Version 2.144

It has been raining for two days and I do not recall September being this dreary in Memphis, but I am not that fond of this month anymore. Julian and I did manage to walk this morning as he would not let me work; luckily the rain had stopped momentarily. The evening walk was aborted. As soon as he realized it was raining, he refused to go out. It is always amazing how effectively we train animals to enjoy the finer things in life.

The most interesting event of the day was President Trump saying that, should he lose the election, he will refuse to step down because he believes the election is rigged against him. To this Mitch McConnell, who is the GOP majority leader in the Senate, and other GOP notables responded that a peaceful transition of power is the backbone of democracy. It's what makes America America, and not Belarus, as Mitt Romney put it.

Ever since the impeachment, my impression is that the GOP wants to get rid of Trump, but they need to do it in such a way as to not throw the baby with the bathwater. Their main strategy is to alienate Democrats as much as possible, so as to incentivize election participation. They will help Trump finish the term, but they will not help him win the election. The Democrats play their part in the game.

For example,a massive stimulus to help with the pandemic was passed ealy on in March, not only to prevent the economy from sliding too much, but also to give ample time for it to run out ahead of the election. Now some, including Fed Chair Powell, argue that more fiscal stimulus is needed, but Congress cannot reach an agreement: Democrats in the House of Representatives want well over two trillion dollars, which would add quite a bit to debt; Republicans in the Senate only allow less than a trillion dollars, so a skinny bill was voted on and it did not pass; the President would settle for something in between, as long as it included more checks to be sent out with his name on them to help him win the election.

The strategy is to not reach an agreement, blame the other party for being too resolute in their stance, while both parties swear that they want what is best for the country, but disagree on what is best for the country. It is all theatrics, especially now that they know the pandemic can be managed, as New York, which was the hardest hit state as had relative sucess after starting off witha a massive failure.

We are back to what is essentially America: the reason why you pay less in taxes here is that more of the burden of managing risk falls on the individual. At this point there is enough information for people to make informed decisions; if they ignore the information or make poor decisions, there is no one to blame but themselves.