January 25, 2021--Best Investment Ever

If Joe Biden has a spare trillion to include in his emerging economic rescue plan, I have a suggestion--

Use it to pay down most of what is owed by college students who borrowed money though the federal government's guaranteed student loan program and are now struggling to make their monthly payments.

It would be a great deal for all concerned--the banks that carry what is owed; the borrowers who are having difficulty paying what they owe; the seven million former students who are in default; and the American economy which would be boosted by the trillion-plus that would pour into various private and public coffers. 

There would also be a significant boost to the knowledge economy that would result from the flood of additional college graduates into the workforce. 

We've seen the power that this sort of public policy can provide to a struggling economy by the experience of the G.I. Bill after the end of World War II when the economy was still struggling to recover from the Depression. 

Nine million veterans availed themselves of the G.I. Bill's benefits, especially the subsides available to pay for college tuition--$500 a year (which at the time was enough to pay for Harvard), plus $600 for housing and living costs. 

Despite the hefty price tag of the program--about $14.5 billion in 1945 dollars--veterans who took advantage of the educational subsidy earned, on average, over ten years, $10,000-$15,000 more per year than those who did not, in cost-benefit terms, generating, in taxes, ten times the cost of the program.

As a result, the G.I. Bill was the best investment the U.S. government ever made.

We can debate how to structure a loan forgiveness program, from Bernie Sanders's which would wipe out all debt to Joe Biden's which would subsidize up to a total of $10,000 per student, but in bottom line terms, there is no reason not to proceed.

January 22, 2021--What's Wrong With This Picture?

Actually, what's wrong with this headline from Thursday's New York Times?

"With His Pen, Biden Moves to Dismantle Predecessor's Legacy" 

Biden's pen, with which he signed more that a dozen executive orders that require, among other things, the use of masks in federal buildings, assigns more responsibility to Dr. Fauci and other scientists, and insures a more equal deployment of virus-fighting resources.

That does not mean Biden is motivated simply to "dismantle" Trump's legacy. Reading the tea leaves of his first day and a half of governing, it appears that Biden wants to take on some of the most intractable problems confronting America. The pandemic, the reeling economy, social justice, climate change. 

I am concerned here with how Biden is already being characterized by the press.

Rather than insinuate that Biden is being political, seeking to dismantle Trump's achievements (there have been a few, vey few) to elevate his own, he might be more motivated, this early in his presidency, to want to spotlight his own agenda. 

Thus a better headline to launch the Biden presidency that will include striving for more unity, might read--

"With His Pen Biden Seeks to Begin a New Era"

Can we maybe lower the temperature a degree or two for at least a couple of days? We could use that and it would be closer to the truth.

January 20, 2021--New Day

I've been waiting for this day for more than four years. During despairing times I thought it might never come. But thankfully it has.

I do not believe in the power of prayer. This time, though, I will make a personal exception and pray for Joe Biden. Actually, for America.

January 18, 2021--Inferno

Sources tell me they are constructing another circle in the Inferno for Trump loyalists who, as of Wednesday, will need new accommodations.

The people who have been building the Trump Wall will be redeployed to this much more urgent project. 

January 15, 2021--Friggin Cots

Don't we have friggin canvas, fold-up cots for our National Guard troops protecting the Capital and members of Congress so they don't have to sleep on the cold marble floor?

Can't we do anything right? Isn't this the United States of America?

January 11, 2021--Lord of the Flies

I went to sleep Tuesday night (actually very early the next morning) celebrating the results of the stunning senatorial election in Georgia of two Democrats, and woke up in what felt like the world of the Lord of the Flies.

During the past five years I have written nearly 500 pieces about Trump.

That's enough, especially since he may now be effectively muted. Thinking about him and his people as much as I have is not good for my health or wellbeing.

So I will no longer write about him.

I will, however, among other  things, comment about Joe Biden and his administration. 

About them, I am feeling hopeful.

For Trump--next stop Rikers Island.

January 6, 2021--The RESULTS

This is a big effing, historic deal. 

January 5, 2021--Whoppers

With just 15 days to go before he goes, still on his plate, in addition to two Whoppers and a nervous breakdown, are--

At least 50 pardons, including for his children and one for himself. He may get away with both but tough prosecutors in New York, Virginia, DC, and, likely soon, Georgia, await.

Then there are Medals of Freedom to be awarded to congressional flacks Jim Jordan and Devin Nunes.

And, most complicated and threatening, is Iran.

Trump hasn't tried the war gambit yet. Iran, though, is perfect for that. It feels in Trump-think as if bombing them could be both macho and self-containable. 

If you'e not overdosed from all the breaking news, Goggle "aircraft carrier Nimitz." More than anything else see where it's stationed and where it's heading.

The good news is that the military will slow walk this and if necessary refuse to participate.

Iran has been sabre rattling recently but more to torture Trump in his final tension-filled days than anything else.

But we need too stay alert to the possibilities and be prepared to push back.

January 4, 2021--A Consequential Week

Among other things this consequential week, we will learn who will gain control of the Senate (elections in Georgia will determine if it will be the Republicans or the Democrats). 

We will learn if Joe Biden will be certified as the president elect (the Congress will meet and presumably, after some Republican telegenic posturing, do that). 

We will see if Trump can turn out more than a few thousand supporters to put pressure on Congress to steal the election from Biden and somehow retain Trump in office (he is making a major effort via Twitter to turn out an angry crowd larger than the one that allegedly attended his inauguration four years ago).

And, most important, we will see if Republicans still believe in democracy and our Constitution (it appears that well over 100 GOP senators and House members are prepared to say they do not at the congressional meeting and on the streets of Washington).

The Georgia elections will be Tuesday and the congressional confirmation meeting and the Trump demonstration will both occur on Wednesday.

So if you have a youngster at home this week make sure she or he can be encouraged to watch some of this on TV as their children and grandchildren will be reading about these events 75 years from now, if we are still teaching history and there will still be text books.