King Donald Shows How He Plans to Govern

We shouldn't be surprised at the way in which things have transpired, but it is so different from the norm that it is surprising.

But in that difference we see why the norm is the norm.  Policies have unintended consequences and bureaucracies have the expertise to understand possible consequences and inform the policy makers of them so the consequences can be considered in formulating policies to achieve goals without incurring undesirable costs.

This is something the Obama Administration forgot (or didn't understand) when they mandated certain coverages into Obamacare.  Yes, the costs for health insurance came down in NY State, but not in many of the other rural states with less comprehensive health regulations.  Similarly with raising the minimum wage, an appropriate minimum wage in an urban area is higher than an appropriate minimum wage in a rural area.  And how do you manage the geographic transition between the two areas?

But I digress, I need to address King Donald whose immigration policy and desire for extreme vetting  is really not all that different from what President Obama was doing except in one straight forward way:  President Obama didn't issue a blanket ban on any one country's people and tell people NFW your getting in.

So let us look at the consequences of this ban.  The Head of the Iraqi Army, whose family lives in the U.S,. cannot meet with the leaders of the U.S. Army he is trying to coordinate with in the U.S.  People who have helped us in these countries, been through the vetting process, have had their VISA's withdrawn.  The public way in which this was done will help radical terrorists a bit in their recruiting.  And we will discourage Muslims from helping us fight radical Islam by showing a bitter insensitivity in failing to recognize individuality and accepting of differences, the basis of our countries entire history.

The U.S. is great because the best and the brightest had the chutzpah to recognize there was terror at home and they needed to get up and go.  When the best and brightest everywhere else got to the U.S., they helped make America Great in the 1st Place.  If my 63 years of living have shown me anything, it is that immigrants and their descendent's work harder than native born for 1 or 2 generations before normalizing.  There is nothing more motivating to move than terror in one's home country.  The best and brightest from those 7 countries are on the move and wherever they land will benefit from their brains and energy and work ethic.

None of this matters to King Donald.  He wants to do stuff and he is doing it without any input from those who understand unintended consequences.  And he wants to fire anybody who disagrees with him because they understand the unintended consequences.  I am not referring to the Justice Department, but rather Homeland Security and The State Department, neither of which was consulted.  And thus we have a story about how some European, Asian, South American and African Leaders are saying perhaps we need to do more with China and ignore U.S. wishes about some things.  That is the consequence of many Trump actions that harm our friends today and may help our opposition in the future.

So where does this leave us?

David Brooks today highlights the Faustian bargain Congressional GOP Leaders face. Yes, King Donald will sign bills they like and appoint Supreme Court Justices they like, but in the process they will be insulted, they will be supporting disengagement from global trade, they will be supporting incompetence and an aura of bigotry and cruelty.  Brooks has watched a lot of administrations and never before has he seen one with such callousness, incompetence, and demanding of personal loyalty.  He predicts a GOP lead impeachment sooner or later.  And this all strikes me as the behavior of a King, not a President.  Thus, henceforth, he shall be King Donald.

Of course, to we Democrats, President Pence will be no better except in temperament.  The policies will still be just as reactionary.  And behind President Pence, will be President Ryan, and then President somebody from the GOP Senate and then the Secretary of State.  So impeachment will not change the Supreme Court nomination direction.  Can 3 80 year justices hang on for another 4 years? And can the Democrats find an economic message to campaign on in rural areas?  Unanswerable questions.

But I have to return to health care as I frequently do.

The NYT today showed how illogical our debate over Health Care is.  We have what is called Premium Subsidies in Part D Medicare and ObamaCare.  The GOP wants to extend this concept to basic Medicare and do away with it in ObamaCare.  The Democrats want to prevent the extension of this concept to Medicare and keep it in ObamaCare/KingDonaldCare.  Interestingly, neither party wants to change it in Medicare Part D.  You would think a compromise might be there somewhere.

Link To Brooks Column

Link to Medicare Discussion