Figure 1 – Harvard/Harris Poll
January 30, 2024 – We find ourselves in an era of disruptive change and innovation, yet our political system remains stubbornly stagnant. In 2024, the prospect of a Gore-Romney ticket for President and Vice President of the United States emerges as a beacon of hope for much-needed political upheaval in Washington, D.C. A Harvard/Harris poll reveals that a staggering 67% of voters from diverse political backgrounds yearn for “another choice” beyond Biden and Trump (Fig. 1). Enter the Gore-Romney ticket as Independents—a unifying force capable of rallying support from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike. There is still time for them to be included on the ballots. (more…)
Fig.1 – Consumer Price Index – Federal Reserve of St.Louis
May 30, 2022 – In March 2020, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell (Fed Chair Powell) was concerned that Inflation was not hitting the target of 2%, but falling further. Well, his wish finally came true. Inflation in April 2022 was at 8.3% (Fig.1), the highest in the last 40 years and well above the Fed’s target. However, the Federal Reserve with J. Powell as its chairman, continued to print money and kept interest rates (Fed Funds) to almost zero. The Federal Reserve (Fed) serves as the central bank of the United States and is an independent government agency. For over a year, some Economists have been saying that the Fed is behind the curve, implying that it has been late in raising interest rates to curb inflation.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) is following the same playbook as other political entities in Washington DC. The playbook is very simple: First, to deny that there is a crisis, then acknowledge its existence once it is obvious. This follows up with the narrative that the crisis is temporary and everything is under control. Finally, there is the reaction to fix the crisis once it becomes acute and there is no way of denying its severity. Reaction starts slowly, drip by drip, hoping that the crisis will be contained. When it is too late to control the crisis then they react aggressively and take a victory lap once it is contained. (more…)
January 30, 2021 – The MI generation constitutes the largest and most powerful voting bloc in the United States. Through its voting and economic power, it can transform American laws and corporate policies by engaging in the political process and public deliberations. Best of all, this process is free. The MI generation’s political and economic power will continue to grow as it becomes a larger segment of society as consumers and voters. However, the MI Generation is presented with the numerous challenges, such as student debt, climate change, inequality, and a divided nation. A nation that is governed by elected officials who seem to be interested in keeping their jobs than DOING their job. Their response and inability to lead the nation during the Covid-19 pandemic suggests that their priority is self-preservation and tribal loyalty than saving innocent American lives. At the same time, they are using the MI Generation as an automated teller machine (ATM) to fulfill their appetites for unchecked federal spending without any plans to pay for it.
The MI Generation can be defined as those born between 1980 and 2018 and are 51% of the population. It makes up 42% (ninety-eight million) of the voting population, large enough to be a decisive factor in any election. The MI Generation includes millennials and subsequent generation known as Generation Z. There is no precise date that defines millennials or Generation Z. However, Americans born between 1980 and 1995 are considered millennials, and those born after 1995 till 2012 are generally known as members of the i-Generation, iGens, or Generation Z. They have witnessed Covid-19 and the deaths of over 400,000 innocent Americans in 2020, dot-com bubble, the housing and financial crisis, two wars, and a divided nation, all within their short life span. With that backdrop they will have a consequential impact on national politics and corporate America for rest of the twenty-first century. (more…)
Photograph: Sue Ogrocki/AP
September 9, 2020 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom-X must be looking down on us fifty years later wondering if much has changed in America. Racism and discrimination against Blacks is well and alive. Racism has been in America from its beginning and will continue to exist. One of the ways to address racism is for the Black community to take control over its destiny and take care of its own. That will require a focus on Black economic empowerment and self-sufficiency as advocated by Dr. King and Malcom-X. One possible solution towards economic empowerment and self-sufficiency is through an Adopt-a-Zip-Code program. A zip-code represents about 10,000 people, which is large enough to develop a self-sufficient community yet small enough to manage.
The idea calls for successful Black Americans to come together and provide their know-how, resources, and wealth to help Black majority Zip-codes. They can be called Black Empowerment Leaders (BEL), defined as the top 1% of the Black Americans in terms of income and wealth. The goal is to start community banks, build manufacturing facilities, schools, grocery stores, and whatever it takes to make their Zip-code self-sufficient by adopting it. This program would show the people in Black majority Zip-codes that someone cares and that education and hard work does pay off. There is no shortcut to success in life, and having a real-life successful person from their own ethnicity mentoring them would trump any government program out there.
There are at least seven self-made Black billionaires and about one million black millionaires in America. Surely, we can find about 5,000 (one for every 10,000 Black Americans) of them to dedicate their time, money, and influence to change Black lives by adopting a Zip-code. Some of them have enough wealth where they can afford to give one year or more of their time to help their respective communities. They can make their adopted Zip-code to be the next Greenwood. (more…)
“The upper class keeps all of the money, pays none of the taxes. The middle class pays all of the taxes, does all of the work.” Late Comedian George Carlin
August 29, 2020 – President Trump, who is a billionaire, presides over the richest cabinet in US history. The combined net worth of the cabinet is estimated to be $9.5 billion or more. Another way of looking at it is that this cabinet of about twenty-five people is worth more than forty-three million, or one-third, of American households combined. It appears as if socialism is camouflaged as capitalism, whereby the US government is centrally controlled by a few. One can argue that the US government has turned from a government of the people, by the people, and for the people into a government of one percenters, by one percenters, and for one percenters. More than 50 percent of senators, 30 percent of congresspersons, and 75 percent of Supreme Court judges are millionaires. This does not mean that all rich people are bad or do not care about the country. The reality is that Americans face inequality everywhere, whether it is in wealth and income, gender, race, education, or even representation in government.
Wealth and income inequality have been more pronounced during the last three decades. The federal tax code is one of the key factors responsible for the rise in income and wealth inequality. Republicans believe in the top-down or trickle-down approach of providing tax breaks to the top one percenters and corporations—one of the ways to distribute money up from the middle class and the MI generation. They believe that it will spur economic growth because the more money corporations have, the more they will invest. More investments will mean more factories and more jobs. This is despite the fact that for-profit corporations are interested in making money, and they cannot make money if there is no demand for their products (more…)
