Odds and Ends - May 2019

Trade Talks

Did we call it? No trade deal! Everyone here at Evolution of Democracy agreed that China is like a leopard. The spots of integrity or lack of it when it comes to products, will always appear as theft. These people do not honor patents. The government knows this and until they can change their culture into respect for product development, there can never be a trade deal because this point is ingrained within the habits of the Chinese people. There is a recent example that demonstrates this point. A woman appeared on Shark Tank with an idea for the environmental problem of plastic straws. She has a reusable straw. The idea was well received on the show. It was also watched in China. Within two weeks a Chinses company copied and stole her idea with the new product on the market. These people are deplorable! I don't want to make more of this than it already is, but looking at the historical differences between Asian cultures, specificity, Japanese and China. They don't get along. Could a root cause be dated to historical trade deals between the two Asian powerhouses? Just a thought?
One other point. You have to give it up to the "Donald." By adding tariffs he adds revenues for the government, while at the same time, he calms the markets with positive tweets. The genius of it is that he buys time to collect data on the effects of the tariffs and pushes producers to return to our shores. Of course, this is a two edge sword. The Chinese can shift production to other Asian nations like Vietnam and still avoid paying tariffs while maintaining their economy. This shift will also damper producers to leave Asia to return to America. They can do the same technique. What we will all learn is that this offshore problem cannot be solved overnight.

Freaking Democrats

All they did was complain about the Republicans stone-walling during Obama's presidency. Nothing got done. Now, all they do is stone-wall Trump about the election in 2016. People, we are closer to the 2020 election than 2016. Stop the B.S.! The national debt is at unrepayable levels! Our once beautiful infrastructure is crumbling beneath our vehicles! We have 47-structurally deficient bridges and another 237,000 that need repairs while both are used by 178 million vehicles every day. Nothing is going to change because you call a hearing and Barr or someone else testifies. These people are just like you and playing politics hurts the nation. The Mueller Report resulted in felony charges to 34 people. It's over! Do something positive like addressing immigration, like backing the president in the trade talks to get good, high paying jobs back to America. Did you not read about the GM plant in Ohio? The 6,200 retail businesses that will close their doors in 2019? Stop reading! Just quickly compute how many people will be laid off by this terrible trend that gets worse year-after-year. This is a classic case of lack of leadership by Congress and people in authority. Sit back and look at the big picture. Help states with education no matter if blue or red. Did you not read about another school shooting in Colorado? The Iran tensions? The North Korean mercury man? The idiot socialist in Venezuela? Freaking government!

Bonds...

continue to scream inversion! It is getting like "crying wolf " so many times that no one hears the real thing. Sadly, bond inversions always appear before a recession.

Blue Lander

Amazon is developing a landing craft that could be used to not only shuttle people back-and-forth on the moon, but to colonize it. I give Bezos credit for this type of thinking and investment. With that said, how come Amazon paid no taxes in 2018 with all their profit? Tax the internet on retail sales and give brick and mortar a fairer playing field.

"We don't need no stinking badges..."

"and we don't care about spelling - money is money!" according to an Australian minister who acknowledged a spelling error in new bills of currency that were just printed, but "money is money!"

Naïve Libertarians

The point is made again as Connecticut has taken a lawsuit against the Generic Drug Industry for price fixing. This is why we need laws and government to be a watchdog in society. Man will kill, rob and do whatever for personal satisfaction. The Libertarians want no government regulations. Big Pharma is just another guilty party like the TVA price fixing back in the 1950s and many times before and after that date. I do agree in theory that less rules, less regulations and less government is more ideal. One thought in this point. Have all laws set with a time duration as in sunset laws, especially with bureaucracies. My first pick: sunset the TSA. Can I get an amen?

Colorado Gun Law

Not only violates the second amendment, but a few others along the way like the right to be secure in one's home. This law allows judges to decide if police can not only take away your gun, but to enter your home to search for weapons if the judge feels you are a danger to society. Say something against the government like you oppose war and you are a danger to society. This happened during WWI.

Sandbagging Farm Prices

Planting season has been delayed due to inclement weather and the main source of transportation, the Mississippi River being closed to transport due to flooding. Farmers are also worried about the tariffs on their crops imposed by China with the trade tensions running high. Bottom line: food prices will rise in 2020.

Corrupt Political Parties

We, at Evolution of Democracy feel America desperately needs a third political party as the two that we have are corrupt on so many levels. The latest is the democrats who accused Trevor FitzGibbon of sexual harassment. This accusation popped up after Trevor backed Bernie Sanders over Hillary in the last election campaign. It took a piece of his heart, thank you Janis Joplin, and three years to clear his name. Big business generally uses the law negatively against smaller concerns to cause financial pain to competitors, but this is a new low by our political parties.

Travel Season

No need to remind you of the increase in gasoline, regardless of what the Fed says about inflation. The 43 million cars on the road for the holiday weekend know the story. However, airlines are raising prices for airfares and increasing the cost of a checked baggage. By the way, it has been three months and counting for the quick Boeing fix for its Max 737. Southwest, United and American can read the tealeaves. They have shut down their Boeing jets with a hope for a return by August.

Corrupt Pricing

(TDM) TransDigm was caught overcharging the government, AGAIN! They were caught in 2006 for overpricing a part for the military. This company supplies parts to the military. Anyway, they said that it was a mistake and they are sorry. Problem? They have a short memory. They were not only caught on the same product, but 98 out of 100 bill notices. Libertarians, are you reading this? We need watchdogs to watch the evil side in man's nature. This company should be banned for life for their continual attempts to rip=off the government and taxpayers. Put this together with the lawsuit by Connecticut against Big Pharma and I believe every government contract should be put under the eye of a watchdog.

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac

… are doing it again. They are buying mortgages (30%) from buyers who are not quailed to purchase a home. The debt ratio of these consumers exceeds 43% when I consider 38% to be the highest grace level. Keep in mind that the treasury still owns 80% of the two firms. Speaking of home sales, they have fallen 4.4% in the latest spring sale reports. The market has declined for 14 straight months as the price for a new home reached a new record at $342,200. Look for my report about housing in Europe which is suffering similar problems as the US market. I will be directly offending the millennials, although I don't mean to be mean. It is not all their fault, but they definitely lack a work ethnic. Until then, peace to all, especially our vets and their families.