Learning US History 9-30-24

We all took US History and World History in school. I left school with a rudimentary understanding that there were wars, but there was not much information about the economies’ of these periods that might have caused these wars. 

We should know our US History from listening to our parents, grandparents, great grandparents aunts and uncles.  We should know our US History from our own experiences to date. The events that occurred during the generations of family should have been described by these family witnesses. My great grandmother described what it was like to be a child during the Civil War. My grandparents described transitioning from horseback to automobiles, the invention of airplanes and the transition from gaslights to electricity.  My aunts and uncles described Great Depression and US support of World War II.

The events that occurred in our lifetimes should have produced some knowledge of what life was like. I write this blog, in part, to leave a “time-capsule” of the events that occurred from the 1940s to present.

For me, History before the 1960s, was a chronical of events and advancements. I was impressed with the advancements made in my lifetime. The emphasis shifted after 1960, when we entered a period of questioning our history and taking our advances for granted. I continue to marvel that the US expanded from The Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean took a mere 48 years between 1800 and 1848. I was amazed that our technological advances from 1820 to 1900 greatly increased our standard of living.

The 1960s was a mess. Drug use exploded. Teens left home to join communes. The percentage of births to unmarried women in the United States has increased over time, from 5% in 1960 to 39.8% in 2022. Protests turned into riots.

The Watts Riots of 1965, also known as the Watts Rebellion, were a series of violent events that took place in the predominantly Black neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles, California. The riots began on August 11, 1965 and lasted for six days, ending on August 17, 1965. The riots were sparked by the arrest of Marquette Frye, a 21-year-old Black man, for drunk driving by a white police officer. The riots resulted in the deaths of 34 people, over 1,000 injuries, and the destruction of property valued at over $40 million. 

Los Angeles Riots of 1992, major outbreak of violence, looting, and arson in Los Angeles that began on April 29, 1992, in response to the acquittal of four white Los Angeles policemen on all but one charge (on which the jury was deadlocked) connected with the severe beating of an African American motorist in March 1991 ...

Watts had the highest crime rate in Los Angeles CA in 2022 with 4,061 crimes per 100k people. The Watts crimes continue to climb, because the Prosecutor in LA won’t prosecute criminals.

Between 2021 and 2022, roughly 818,000 California residents moved out of state, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The bureau's data shows a net loss of roughly 342,000 people, slightly lower than the year before but still a major contributor to the state's declining population.Oct 27, 2023

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Taxing Billionaires 9-30-24

Kamala Harris wants to increase taxes on Billionaires. The highest tax bracket for US income taxes is 37%. Billionaires use their net worth to secure billions of dollars in loans and Bond sales to invest in modern equipment and technologies to improve productivity and keep their companies growing.  They would use current, legal strategies to avoid Kamala’s “tax the rich” schemes. 

Forbes lists 200 Billionaires. Their “net worth” is noted. The top 12 list net worth from 100B to 200B. The next 23 Billionaires list net worth from $38B to $99B. Some are from other countries. This Forbes list includes Billionaires from all Countries.

The 2024 List of Billionaires in the World has been published in Forbes Magazine. Most of the Billionaires with foreign sounding names will not see their taxes go up because they don’t live here. 

Billionaires                Net Worth

Elon Musk                  $195B

Jeff Bezos                  $194B

Mark Zuckerberg       $177B

Larry Ellison              $141B

Warren Buffet            $133B

Bill Gates                  $128B

Steve Ballmer           $121B

Mukesh Ambani       $116B

Larry Page               $114B

Sergey Brin              $110B

Mike Bloomberg      $106B

Amancio Ortega      $103B

Carlos Helu             $102B

 

Francoise Myers    $99.5B

Michael Dell           $91.0B

Gautam Adani       $84.0B

Jim Walton            $78.4B

Rob Walton           $77.4B

Jensen Huang      $7.07B

Alice Walton         $72.3B

Dave Thomas      $67.8B

Julia Koch            $64.3B

Zhong Shanshan $62.3B

Charles Koch       $58.5B

Giovanni Ferrero $43.8B

Prajogo Pangestu $43.4B

Zhang Yiming     $43.4B

Tadashi Yanai    $42.8B

Phil Knight          $40.9B

Mark Mateschitz $39.6B

Klaus Kuehne    $39.2B

Colin Huang      $38.9B

Stephen Schwartzman $38.8B

Jacqueline Mars $38.5B

John Mars           $38.5B

Dieter Schwarz   $38.0B

https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/

These folks were called Millionaires before inflation. Many of them inherited companies and grew these companies. Others started companies from scratch.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

US Poverty 9-29-24

The United States is considered the richest country in the world, and yet 37.9 million (11.5%) of its residents live in poverty. Under their guidelines, a family of four is considered impoverished if they earn $30,000 or less per year. That number is slightly higher in Alaska and Hawaii, which tend to have higher living expenses. 

According to the Census Bureau, California's supplemental poverty rate (SPM) for 2021–2023 was 15.4%, which is one of the highest in the country. The SPM is a broader measure of poverty that takes into account factors like housing costs, which are high in California. The official poverty rate for the same period was 11.7%, which is slightly higher than the national average of 11.4%. However, academics widely reject the official rate because it's based on a formula that hasn't changed in decades and assumes economic conditions are the same everywhere. 

The blame for US inflation lies with all elected officials in the US who served from 1913 to present. Government overspending is the cause of our inflation and our $35.4 trillion National Debt. Money Printing devalues the US dollar.

The US government has always had access to borrowing money when needed. France provided loans for the US to win the Revolutionary War. They were repaid with interest thanks to US Federal revenue from Tariffs. When to cost of war with Britain became unsustainable, France sold the Louisiana Territory to the US for $15 million.  The Civil War Debt was paid off with a temporary income tax. The US now sells Treasury Notes that pay 3-5% interest and are held as investments.

I expect US poverty rates to drop if Trump is elected. Re-shoring manufacturing will increase jobs.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

American War Costs 9-29-24

Wars on American soil 1600-1880

Indian war 1600-1870                NA

Revolutionary War 1775-1783   $75M

War of 1812-1815                      $119.2M

Mexican War 1846-1948           $3.25M

Civil War 1860-1865                  $2.6B

American peacetime 1880-1917

Wars overseas Military Foreign Aid

World War I 1917-1918      $32B

World War II  1941-1945    $330B

Korean War  1950-1953     $20B

Vietnam War  1965-1975   $139B

Gulf War Kuwait 2000        $31.6B

Afghan War 2001-2024      $4T

Iraq War 2003-2009           $4T

Wars on Terror 1970-2024 $5.4T

The United States spent over $2.3 trillion on the war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2022. This cost includes operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is part of the larger $8 trillion spent by the US on post-9/11 wars. The United States has spent an estimated $5.4 trillion on the war on terror from 2001 to 2020, but the total cost is likely much highe. 

War has become unaffordable. Trump will replace war with total economic isolation of advisories like Iran, China Russia, N Korea and others.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

US Supreme Court History 9-28-24

The Supreme Court was created as an independent branch of the US federal government to ensure that the US Constitution is faithfully followed.  Benjamin Franklin warned that we have a “Republic, if you can keep it. The founders knew the history of “Democracies” had a history of failure. The Greeks couldn’t keep it and neither could the Romans. They were distracted with wars and corruption. The Founders were committed to avoiding these distractions and they chose to make the US a “Republic”. They formed the Congress as the 2^nd independent branch, composed of the House and the Senate. The House was closest to the People and was tasked with control over spending. All spending Bills are required to be initiated by the House. The Senate was limited to 2 Senators for each State and they had to agree with the House in order to pass a Bill. The President headed the 3^rd independent branch called the “Executive” and all Bills required approval by the President before they would become Federal Laws. 

The Supreme Court serves as the “Referee” to determine whether or not the actions of the Congress and the President are lawful. Jefferson and his supporters in the Senate therefore devised an argument that the constitutional provision for governing a territory presupposed the right to acquire that territory. They had the votes to approve the treaty and appropriate the funds to pay for it. The Supreme Court later upheld their reasoning. The Louisiana Purchase was determined to be “Constitutional”.

The establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872 was considered constitutional because it was established by an act of Congress. The U.S. Constitution's property clause gives Congress the authority to develop laws. My objection to the creation of “National Parks” is a “State’s Rights” case that has not yet to be presented. It is based on the “Limited Powers” sections of the US Constitution and States Rights to own the property. This would make them State Parks and States would be able to sell or lease the land to farmers and ranchers and assume the cost of developing and maintaining the Parks. Western States with high Federal land ownership would be able to allow mining and forestry, eliminate the annual forest fires and increase State GDP.

Trump’s appointments of “Originalists” helped the Supreme Court retain its purpose as a “Referee” and saved it from becoming a Legislature. Moving the Abortion issue to the States allows voters to decide the legal definition of when life begins. Women who don’t want to be moms can have their tubes tied. Those who claim that abortion is a right prefer to murder their babies and want it to be legal.

The Supreme Court will continue to take new cases and reverse past decisions based on the US Constitution’s “Original Intent” rather than the “bandwagon” of the day to avoid “overreach”. Basing decisions on “case law” only expands the errors.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

US Political Party History 9-28-24

Democrat Party History 

The Democratic Party was founded in 1828. Martin Van Buren of New York played the central role in building the coalition of state organizations that formed a new party as a vehicle to elect Andrew Jackson of Tennessee. The Democratic Party is the world's oldest active political party.

The Democratic Party is generally associated with more progressive policies. It supports social and economic equality, favoring greater government intervention in the economy but opposing government involvement in the private noneconomic affairs of citizens. Democrats advocate for the civil rights of minorities, and they support a safety net for individuals, backing various social welfare programs, including Medicaid and food stamps. To fund these programs and other initiatives, Democrats often endorse a progressive tax. In addition, Democrats support environmental protection programs, gun control, less-strict immigration laws, and worker rights.

The Democrat Party

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Democratic-Party

Marxists were attracted to the Democrat Party and have been involved in creation of Federally controlled spending that is unsustainable.

The Democrat Party is losing “working class” voters. Families with household incomes lower than $50,000 are unable to afford the increased living costs due to Democrat overspending and cumulative inflation. 23.9% of US Families are affected.

Annual household Income

15.000 to 24,999    6.7%

25,000 to 24,000   6.9%

35,000 to 49,999   10.3%

The Democrat Party delivered unaffordability and global inflation by government overspending from 2021 to 2024. Democrats are promising more unaffordability for 2025 and beyond.

Republican Party History

In 1854, the Republican Party was founded in the Northern United States by forces opposed to the expansion of slavery, ex-Whigs, and ex-Free Soilers. The Republican Party quickly became the principal opposition to the dominant Democratic Party and the briefly popular Know Nothing Party.

The Republican Party traces its roots to the 1850s, when antislavery leaders joined forces to oppose the extension of slavery into the Kansas and Nebraska territories. The party ultimately stood for slavery’s complete abolition. Today, Republicans advocate reduced taxes as a means of stimulating the economy and advancing individual economic freedom, and they generally support conservative social policies. Republicans also tend to oppose extensive government regulation of the economy, government-funded social programs, and affirmative action. Regarding foreign policy, the Republican Party traditionally has supported a strong national defense and the aggressive pursuit of U.S. national security interests. Republicans also support states’ rights against the power of the federal government in most cases.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Republican-Party

The Republican Party delivered Peace and Prosperity with Trump from 2017 to 2020.

The Republican Party added Populism to its charter and now attracts “working class” voters who have abandoned the Democrat Party. US citizens are more comfortable earning their keep. They are wary of depending on government control and unsustainable debt.

 Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Rational World View 9-27-24

We know that Earth experienced a 1-degree F cooling period from 1880 to 1930. If the Earth moves to a colder climate period following the 1 degree F warmer climate that began in the 1940s, we can continue to assume that we are in no immediate danger from “Climate Change”. That will bring further evidence that warming and cooling is continuing to appear in sustainable cycles. 

The current threat of the alliances between China, Russia, Iran and N Korea may or may not lead to World War III.  If we elect Trump in 2024, we will know if total economic isolation will damage these counties enough to give up their aggressive activities. If the US can increase oil and natural gas production and increase supply and force a price reduction we will weaken Russia and Iran economically enough to abandon their aggressive activity. We will have further evidence that total economic isolation can replace war.

If we reshore US manufacturing, we will further weaken China’s ability to fund further expansion. During this period of sanctions, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea will continue to trade with each other, but trade with the “West” will not occur. We expect that most countries in Europe and Asia will continue trade with the US and its allies and observe the US sanctions. We expect mining to increase in the US and in these Western-friendly countries to replace minerals currently being purchased from China and Chinese controlled countries in Africa.

I expect delays in AI Cloud implementation until the US adds another 1000 natural gas power plants and builds several nuclear power plants to develop the electricity AI will require. In the meantime “machine learning” using AI will continue unabated.

The facts on the ground suggest that Trump will be reelected in 2021. Left-Wing views were forced to take a back-seat from 1980 to 1989 and from 2016 to 2020. I expect this will happen again from 2024 to 2028 and beyond. This may remove the political division in the US. The Democrats will have an opportunity to move their policies to the middle and survive. We prefer a 2-party system in the US and should outlaw Marxism in the US. The Federal Government should retreat and use thel 10^th Amendment to move powers the States. This should include Education, EPA, Labor and other Agencies States can handle.

All laws should be reviewed, revised, simplified, updated and replaced. Protests should be removed from streets, highways, commercial and residential areas and confined to convention centers. The media should attend these protest rallies and report on them. This will give them “free speech” guaranteed in the US Constitution.

State should begin to limit campaign contributions to Voters only to remove “outside money”, TV ads and expense. Candidates would need to post their resumes and positions on issues before they are allowed to apply to become candidates. Government is responsible for supporting the Private Sector to function without interference. A rational right to Privacy should be protected. The right to self defense is guaranteed by the 2^nd Amendment.

Education needs to be focused on the skills citizens will need to prepare them to function as adults. Social activist indoctrination is not a legitimate pursuit in Schools or Colleges. Non-Occupational courses should not be included in the curriculum. Students can learn these on their own time on the internet.  

The Earth doesn’t have the money to fix itself. The Climate Change Hoax is insisting on the immediate removal of CO2. There is no evidence suggesting that this is an immediate need. Our choices in energy should be dictated by costs and reliability. Natural Gas is the right choice until other cheap energy sources can be developed. All energy sources will require maintenance and replacement. The cost of building Wind Turbans in Oceans is prohibitive. 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Draining the Swamp 9-27-24

In the last several transitions of power between Republicans and Democrats, the exits of those who have been voted out of power occurred quietly. When Republican Administrations were elected, Democrats would quietly retreat to their Think Tanks, Universities, Non-Profits, News Outlets and other safe havens until the next cycle. 

If Trump wins in 2024, he has indicated that he will replace Cabinet Secretaries and Agency Managers at the Deputy Secretary and Assistant Secretary levels. He may need to replace lower-level Managers. Corruption in the Federal Agencies is well known, especially in the DOJ. The State Department needs to stop Diplomacy through Bribery to Diplomacy by Sanctions and reductions in foreign aid. Borders will be closed and illegals will be deported to their home countries starting with criminal illegals. The border wall will be completed and remain in Mexico will be restored. Trump will end UN funding for Climate Change, Left-Wing initiatives and other incompetent programs. Trump will develop a team that will be able to carry on his Agenda past 2028.

States, Counties and Cities who refuse to repeal their Sanctuary Status will be defunded. States, Counties, Cities and Universities who allowed lawless activity will be subject to having their federal support and grants reduced and eliminated. District Attorneys who fail to prosecute criminals will be replaced. States will be required to

Congress should include closing the US Department of Education and a 10^th Amendment return of Education to the States. There may be more 10^th Amendment actions for other Agencies and a reorganization of Cabinet Secretary responsibilities. Congress should reform laws to comply with the US Constitution.

DEI will be removed from Federal Government activities. Federal Employment will be based on Merit, Ability and commitment to the Agenda. Failure to support Trump’s Agenda will result in discipline and demotion. Refusal to support Trump’s Agenda will result in Termination. Federal Employee Compensation should be compared to Private Sector Compensation and adjusted as needed.

Public Health Agencies should be restricted to informing citizens and lose their authority to interfere with the Private Sector.

The EPA should not be able to issue regulations an should be considered for closure and a 10^th amendment transfer to the States.

The US State, County and City Governments employs 20.3 million employees. 14.2 million are working in public schools and State Colleges. 

The US federal government's total workforce in 2024 is approximately 4.3 million employees, which includes 2.2 million civilian employees and 2.1 million military personnel.  There are 285,662 federal employees in DC and VA. CA has Interior Dept fighting fires and collecting rents. TX has border patrol signing in illegals. MD has more federal offices. The others have IRS, FBI Social Security and other offices. States with the most federal employees have large Democrat voter blocks. I don’t expect that “Swamp Draining” will affect many of the widely-sprinkled Federal Employees, but investments to improve productivity should be made for the benefit of these employees.

State    #Federal Employees

DC       141,367

VA       144,295

CA       152,466

TX       132,952

MD      120,705

FL         89,504

GA        71,739

PA        62,366

NY        60,727

WA       53,211

OH       49,450

IL         44,760

NC       42,772

AZ       38,087

OK      37,486

AL       37,386

CO      36,848

MO      33,377

MI       27,405

UT      26,109

NJ      24,758

HI      23,453

IN      22,610

KY     22,181

NM    21,954

SC     21,050

LA     19,537

WV   18,656

MS   17,295

OR   17,252

MN   16,795

KS   16,652

WI   14,045

AK   12,557

NV   12,186

NE   10,468

AL   10,398

MT    8,589

IA      8,042

CT    7,798

ID     7,731

SD    7,547

RI     6,864

ND   5,460

WY  4,977

VT   4,845

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/federal-government-employees-by-state

Comments

State, County and City government employees total 20.3 million including School Teachers, Police, and other employees. States receive grants from the Federal Government that are close to matching the annual revenue States collect in State Taxes and Fees.  The Federal Government is broke and will need to pare back on these grants. States, Counties and Cities will need to reduce spending on non-essential expenses to prepare for Federal Grant cuts. Public Schools need to stop funding new schools with Bonds that double the cost. Colleges will need to lower costs or suffer declining enrollment. States should only fund Occupational Courses and should stop offering non-occupational courses and degrees.

These Local Governments need to continue to deploy technologies that improve productivity. The Police have added cameras that allow them to identify criminals easily. Data handling teams need to continue to deploy better systems. Phone response teams need to become more accessible and productive. Training and quicker deployment of new systems need to improve.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader