1) Nikki Haley Does Her Version of the Bataan Political Death March on Social Security
We’re surprised that so many of our friends are praising Nikki Haley – the former governor of South Carolina and UN Ambassador – for her “political courage” during the GOP presidential debate last week in Miami when she endorsed cutting Social Security benefits and raising the retirement age.
Courage? How about political stupidity for walking right out front of a Democratic firing gallery?
The DNC is on cloud nine. They can’t believe their good fortune. Their ad consultants are already preparing a blizzard of campaign ads against those scheming Republicans for cutting Social Security to seniors. (Remember the ads about Paul Ryan pushing granny in the wheel chair off the cliff? Here we go again!)
Do you think abortion is a tough issue for Republicans? Wait until you see the carnage from GOP suggestions about Social Security cutbacks.
Will Republicans NEVER learn? Every time they talk about cutting Social Security – dating back to the early Reagan years when OMB director David Stockman said he would balance the budget by cutting Social Security COLA increases – they get politically shellacked. Over and over and over. But for some reason, the Republicans are like moths attracted to this flame.
By the way: Democrats would only go for any raise in the retirement age or any benefit adjustments in exchange for raising the payroll tax, which would increase marginal tax rates by another 10 to 15 percentage points and kill the economy. This has all the makings of a political and economic catastrophe.
The AVERAGE Social Security benefit today is a measly $1,705.80 a month. That’s after paying 40 years of a 12% payroll tax imposed on every paycheck they earned. The GOP should be talking about how to make Social Security a BETTER deal for seniors, not a worse one.
If Congress hadn’t stolen payroll tax money (and spent it on other programs) but merely deposited the funds in a passbook low-interest savings account – retirees would be getting two to three times MORE than Social Security is promising to pay. If the money had been put into a 401k plan the monthly benefits would be five to 10 times higher.
In the coming days, we will show how to create optional Buy America accounts that will pay every young worker way more in their retirement years – not less.
Nikki Haley Is Getting Some TERRIBLE Economic/Political Advice
Speaking of cutting wasteful spending, this just in from Bloomberg:
This isn’t just a fiscal disaster for a government already some $25 trillion in debt to take on another $100 billion+ in delinquent debt from deadbeats, and it isn’t just unconstitutional for the president to do so without congressional approval, as the Supreme Court has ruled, this debt “forgiveness” is unfair and an injustice.
The Biden people have never explained why people who responsibly pay their debts should have some moral or legal obligation to pay off the college debts of those who shirk. The Democrats are simply doing what they do best: using the public purse strings to buy the votes of young voters.
OK, the Tuesday off-year elections last week were a downer, but we keep finding bright spots.
And this result is worth celebrating:
"I believe in empowering the individual and limited government. I chose to become a Libertarian on my registration because it spoke to who I was."
Ms. Wu won with nearly 60% of the vote against an entrenched incumbent. She is a 39-year-old Asian immigrant from Guatemala, the first person in her family to graduate from college, and a registered member of the Libertarian Party.
Now she’s the mayor of one of the 50 largest cities in America.
Her issues are better schools, “public safety,” and being "more responsible with the money that is being sent to us by taxpayers.”
Keep an eye on this woman. She has a very bright political future.
4) Needed: More Babies! US Population Growth Slowing Fast
The new Census Bureau population projections indicate much-reduced population growth in future decades compared to previous projects.
Using the 2022 Census Bureau population estimates as a base, it is projected that the US population will rise from the present 335 million to 364 million in 2060, under the middle immigration scenario. This is 40 million below the 404 million residents in the previous Census Bureau projections, which were issued in 2017. This reduction is equal to the population of California, which currently has the largest population.
The population is projected to peak at 370 million in 2080 and then start to decline. Most of the population gain is expected to come from immigration, as birth rates continue to fall and deaths of baby boomers begin to exceed births by 2038.
5) Is Your EV on Fire? Government Advises: Let It Burn
We’ve written on these pages of the increasing concerns of some car buyers about headlines and photos of EV’s catching on fire. Some helpful advice from the Wall Street Journal on what to do if your EV catches fire. The consensus? Let it burn.
First responders in Franklin, Tenn., faced their first burning EV in September, a Nissan Leaf that ignited while charging outside the car maker’s North America headquarters. They spent hours pouring 45,000 gallons of water on the car, compared with the 500 to 1,000 gallons that fires involving gasoline-powered vehicles usually need, Fire Marshal Andy King said.
“I think if we were faced with a similar scenario next time, we might need to let it burn,” he said...
The batteries contain flammable chemicals and can release their own oxygen as they burn, allowing EV fires to reignite hours or even days after they appear to be quenched. They also emit toxic fumes that Tom Miller, who teaches for the West Virginia University Fire Service Extension and the National Volunteer Fire Council, said “make hydrogen cyanide look like Pez.”
