. Nevertheless, it has been fully legalized in 24 states and the District of Columbia. It has been made legal for Medical Purposes in 20 states (7 allow CBD Oil only; 5 have Decriminalized other uses). It remains fully illegal in only 6 states.

Marijuana is still the most common and profitable product of the drug cartels, but I expect that to change. The Federal mandatory minimum penalty for a first offense of possession is 1 year in prison and a fine of $1,000. Idaho matches that for up to 3 ounces and more for above 3 ounces. Wyoming’s penalty is up to $1,000 and up to 1 year. If and when marijuana comes off the Federal Schedule I list, the 6 holdouts will probably follow and the bottom will drop out of the illicit trade.

Another way to fight the cartels and our drug problems in general is to stop treating addicts as criminals. They’re not criminals; they’re sick people. The more we help them to heal; the more we will hurt the business of the cartels.

Violent Offenders
Locking up violent offenders is only the first step … an expediency to protect the public. While they are locked up, every effort should be made to rehabilitate them. A few are probably sociopaths who cannot change, but most can find their way back from the edge given the chance and the help.

[ ToC ]

REBUILD OUR CITIES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON DC, MAKING THEM SAFE, CLEAN, AND BEAUTIFUL AGAIN

OK, that makes sense … although I don’t like the implication that ALL of our cities are dangerous, dirty, and ugly. That sounds a lot like the American Dystopia that Trump has been repeating since he came down that escalator in 2015.

Although some of our cities could use some clean-up and repair and some have a bit more crime than others, I think this plank of the Republican platform is a hangover from the widespread fear that the COVID-19 pandemic would drive people away from cities forever leaving them to deteriorate around those people who lacked the means to leave. That mass exodus didn’t happen. Those who had other residences like vacation homes in which they could sit out the pandemic, went there; some college students moved back to their parents’ homes … but, after the advent of the vaccines and treatments like Paxlovid, the siren call of the cities drew them back.

The downtown areas have suffered, but not because people are leaving the cities. During the pandemic when cities were in either official or self-imposed lockdown, office workers and their employers learned that going to the office 5 days a week is not necessary. You could get as much, if not more, work done at home. You could have meetings via teleconferencing. Employees didn’t need to travel from home to office every day. Employers didn’t have to carry as much overhead in office space. Both benefitted from remote working, but they wanted to live in the cities because of all of the amenities they provide.

What Needs to be Rebuilt?
The work-from-home trend that grew during the pandemic and its continuance since has caused a problem in the downtown areas. Businesses that depended on the presence of office workers (restaurants, small shops, etc.) have lost many of their customers. These parts of our larger cities need to be reimagined.

Post-pandemic, those cities that had been dependent on a daily influx of office workers are left with some glaring problems:

(a) The change to a way of working with a major work-from-home (WFH) components has manifested in two ways: (1) A total WFH model in which all or most of the workforce works from their homes and, possibly, on a flexible schedule and (2) A hybrid WFH model wherein employees do most of their work in their homes, but come to the office once or twice a week.

The first model leaves buildings that were offices before the pandemic totally empty. The second group needs a much smaller footprint than was needed before. (Different work groups can get together on different days; sharing a differently configured smaller workspace.)

(b) People trying to move to the cities for the first time … people migrating to the cities from more rural locations, former students who are now graduates, etc. … are faced by a housing shortage and the soaring prices that happens whenever demand exceeds supply.

(c) The “downtown” businesses that depended upon office workers for their customer base are still suffering.

The solution is obvious, right? Convert unused office space to living space. Unfortunately, that’s a lot more complicated than it sounds. Office buildings are heated and cooled from one central location rather than individually. Offices buildings have one or more pairs of common Men’s Rooms and Women’s Rooms on each floor. Homes have individual bathrooms shared by those who live in the home. Office buildings have small, common “kitchens” and cafeterias. Each home in a large building has its own kitchen. Changing an office building into individual homes requires a lot of electrical and plumbing changes.

It’s not like we don’t know how to make these changes. We’ve been reconfiguring buildings for generations. In the last century, a lot of old mills have been converted into apartment buildings and/or offices. Larger homes have been converted into several efficiency apartments. We know what to do, but … on a large scale, it takes zoning changes, upgrades to meet the latest regulations for spaces used for full-time living, and a lot of money.

Although contemporary Republican leaders talk about smaller government, they don’t seem too concerned about meddling in people’s lives … as long as they’re the ones doing the meddling. On the other hand, spending money to help others seems to be anathema to them. Would they be willing to provide the federal subsidies and/or low interest, long term loans to get the work done quickly without just creating more housing that costs too much? I doubt it.

One thing that needs to be “rebuilt” … in all of our cities and towns, all of our suburbs, all of our rural areas, and everywhere in between … is our electrical infrastructure. Regardless of the source of our energy, the easiest way to get it where it needs to be is electricity. Although we have become an electrically powered civilization, much of our electrical infrastructure was built in the last century.^[10] The “slightest” thing … from wind or snow damaging transmission, to the Sun’s magnetic storms frying large parts of our electrical grids, to intentional acts by terrorists or enemy states … can disrupt our access to power. We really need to do something about that. Buildings being converted from office space to living space is a good place to start.

If the Trump Administration is an example of the Republican Party’s ability to accomplish improvements on any part of our infrastructure, don’t get too hopeful. From 2017 through 2020, they announced “Infrastructure Week” so many times that it became fodder for late night comedians.^[11] On the other hand, Congress passed and President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by November 15, 2021. That bill has provided $1.2 billion to the states. If a road, a bridge, or some other public infrastructure has been or is being fixed, thank Joe Biden and the 117^th Congress (The 117^th Congress was in session during 2021 and 2022. The current Congress, in session for 2023 and 2024, is the 118^th.)

[ ToC ]

STRENGTHEN AND MODERNIZE OUR MILITARY, MAKING IT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD

We already have the most powerful military in the world. The chances of that changing is somewhere between slim and none. End of conversation.

[ ToC ]

KEEP THE U.S. DOLLAR AS THE WORLD’S RESERVE CURRENCY

The only reality in which the U.S. dollar will lose its status as the World’s Reserve Currency is the one that contains Donald Trump’s American Dystopia. Initially, I took this to be code for saying that the economy was wonderful under Trump and terrible under Biden. Then, I decided to look more deeply into the term World’s Reserve Currency.

In that article referenced in the link above, I learned that British economist and philosopher, John Maynard Keynes, had suggested the creation of a supranational world currency administered by some international agency. The only way that I see that working is after (if ever) the nations of our planet settle their differences and form a supranational world government that actually works. We’ll have to wait for Zephram Cochrane to design, build, and test his warp ship for that. 😉

[ ToC ]

FIGHT FOR AND PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITH NO CUTS, INCLUDING NO CHANGES TO THE RETIREMENT AGE

Many, perhaps most, people think of Social Security as a retirement savings account managed by the Federal Government. It isn’t. The tax paid by workers is put into a trust fund. Social Security and Medicare payments to retirees are paid from that fund. The taxes paid by workers^[12] are the supply; Social Security Benefits paid to retirees are the demand. As we discussed above, a system in which supply matches or exceeds demand work fairly well … but, when demand exceeds supply, there’s trouble.

Therein lies the problem with Social Security. Those providing the demand are requiring more than those filling that demand can supply. The aging and subsequent retirement of the Baby Boomers is increasing the demand. Meanwhile, an overall decline in birth rate during the past 50 years has lowered the number people in the workforce paying into the trust fund.

At first glance, some may see this decline gives credence to the idea of transforming our country into a reflection of the “Republic of Gilead” as implied by some of the statements of the Republican Parties candidate for Vice President.^[13] It’s not that easy (assuming that J.D. Vance considers that to be easy).

The same study that showed the decline in birth rate found that the most Americans plan to have children and that the average number of children they want is about 2. So why has the birth rate declined? Many delay growing their families. They are concerned about bringing children into the unstable world they have seen during much of their lives. Some of the Millennials remember September 11, 2001. They and some members of Generation Z have watched their parents struggle through The Great Recession. The older members of Generation Alpha had their schooling disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. When viewed through the eyes of Millennials, Gen Zs, and Gen Alphas, the 21st Century has been scary. Is it any wonder they want to be sure they have good relationships, good jobs, a home they can afford, and money in the bank before they have children?

Each of us is eligible for reduced Social Security benefits at age 62, Medicare A at 65, and full Social Security benefits at age 67, and maximum Social Security benefits at age 70. As can be inferred from the graph above, all of the Greatest and Silent Generations and about 90% of the Baby Boomers are eligible for reduced benefits. About 58% of the Baby Boomers are eligible for full benefits. Had they been able to delay applying until age 70, 42% of the Baby Boomers could be collecting the increased benefits.

What does all of that mean? Assuming that the Baby Boomers who took early Social Security at 62 and those who waited until they were 70 balance out, I’m using the 58% in the middle as an estimate. 58% of the 20.93% of the population equals 12.14% of that segment of the population. Adding the 0.13% and the 4.92% of the two older generations gives us 17.19% of the U.S. population are collecting Social Security benefits. That’s roughly 59.43 million people. In 2023, the average monthly Social Security amount was $1827. $1872 x 12 months x 59.43 million people is about $1.43 trillion per year. I won’t go through all the computations but the part of the tax that goes toward Medicare A was an additional $0.20 trillion for a total of $1.63 trillion per year.

OK, who’s paying for that? Anybody in the workforce is required to pay Social Security tax on the first $168,600 of your income. If you’re self-employed, you pay 12.4%. If you are an employee, you pay 6.2% and your employer pays the other 6.2%. Depending upon how strictly you define “the workforce”, the kids selling lemonade on the corner of your block should be taxed 12.4% of their earnings, but that’s not going to happen.

Let’s assume that the average per person enters the workforce at age 18. Generation Alpha is off the hook for awhile. 62.5% of Generation Z and 42% of the Baby Boomers are not. 62.5% of 20.69% (Gen Z) plus 21.71% (Millennials) plus 42% of 20.93% (Baby Boomers) … a total of 43.43% … of the population contribute to the Social Security Trust Fund. The average income in the United States is $59,228. All of that amount is subject to Social Security tax because it’s below the tax maximum. The average member of the workforce contributes $7,344.27 to the Trust Fund each year. As we just calculated, the workforce is 43.43% of the 59.3 million people in the country. That 25,753,990 people contribute a total of about $189.1 trillion per year.

We’re OK so far, but each year about 1.1% of the Baby Boomers stop paying to the fund and start receiving benefits … for an increasing number of years as lifespan increases. Generation Z is adding a slightly smaller percentage. Most of Generation Alpha are in 6th grade. What can we … regardless of political party … do to save Social Security and Medicare? The options are:

(a) Increase the Social Security Tax maximum.
(b) Increase the Social Security Tax rate.
(c) Decrease the Social Security benefits.
(d) Increase the retirement (full benefits) age.
(e) Apply some combination of two or more of the above.

I favor (a) and (d). For (a): Using the average annual benefit and the average number of years one will collect based on retirement age and average lifespan, we can create an algorithm that adjusts the tax maximum annually. For (d): For my parents, the retirement age was 65. For me, it was 66. For my kids, it will be 67 (so far). A slow increase isn’t too painful.

[ ToC ]

CANCEL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE AND CUT COSTLY AND BURDENSOME REGULATIONS

This one isn’t too surprising. From the robber barons of the late 19th Century to supply-side economics, the Republican Party has been fond of laissez-faire capitalism. They have a special dislike for government mandates and regulations as well.^[14] Cancelling the mandate and “burdensome regulations” may make them and the oil companies happy, but it won’t stop the electric vehicles. (I’m assuming that the “burdensome regulations” they’re talking about don’t include the ones that say or imply, “You’re not allowed to go out of your way destroying the environment because it might bring a few more bucks into your greedy hands.”)

Even without mandates, the electric vehicles are coming. Regardless of the current higher cost of electric vehicles and the post-COVID inflation, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have captured 9% and 11% of car sales respectively.

Several U.S. and International automakers are meeting the slowly expanding demands for electric vehicles (EVs).

As demand increases … and inflation decreases … automakers will move to increase supply. Competition will drive prices down which will, in turn, increase demand. Hybrid electric vehicles have the lead in customer demand because: (a) The infrastructure to support wide-spread use of fully electric vehicles is incomplete; and (b) The driving range on a single charge for currently available batteries.

The good news is that 80% of battery charging is done at home. Additionally, a Pew Research study found that 64% of U.S. residents live within 2 miles of a charging station. Unfortunately, that means that close to 102 million Americans aged 16 or older do not live within 2 miles of a charging station. Nevertheless, I was surprised to learn how prolific public charging stations are. In a 2021 article, the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation reported that there were 71,587 station locations … providing 192,299 EV charging ports.

The picture above seems to indicate that there are charging stations in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. While that is, in fact, true, the picture is deceptive. When we zoom in to get a closer look at the “contiguous states”, we see that a number of states in the Midwest and Mountain states have big gaps between their public charging stations.

If you live and work outside of an urban and suburban area, you’ll have to wait a few years before getting that Battery EV. On the other hand, a Plug-in Hybrid could save you a lot of money and ease the strain on your environment.

That brings us to the second problem … the most common EV batteries have a range of about 250 miles per charge. Several companies are working on that. I have no doubt that we’ll be seeing 500 to 750 mile range batteries by 2030. There is one other problem. Many of the elements used to manufacture rechargeable solid-state batteries are in relatively short supply and high demand. these include Lithium, Manganese, Cobalt, Graphite, Steel, and Nickel.

Australia is the world’s leading producer of lithium. The world’s largest producers of manganese are South Africa, Gabon, Australia, and Ukraine. Cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo and is associated with a lot of human rights abuses … ordinary people, especially women and children, working for starvation wages under harsh and dangerous conditions while middlemen and the mine owners (mostly from China) get rich. Turkey, Brazil, and China have the largest reserves of graphite. The United States (finally), along with Japan, India, Russia, and South Korea produce most of the world’s steel. Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Russia, and Canada have more than half of the global nickel.

Since most of the modern technologies of the developed world need some or all of these minerals …, it’s really time to start cooperating with each other. Instead of working on undermining EVs, perhaps we could use that energy to find more sources of these minerals and figure out how to get them out of the ground without destroying the environment and endangering people. There must be some companies with experience in locating mineral resources and processing them safely and efficiently without destroying the environment. I wonder who might have what it takes to make that a reality. Maybe, the oil companies?

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CUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL PUSHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND OTHER INAPPROPRIATE RACIAL, SEXUAL, OR POLITICAL CONTENT ON OUR CHILDREN

This one is the most difficult to discuss so far … because it seems to be designed more to elicit strong emotion and divisiveness than to state a problem and a proposed solution. For example, the word “pushing” has an undertone of coercion on one side and victimization on the other. Does “pushing” mean teaching, discussing, or making information available? Does it mean encouraging, creating an environment of, or requiring? The word “inappropriate” is even more ambiguous. Who decides what is inappropriate … cultural and community norms, religious groups, or (Yuck!) 🤮 politicians?

Critical Race Theory
The term Critical Race Theory has been used and abused by so many people with so many agendas in so many contexts that my first effort was to try to find out what it’s supposed to mean. I was only partly successful. Rather than burden my readers with the flood of both corroborating and conflicting information in the main flow of this article, I’ve listed the most important ones in End Note [15]. If you choose, you can check them out there, then return here by clicking on the “Return” link.

A few points stood out for me:

(a) The word “Critical” refers to the theory being very important; not on criticizing any individual or group of individuals.

(b) Critical Race Theory is not new. The term was first used in 1998 based on ideas that began in 1976.

(c) Some of its strongest critics use the term Critical Race Theory as if it means “anything I don’t like”.

(d) There is no evidence that Critical Race Theory is taught in any grade K-12 … anywhere.

Radical Gender Ideology
The meaning of Radical Gender Ideology is even more fuzzy than that of Critical Race Theory. As nearly as I can figure out it implies that anyone born with XY chromosomes must be one way (strong, courageous, independent, and assertive) and anyone born with XX chromosomes must be an- other (graceful, gentle, empathic, humble, and sensitive). ^[16] Unfortunately for the “biology equal gender” purists, it doesn’t work that way.

While they are generally offended by anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+, the “purists” are particularly offended by the “Ts” … the Transgender individuals. In their article entitled “Radical Gender Ideology is Transforming American Society, and AFPI is Fighting Back”, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) says:

According to a 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, an astonishing 1.8% of high school students now identify as transgender (Johns et al., 2019). A 2022 Pew research report puts the number of gender-nonconforming young adults even higher, at 5.1% of the U.S. population between the ages of 18 and 29 (Brown, 2022).

They seem to think that the 1.8% and 5.1% are shockingly large numbers. Perhaps they don’t understand that people become more open about their thoughts and feelings when they feel more sure that they will not be arrested, ostracized, or worse. The Supreme Court decision in the case Obergefell v. Hodges (2013-2015) ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. There were 230,000 same-sex marriages in 2013 and 390,000 in 2015 … an increase of 69.6%. Under the military’s February 28, 1994, to September 20, 2011 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy regarding gay, lesbian, and bisexual relationships, 13,650 of the services were discharged. The number discharged for their gender leanings since September 20, 2011 is been 0.

There are a few conspiracy theorists on the lunatic fringe who talk about children going to school as one sex and returning home as the other sex. This is absolute nonsense of the level of ingesting or injecting disinfectant to cure COVID-19. Even if you ignore the fact that gender reassignment surgery takes time to perform and to heal, I doubt that any of the conspiracists can come up with any reason why such behavior could help those who they are accusing.

However, there are individuals who have had gender assignment treatment without their consent … mainly because they were much to young to give consent or even understand the concept. These are babies who are born with “Differences in Sexual Development” (DSD). This spectrum of congenital conditions has also been called “Intersex” (the “I” in LGBTQIA+). DSD includes:

(a) A person who has the XX chromosomes, the ovaries of a female, but external genitals that appear male.

(b) A person who has the XY chromosomes (typically seen in males), but the external genitals are incompletely formed, ambiguous, or clearly female.

(c) A person who has both ovarian and testicular tissue. This may be in the same gonad (an ovotestis), or the person might have 1 ovary and 1 testis. The person may have XX chromosomes, XY chromosomes, or both. The external genitals may be ambiguous or may appear to be female or male.

In the past, such individuals were given gender assignment surgery with parental consent under the advice of a doctor. Simplistic solutions like this have fallen out of favor. It’s not hard to imagine that such early (and, sometimes, arbitrary) gender assignment could lead to gender dysphoria at a later date.

Granted that transgender care is way more complicated and life-changing than being openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, questioning, or asexual. Gender dysphoria contains many deeply personal issues. Decisions related it should be left to the individuals, their families, their counselors, their doctors, and their concept of God. The rest of us need follow the recommendation of Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, Tim Walz, and “Mind your own damned business!”^[17]

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KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS

This is obviously aimed at transgender women on the assumption that their XY chromosome pair alone gives them an advantage over those women with the XX chromosome pair. Since it doesn’t go on to say “AND WOMEN OUT OF MEN’S SPORTS”, we can see a touch of misogyny too.

In order to be completely fair, I have to be believe that some of the rationale for taking a second swipe at transgender individuals is a misunderstanding of what the term transgender means. Let’s look at some definitions.

Drag is a performance of exaggerated femininity or masculinity usually for entertainment purposes. Performances often involve comedy, social satire, and/or political commentary.

Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. It is practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express oneself. Some movies in which cross-dressing is a major plot element are “Some Like It Hot“, “Victor/Victoria“, and “Mrs. Doubtfire“. Although cross-dressing was not a major plot element in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show“, a major character, mad scientist, Dr. Frank N. Furter, is a cross-dresser who turns out to be an alien transvestite from the planet “Transsexual” in the galaxy of Transylvania.

The phrase, “an alien transvestite from the planet ‘Transexual'” may be part of the concern related to “men in women’s sports” for some. (Of course, others may just be cisgender bigots.) When the terms “transvestite” and “transvestism” were coined early in the 20th Century the lines between “cross-dressers” and “transexuals” was blurred. Later in the 20th Century and certainly in the 21st, cross-dressing and gender dysphoria are seen as different and, in the long run, distinct.^[18]

The most important physiological differences related to sports are a function the amount of circulating testosterone in the individual’s system. Before puberty, there is no significant difference in circulating testosterone between children born XX (girls) and those born XY (boys). After puberty, XY individuals begin to produce roughly 30 times more testosterone than XX individual’s do. If puberty is interrupted or delayed by biochemical or surgical intervention, no significant difference between XY and XX individuals occurs.

What happens if transgender intervention occurs after puberty? XX individual’s transitioning into males experience a major increase in muscle mass within a year. Unfortunately, XY individual’s transitioning to females do not lose muscle mass as quickly. If sports authorities are going to limit the participation of transwomen in women’s sports, it would seem that there needs to be something added to simple genetic testing. BUT, once again, politicians should, “mind their own damned business”.

One last point: If an individual is to go through gender reassignment prior to puberty it is a decision that must be made between the child and parents with the help of counseling. It’s a life-changing decision that cannot be made without deep consideration. Chemical intervention is probably reversible^[19]; surgery is much less so.

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DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN

Nothing in the Republican Party Platform terrifies me more than this one. It does not say IMMIGRANT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS. It says PRO-HAMAS RADICALS. It is so broad that it can be used to cover anybody who expresses concern for the people of Gaza. A lot of people don’t distinguish between Hamas, a terrorist organization, and Palestinians, the ordinary people living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

What happens if those who the Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and their cronies in Congress and the Courts define as pro-Hamas radicals are U.S. citizens? What happens if they’re students? What happens if they are your children? To where does Trump plan to deport them? Venezuela? That’s where he said that he’ll deport the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio who are not harming pets and who are, by the way, in the United States legally.

Donald Trump is totally transactional and totally lacking in empathy.^[20] He will do whatever he believes to be necessary for obtaining and retaining power and adoration with no regard for who he hurts or whose life he destroys. If you stand in his way … or even criticize him too much … he will target you and members of his “cult of personality” will support him.

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SECURE OUR ELECTIONS, INCLUDING SAME DAY VOTING, VOTER IDENTIFICATION, PAPER BALLOTS, AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP

This a solution looking for a problem … a problem that doesn’t exist. According to a December 11, 2020 Brennan Center for Justice article entitled, It’s Official: The Election Was Secure:

By all measures, the 2020 general election was one of the most secure elections in our history.

This is supported by Federal Agencies; the Courts; Election Officials and Experts; as well as Elected Officials and Political Operatives.^[21] Political parties have a strong interest in who votes and how they vote. To believe that one party has committed widespread fraud is to believe that the other party was not paying attention or was totally incompetent. There is just no evidence of the level of fraud repeated over and over and over by Trump and his minions.^[22]

On the other side of the coin, same day voting, voter identification, and proof of citizenship are subtle ways to disenfranchise voters. Requiring paper ballots is based on the incorrect notion that voting machines are all connected to the internet and, therefore, subject to hacking.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, when farming was the most common occupation, holding elections on the first Tuesday in November made sense. Early November was after harvest, but before the onset of winter weather. Tuesday allowed voters go to church and “honor the sabbath”, travel to the polls (usually at the County seat), vote, and get back in time to go to market on Wednesday. The industrial revolution changed all that. As more and more people began to work in factories and offices, voting on Tuesday became difficult … especially for those whose job required them to be present for many hours beginning and ending at a specific time. For many middle and lower class workers, that requirement is still true. They are forced to vote before or after work (which leads to long lines at the polls) or lose pay.

Voter identification requirements add another obstacle to voting. Various levels of government could impose questionable and/or difficult to obtain limits to what qualifies as legitimate identification. Proof of citizenship is even more subject to abusive requirement … and is totally unnecessary. Under the law 18 USC 611, any non-citizen caught voting in a Federal election is subject to a fine, up to a year in jail, or both.

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UNITE OUR COUNTRY BY BRINGING IT TO NEW AND RECORD LEVELS OF SUCCESS

This is one of the most content-free statements I’ve heard in a long time. Did they add it just to create a list with a nice round number of items? What do they mean by success? This is how “Oxford Languages” defines it.

The bullets under #1 might be what Donald Trump and his cronies want to achieve … for themselves …, but it seems rather petty for a country. Somehow, “bringing it to new and record levels of success” sounds like a new way for them to say “Make America Great Again”.

Let’s look at the beginning of the item, “Unite our country”. As a people, Americans have always been fairly good at uniting for the common good.

(a) We united to break away from being colonies of an English monarchy that treated us more as indentured servants than citizens.

(b) We united to defend our sovereignty in 1812-1814 when that same former motherland interfered with our trade and impressed our sailors into service to their navy.

(c) We fought a civil war to preserve our unity and to bring an end to the scourge of slavery.

(d) We united to help our allies in two World Wars defend the freedom of nations to not be overtaken by foreign aggressors.

(e) We stood as one people after enemies attacked our homeland killing thousands of our citizens on September 11, 2001.

(f) Most important of all, we have always united when our neighbors were in trouble.^[23]

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If you want to share this article … through social media, re-post, e-mail, or any other medium …, please feel free to do so.

If you have any comments or additional ideas, I encourage to leave a reply in the comments section at the end of this article. (The link below will skip over the Notes section.)

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Notes

[1]
You’ll probably notice a difference between the entries in the Table of Contents and the equivalent item headers in the body of the article. The mixed case entries and slightly different punctuation in the Table of Contents are mine; the “All Caps” format and sometimes questionable punctuation in the article headers are as they appear in the party platform document. A lot of people at Republican rallies don’t seem overly educated and have been “shouting” a lot since 2015. I wonder why? 😉

Straight out of Project 2025

Table of Contents [1]

The Platform’s Items One-by-One

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Notes

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Table of Contents ^[1]