Pandemics, Power and People

As a few of you might have noticed, I took a break from posting.  I suppose you could say I have been socially distant in this particular medium.

Social distancing is really nothing new for me; I am perfectly happy where there are few people and far horizons.  I've even been told that I am sometimes socially distant in a crowded room.  Oh, well.

This SARS-CoV-19 global pandemic is something new, but also something old.  Viruses periodically mutate and sometimes move between species (zoonosis).  That is the most likely explanation for what has happened.  It is something we will see more frequently as this old planet fills up with people.  Densely packed populations facilitate the spread of disease.  The answer is social distancing -- spreading apart.

Dense populations -- whether they be temporary or, somewhat permanent -- are also sources of panic behavior.  It's that old "crowd" mentality that causes people to bolt for the door when someone yells "fire!"  In this case, it caused a run on the grocery stores which has temporarily created holes in our amazing system of supply chains which rarely miss a beat.  The massive nature of the shift of consumer demand from "restaurant dining" to eat at home caught the entire system somewhat by surprise.  There is plenty of food -- at least in the developed countries -- it is just in the wrong place, but that is rapidly being corrected.

I'm thankful to live in a small town rather than a city.  Even in our rural setting there are signs of disruption.  We have also had our first case of the disease confirmed.  It will eventually pass through the population of the planet.  It won't infect everyone, but it will touch most of the people in some form or fashion -- from a disease perspective, not just as a disruption to life as we know it.

The biggest fear that I have out of this entire episode of disruption is the amount of power that is being displayed by governmental entities all over the world.  That is a genie that will not be put back in the bottle.

Political Venting

Some thoughts on the mess in Washington:

• All laws should apply equally to every citizen -- no matter economic status, or whether or not they hold political office.  This includes insurance, retirement, etc.  ALL laws.
• If members of the Senate and House want to see the President's tax returns, they should first publish their own.  Perhaps it should be required that all elected officials at the national level be required to publish their returns, including all sources of income, for the duration of their time in office.
• Compensation for office holders should be Indexed similar to what is done with Social Security.
• A 2/3 majority vote should be required for any bill to pass.  This would mean very few laws are ever passed.
• No lawmaker may serve more than 25 years in elected office -- all offices combined.  Term limits is a tricky area because we need experienced lawmakers, yet we need to limit the accretion of power over time.
• Some type of limitation on lobbying must be instituted.  This is another tricky area because lobbying serves the purpose of educating lawmakers, however, it must be restricted in such a way as to prevent the undue influence of the tremendous amount of money that is poured into lobbying efforts.
• No elected official can become a lobbyist after leaving office.  Ever.  Period.
• No elected official can join the Board of Directors of any firm for a minimum of 5 years after leaving office.
• No elected official can be paid a salary which exceeds that which they made in office for a minimum of 5 years after leaving office.
• Assets of anyone elected to the Senate, House, Presidency, or who serves in a Cabinet level position must be placed in Trust and managed independently, similar to what is required of the President.  There are too many officeholders who accumulate extraordinary wealth while holding office.  This could be done similar to a Mutual Fund for elected officials.  Such a fund should also be available for the general public to invest in so they receive exactly the same opportunity to benefit as do those elected officials.
• Except in times of war or national emergency, the federal budget cannot increase by an amount greater than the average inflation rate of the preceding year adjusted for growth in revenue due to economic growth of the country.
• Leadership of the House and Senate must rotate every 2 years with no individual serving more than 2 terms in the leadership role over the course of their 25 years (maximum) in office.  There must be a minimum of 2 years between terms.  This includes Speaker, President Pro Tem, committee chairmen and the majority and minority leaders of political parties.
• Except in the case of national security issues, any reports (such as the Mueller Report), or other information available to elected officials, must be made available to any citizen.  Note:  Officeholders are elected representatives, not our leaders.  How can they represent us if we are not able to be informed at the same level as them?  We cannot provide them appropriate input for them to represent us if we do not have access to the same information.  We, as taxpayers, pay for it all.  What we pay for is ours.
• Details of any litigation against any elected official must be disclosed to the public.  Any and all arrest records, traffic fines, parking tickets....anything...must be disclosed to the public if such occurred while campaigning for, or holding office.

I'm sure someone could poke holes in a number of the points above, but they at least point to areas where improvement needs to occur.  There also are many more items that could be added.  I'm just venting some of my frustration this morning.

Dollars for Idiocy

This crazy world and the "nanny-state" attitude of governing authorities is more than a little disturbing.  The very same people who scream at the top of their lungs that their are too many people in the world are legislating confusion.  Some of the legislation appears to be designed to slow the growth of population -- such as the very liberal attitudes toward abortion.  At the same time, other legislation appears designed to protect people from their own stupidity.  Perhaps the best solution is the Darwinian approach to let nature take its course where only the most fit will survive.

The current controversy over glyphosphate (think Roundup) is one of those things that is a mixed bag.  There is concern among some that it might be a carcinogen.  Well, news flash, almost anything is carcinogenic to certain people under certain conditions.  Some simply have a genetic disposition to being susceptible to develop cancer.  Doing away with glyphosphate as a weed control will change farming practises back to a less efficient time when it was difficult to produce the yields we do today.  With a population approaching 7.7 billion people on this planet, reducing crop yields seems a more likely way to cause deaths than the few who may contract cancer and die due to use of the chemical.  So, legislation is presented that causes deaths by supposedly preventing deaths.  Go figure.

I suppose one explanation would be that our legislators and therefore many of our laws are controlled by the insurance companies.  Think about it.  Death by cancer is a burden on the insurance companies.  Death by starvation in an underdeveloped country doesn't affect them.  Maybe it's simply about the money.

Think about the television commercials that are memorable.  Chances are there are at least 3 if not 4 or 5 of them that are insurance commercials.  What does that say?  It tells us there's a lot of money in insurance.

Robo Greed and Government

I'm sick and tired of robo-calls;
They happen every day.
Sometimes I get two or, more
With the same thing to say.

We have our government to blame
For what these people do.
I'll bet that our Congressmen
Don't deal with these calls too.

If it's about a warranty
Upon an automobile
You can thank your state government
Who sold the list, for real!

And if it is for health insurance
Just thank ObamaCare
That made open enrollment
At the same time of each year.

Political calls are predictable
As election time comes near
When candidates across the land
Seek to bend your ear

So they can hold the offices
That should serve constituent need
But, instead are all about
Fulfilling their own greed

Just like the calls that never end
Of which I now complain
As they seek to take my money
While driving me insane.

Bank Fees for the "Poor"

The French government is considering capping banking fees charged to the poor as part of a new poverty plan.

French government looking at capping bank fees on poor

As a former banker and avowed Capitalist but, a compassionate conservative, I have mixed feelings about this.

The average person doesn't understand how banks work.  The brevity of the post requires that I postpone that discussion to another time, but in brief, deposits of customers provide the base from which loans are made to other customers.  Accounts that carry little, or no balance actually cost the bank money.  Labor involved in handling returned items, statements, etc. more than offsets the small amount that might be made from lending the fractional amount allowed to others.  In fact, fractional lending requirements often mean that, based on the average balance of the small account, they add nothing to the lending base of the institution.

On the other hand, excessive fees make it more difficult for the low-balance depositor to gain any ground on his financial position.  Many of the small depositors are poor money managers to begin with and don't understand the reasons their small deposits are "taxed" with what appear to be large fees.  They need education, not penalties.

Perhaps the answer lies in banks offering basic classes in balancing ones checkbook, the impact of compounding interest and the basics of how the financial system works rather than penalties for poor money management.  Ignorance should be replaced with knowledge, not reinforced with anger-causing actions.

I oppose state mandated behavior in this area, but I see the need for action.