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Day to Day Politics: Can he deliver? No.

Friday 11 November 2016.

The theorising has begun. How did it happen that this moronic individual became leader of the United States of America? The most powerful nation in the world. Some say the Democrats selected the wrong candidate. There may be some substance in that but Trump told those unhappy with conventional establishment politics, what they wanted to hear. Perhaps America wasn’t ready for a female president. How did Donald Trump attract such a large vote among those who would traditionally vote Democrat or not vote at all?

Was it simply a reaction to women’s growing rights, a cultural shift that no longer centres on straight white men. Were they votes based on fear, bigotry and ugliness?

Another reason, the great sleeper, in my view is unemployment and Trump may have identified it. All over the world, including Australia, politicians and Governments are seeking to minimise or hide a great big lie about massive unemployment (and under-employment).

Analysists are suggesting that real unemployment in countries like Australia and the US have an unemployment rate of nearer 20%. These people feel disenfranchised and Trump might have identified them and they voted for him.

Anyway, the list goes on and the complexity grows with it. How about this contribution from Waleed Aly:

“And it is surely a sign of how completely the political right has fallen apart that its world leader is spouting rudimentary left wing economic pamphlets. We’re watching an epic realignment here. Class is back in politics. We ignore it at our peril. And our almost determined blindness to it is exactly why we’re standing here in disbelief now”.

Books will be written about it and it will go down in political history as perhaps the most controversial election ever. One that defied traditional politics and conventional campaigning wisdom.

What we do know is this. We witnessed the enormous damage that populists can play in the lives of people who feel alienated and vulnerable. Along the way he insulted anyone he could, war veterans, demeaning women, calling people rapists, saying the system was rigged, saying things that in normal circumstances would guarantee your defeat.

During the campaign he gratuitously lied about many things, exaggerating what it was possible to do. He said he would repeal Obama care, have a trade war with China, including 45% tariffs, repeal the marriage equality act and take away a women’s right to have an abortion. He said he would build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. He said the Environmental Protection Agency would disappear. Rebuild the country’s aging infrastructure. Save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without cutting benefits.

He said he would defund the successful Planned Parenthood schemes. He would also temporarily ban most foreign Muslims from entering the United States. Bar Syrian refugees from entering the country and kick out any who are already living here.

The list goes on. Well here are some extracts from a list.

Mosques in the United States would come under heavily surveillance. He would create a database of Syrian refugees.

He would also prosecute Hillary Clinton.

Supreme Court justices who are ”really great legal scholars” would be selected.

He would strengthen the military so that it’s “so big and so strong and so great” that “nobody’s going to mess with us.” and “Bomb the s— out of ISIS.” Bring back waterboarding.

He would find an “out” clause in the Iran deal and then “totally” renegotiate the whole thing.

Bring back jobs from China and be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.

Aggressively challenge China’s power in the world by declaring the country a currency manipulator, adopting a “zero tolerance policy on intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer” and cracking down on China’s “lax labour and environmental standards.”

He would Tell Ford Motor Co.’s president that unless he cancels plans to build a massive plant in Mexico, the company will face a 35 percent tax on cars imported back into the United States.

Impose new taxes on many imports into the country. Numbers thrown around have included 32 percent, 34 percent and 35 percent.

In addition he said he would grow the nation’s economy by at least 6 percent.  Reduce the $18 trillion national debt by “vigorously eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, ending redundant government programs and growing the economy to increase tax revenues” and cut the budget by 20 percent by simply renegotiating.

He would also get rid of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Allow corporations a one-time window to transfer money being held overseas, charging a much-reduced 10 percent tax.

Get rid of most corporate tax loopholes or incentives, but continue to allow taxpayers to deduct mortgage interest and charitable donations from their taxes.

On his first day in office, Trump would get rid of gun-free zones at military bases and in schools.

Use “common sense” to fix the mental health system and prevent mass shootings. Find ways to arm more of the “good guys” like him who can take out the “sickos”. Get rid of bans on certain types of guns and magazines so that “good, honest people” can own the guns of their choice.

Sign an executive order calling for the death penalty for anyone found guilty of killing a police officer.

On the first day in office, he would terminate President Obama’s executive orders related to immigration. This includes getting rid of “sanctuary cities” that Trump says have become refuges for criminals.

He would also deport the almost 11 million immigrants illegally living in the United States.

Lastly he would “Bring back the American Dream”.

This is not the complete list. You can read it here.

You can see from this list that during the campaign he unabashedly pandered to every disaffected, racist, bigot, unemployed or generally dissatisfied person he could. You cannot, despite the fact that Clinton won the popular vote that it worked. Now even at first blush the reader, I hope, would agree that many of these promises are virtually impossible to deliver. For example how could he possibly double America’s growth rate. Now in the theorising of this extraordinary outcome some might agree with me that the promises are bogus, we would both have to agree that he did identify the issues that effected people. The dishonesty is in the fact that he gave a gilt edged promise to fix everything.

”Only I can fix it”

Those who have perused this list and the link provided would also agree that each needs closer examination. Space does not allow me to do that in this piece however, I would like to address one.

Donald Trump will be the first world leader to dismiss the science of Climate Change and refuse to ratify the Parris Climate Accord. In doing so he joins other leader’s Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea in denying the science.

By saying that global warming was ”bullshit” and a ”hoax” that was ”created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is saying that he knows better than 98% of the worlds ”climate scientists’ ’It is tantamount to telling your surgeon he doesn’t know what he is talking about. Men who so blindly dismiss science cannot do it out of superior examination, but rather do so in the consideration of profit.

In fact, he wants to expand the use of fossil fuel. That would be a disaster for our planet.

My thought for the day.

”In terms of the environment. I wonder what price the people of tomorrow will pay for the stupidity of today”.

 

20 comments

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  1. Poo Poo To You Too

    Millions of people voted. Australia also voted for Trump. The people want the vicious, nasty, people-hating major Parties GONE and we want the hard-sucking media GONE.

    You obviously don’t believe in God John Lord (why the Hell have you got that name? It should be ‘Satan’) as you cannot even imagine the concept that there could be someone who is more intelligent than you. Obviously there are – millions of them.

  2. kerri

    “Donald Trump will be the first world leader to dismiss the science of Climate Change and refuse to ratify the Paris Climate Accord. In doing so he joins other leader’s Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea in denying the science.”
    And there is your basket of deplorables!

    PPPTY plesase provide evidence of your claims??
    Especially about the invisible man who lives in the sky?
    Besides John Lord has made it abundantly clear that he respects the opinions of those more intelliegent than him. They are called climate scientists not scientologists!
    You need to find another place to blog your “opinions”.

  3. etnorb

    Well the Trumpet has won! It is hard to believe that so many females did not listen to what he has been spouting from day one, & sadly, not enough of them came out to vote for Hillary. Some of what you have listed above that he has said, does make some sense, especially if what he says he will do, but, unfortunately, there is far too much of what he thinks, says & does not (& could or will do!) do that frightens me, & probably a vast number of others as well! I wonder if he will make it through the next 4 years, but, unfortunately, the very “people” who would probably be inclined to “shorten” his tenure are the ones who voted for him–the rednecks, gun lovers & the ignorant–so the chances of him being “ousted” (or!) are slim! God help America & God help the rest of the world too. Another great think piece John!

  4. Terry2

    As a species we are very gullible and the media managers who control the flow of news and massage the messages know this.

    I just heard Christopher Pyne confirming that it has always been the coalition’s objective to resettle the detainees on Manus and Nauru in third countries and to close down Labor’s offshore detention centres.

    So, what has been one of the biggest failures in policy over the past three years is now a success and the failures are the fault of the former Labor administration.

    Evidently it will be announced in the next few days that we will do a swap with the USA for refugees from Costa Rica and those on Nauru and Manus will ultimately go to the USA.

    Turnbull took this out of Dutton’s hands as he was getting nowhere, and after the expensive Cambodia fiasco, and gave it to Julie Bishop who has crafted the deal.

    There will be a lot of spin pumped out in the next few days and you can anticipate that this will be depicted as a major triumph for the Turnbull government fixing up Labor’s mess.

    As the detention centre industry is the only source of external revenue for Nauru, we presumably will continue to pump money into this failed state as aid.

  5. Harquebus

    Apart from everything else, the promise to double growth has guaranteed Trump’s failure. It is a promise to double down on the destructive forces of this absurd concept.

  6. John Lord

    Harquebus. To double their current growth I believe would be impossible.

  7. Harquebus

    John Lord
    You are absolutely 100% correct in your belief. Just maintaining it is impossible although, I will add that this applies to real economic growth and not to the financial and other bubbles inflated via currency creation.
    Cheers.

  8. Wayne Turner

    “As a species we are very gullible and the media managers who control the flow of news and massage the messages know this.” – This.

    Trump has promised the world,and can’t and won’t deliver.IE: Abbott all over again.

    Many saw Trump as the solution,well now he is going to be the problem,expect him to continue/bring back the “scapegoating” of poor non-white minorities when ALL his failings happen.

  9. Harquebus

    I would just like to say that, every year at this time I play the song “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” and think of my grandfather whose portrait is hanging on my wall and of the other brave soldiers who, sacrificed so much for us.
    Cheers.

  10. Andreas Bimba

    Yes the great sleeper is unemployment as well as stagnating wages combined with greater living costs. Neoliberalism and the diversion of wealth to the corporate sector and the top few percent combined with national governments starving the economy of sufficient money due to the false monetarist belief in balanced budgets are primarily to blame.

    The establishment left social democratic and labour parties betrayed their people almost as much as the incompetent conservatives and only have themselves to blame for providing this golden political opportunity to the crazy right to exploit all these genuine grievances.

    Perhaps the most extreme example of the failure of the left was the leftist Greek Syriza government’s weak willed acceptance of the EU’s austerity and state asset sell off demands that will lock in unemployment and poverty for millions for no valid reason.

  11. Andreas Bimba

    Doubling U.S. growth is possible as it is currently very low, by expanding the money supply through fiscal stimulus in the form of tax cuts or federal government spending on infrastructure as well as providing moderate tariff protection sufficient to ensure that highly automated manufacturers can operate profitably in the U.S. – thus partially reversing decades of destructive off shoring.

    If Trump was wise enough to prioritise infrastructure spending on clean energy, public transport, improving the energy efficiency of buildings and transitioning the economy to environmental sustainability he would be on a winner but unfortunately he doesn’t look like the type of person to move in this direction. Instead the mad expansion of the fossil fuel sector is more likely putting all of us in critical danger.

  12. jimhaz

    [To double their current growth I believe would be impossible]

    Not impossible, but impossible to do so in a rational way. I mean just printing a trillion dollars and installing 30% trade barriers in selective areas would work.

    24 months to get up to speed with employment readjustment into manufacturing and infrastructure, 12 months of good times, then 15 years of severe economic regression.

    Lol, however they would still need a million Mexican illegals to do the actual hard work. Chain gangs of caught illegals building his enormous edifice. He meant Mexicans would pay for the wall in hard labour, not Mexico.

    Trump’s Dirty History of Hiring and Exploiting Undocumented Workers

  13. stephentardrew

    We can talk till the cows come how however this poisoned chalice will deliver a whole lot of suffering for many in the present and future. I see very little of value or worth in Trumps victory. Dead biosphere? Well that is the end of it all for societies. There seem to be one real battle worth fighting right now or our children and grandchildren will live in a hell we created. I am sickened.

  14. Kronomex

    Six to eight months (being generous) from now and Americans who voted for Trump may well be regretting putting him there. Trump is all about Trump and if we thought his ego was inflated before, what’s he going to be like after he takes over the top job in the America. Personally, I think he’ll be impeached before the next election because he won’t be able resist his nasty petty urges. He will drag the US and the rest of the world close (if not tip it into depression) to collapse financially and, unpleasant thought, militarily. “They’re my armies and weapons and I can do what I want with them.” Only time will tell.

    And now the that the right wing controls the senate and congress we will see a wholesale trashing of rights and freedoms that others worked hard, and in some cases died, for and the US may well become one of the pariah states that it rails against. Again, only time will tell.

    PPTYToo: Can you supply a list of the “millions” of Australians that voted for Trump in an election that doesn’t allow non-US citizens to vote. Troll, troll, trollee, troll.

  15. king1394

    1% of the vote went to Jill Stein, and there were a lot of people saying that they wouldn’t vote rather than vote for Hillary Clinton. I wonder how this affected the final figures, particularly in those close contests where it swayed the electoral college numbeers

  16. Terry2

    In the meantime, on the home front, it looks as though the Hard Right are going to get their way on repealing or changing 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

    To achieve this they will have to force a vote in the parliament.

    OK, let’s play along and give them their vote in parliament on 18C provided they agree to a free vote on marriage equality.

    It cuts both ways !

  17. John Brame

    Is humanity going two steps forward and one back or one step forward and two back. Yours confused.

  18. Kaye Lee

    Forward backward cha cha cha and backward forward cha cha cha, swing two and cha cha cha and swing back and cha cha cha,

  19. John Brame

    Thanks Kaye, I am now way less confused.

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