"What you don't want to do is dig around here like a groundhog on crack."- Joe Teti
Confession: I did vote for Trump, again. Mea Culpa. But I blame the Democrats. They need to do better.
With confession out of the way and executive orders flying out of the oval
office like a covey of quail, it is now time to weigh in on the first fortnight
of Trump’s second term.
_Cabinet Picks: Grade B
Several of his choices are just too controversial and “one-off”. Perhaps they can do the job and do it very
well. But why set them up, as well as
yourself, for failure? RFK Jr., Tulsi
Gabbert and Pete Hegseth are “out of left field” picks that even have Republicans
shaking their heads. The rest of them,
including Kash Patel are solid picks, even if Democrats are bashing them.
This would qualify as an unnecessary distraction akin to telling your spouse that you wish to change which side of the bed you sleep on. Is it really worth it? I’m good with Mt. Denali and the Gulf of Mexico. Let’s move on. Nothing to see here.
_Just Spit-balling: Grade C
Reminding Panama that we run the Americas, built the canal and protect their country and the canal from the bad guys is not a bad idea. Shining a light on who’s keeping the lights on in Greenland sends a message, but to what end? I’m not sure Panama or Greenland are among the most pressing issues facing us at this time.
_Beg Your Pardon: Grade B
I get it, Biden totally abused his presidential pardon power. It is what it is. Trump had the opportunity to do better and selectively pardon those Jan 6 protestors who were unfairly prosecuted. But there were some in that bunch who deserved to go to jail and stay there for a while. (Just like there were some Antifa and BLM protesters who should have been arrested and prosecuted on Biden’s watch). But Trump likes to use the driver even when an iron off the tee is the smart play. So, let’s just pardon all the J6-ers
_Spending Cuts: Grade B
Shutting off government spending was always going to hurt. But one needs to understand who is getting hurt and to what extent they can afford that hurt. It’s our own fault that we have made so many so dependent on government funded programs. It’s going to take some time to work our way out of this mess. And there is plenty that can be cut before we get down to muscle and bone. With some of these orders, it feels a bit like we are throwing out the baby with the bath water just to make a point.
_The Great DEI Rollback: Grade C
The extremes of DEI were already fading before Trump took office. Now Trump (and many Red States) are in danger of swinging the pendulum too far in the other direction. It would have been better to deal with specific DEI abuses through established legal channels and continue to let the market discipline virtue-signaling companies.
_Tariffs: Grade D
The only thing that keeps this from being an “F” is that there are certain situations where tariffs make sense. But they should only be used infrequently and precisely. In general, tariffs have historically proven to be bad economic policy. They will turn up the dial on inflation, hurt exports and create shortages of certain products. U.S. consumers will pay the price for higher tariffs and whatever benefits ultimately come from them will not justify the costs.
_On The Border: Grade B
As long as the focus is on removing the bad people who
have slipped in over the past 4 years, the grade is an “A”. But take it too far and start deporting
anyone who is here illegally, even if they have been here for years, have
family here and have been productively working here; then it’s not going to
turn out well. We simply cannot afford
to lose this much of our workforce. I am
hopeful there will be as much attention on reforming our immigration laws as
there seems to be on rounding up and removing undocumented immigrants.
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