FROM MY CORNER

The Dubious Writing Occupation

This thinking and writing about the world and its inhabitants’ all-too-often ridiculous doings is not a highly rewarding job – financially or emotionally. The main satisfaction, if there is any of consequence, is when you occasionally say something accurately enough that time proves you were mostly right.

Being mostly wrong is the norm, I assure you. Trying to outguess the frivolities of the human mind is a roulette spin at best. The odds are against you from the beginning of the process.

Carl Bernstein, the famous journalist, recently stated that Donald Trump’s presidency is toxic. I’m not going to either agree or disagree with Bernstein. He’s got more experience commenting on the passing political scene than I do.

Instead, I’m going to just take an entirely different approach. I’m going to describe some of the things I would do if I were president. Don’t get the idea I think that is a possibility. Just on the issue that I doubt the existence of gods I would not stand a chance against the 90% who disagree with me on that subject.

But, it’s an excellent fantasized bully pulpit from which to project a vision of what one would do if possessing that high office. So, let me jump into this rarified presumption and spell out some thoughts rumbling around inside my head.

Upon election, the first thing I would do would be, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, order the top defense officer to pitch the largest military canvas tent possible on the front lawn of the Whitehouse.

Then I’d move into it and begin working there with the following message to the country: I’d explain I was turning the Whitehouse into a recovery facility for homeless Veterans. I’d offer the Vets health and mental care and job training, and help them acquire paying jobs with the corporations who just got giant tax cuts.

Second, I’d sponsor a bill to make all Military Defense manufacturing businesses operate on a non-profit basis, with mandated ownership options for all employees, and limitations on the financial packages of executives.

Having thereby instantly reduced the cost of defense by a good 25% to 50%, I’d split those savings between reducing the country’s debt and providing emergency relief and job training to all poverty-laden citizens and all U.S. locations, such as Houston and Puerto Rico, still needing assistance recovering from natural disasters.

I’d offer increased tax relief to all Americans willing to empty their self-storage units and allocate these millions of dollars of excess consumption to bringing relief to the millions of homeless refugees created by wars that our politically-motivated defense involvements have helped create.

Of course, I would now face a civil disobedience movement by the defense contractors having lost their massive profits. They might even revolt. To counter, I would invoke the support of the Boy and Girl Scouts to shame them into accepting the common benefits of non-profit defense to all Americans.

Tax benefits would be offered to all self-storage companies making their now empty spaces temporarily available to all the rest of the American homeless. I’d require that all unused empty military buildings also be allocated as housing and training facilities for homeless.

I’d reaffirm the recent corporate tax breaks for all firms agreeing to allocate 21% of their newly acquired profits to more equitably sharing all work in their companies with the newly recovered homeless and poor.

There are a few other niceties I’d like to put in place, but space here is limited. I’ll have to go into them at a future date. However, if I could just get the preceding accomplished, I think I’d then take a one-week vacation and visit Yosemite.

I’ve always wanted to camp out there and explore it. I bet I’d get a lot more new ideas getting back to nature. By the way, I predict 2020’s going to be a good year. I can just feel it in my gut.

The present may be toxic as Carl Bernstein says, but I’ll bet on America coming out on top soon. My belief is that the current bizarre situation is just another minor blip on the radar screen of history.