There is an old saying that “In politics reality is irrelevant; it is only the voters’ perception of reality that matters.” And, regretfully, I believe that this is true. So when we have a housing shortage and people are homeless, many voters naturally look to the government for a resolution. And, since politicians live and die on voter approval, they hasten to enact programs that have the governments paying vast amounts of money to build new housing units.
As I have told you before, about five years ago I was on the syndicated radio show called “Coast to Coast” with George Noory discussing criminal justice issues. Soon thereafter I received letters from twelve men who are incarcerated in various prisons all around the country, so I started corresponding with them about prison conditions. Now the number has gone up to about 40. Most of the letters complain about all kinds of things.
The sky is falling. Again. Our modern day Chicken Little comes with a robust data set, a not so simple economic model, and the staff of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton Budget Model. In late 2023, each issued a US Federal Government budget forecast report. In 2024, amidst an election in which votes will be cast for president, 33 senators and each of the 435 house members, the CBO and U of Penn remind us of what is at stake.
Happily many people from widely different backgrounds and experiences have reached the same conclusions that I have about the failure of our country’s policy of Drug Prohibition. One of them is Ms. Christina Dent who lives with her young family in Mississippi. Ms. Dent has written a book entitled CURIOUS: A Foster Mom’s Discovery of an unexpected Solution to Drugs and Addiction..
Our nation has grown so used to the notion of the ideological president that it has become impossible for some segments of the American people to see that, in fact, Donald Trump might not fit that mold. The two most recent occupants of the Oval Office, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, were both very ideological. Whether viewed as too arrogant or too ignorant (or both!), these men seemed to embody the most strident stands within their parties.
Started in 2016, the Jack News provides a pragmatic look at political discussion with some satire. An independent journalistic endeavor, we have no ties to other media outlets or services. We write our own commentary and form our own opinions.
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