Michael W Green’s one hundred forty thousand dollar poverty line and a few other items

 

First of all I hope you had a great Thanksgiving filled with well food filling your tummy and wonderful interactions with family and friends. I hope you enjoyed every moment of your time. We certainly did.

Second has anyone seen Tulsi Gabbard lately? I’m sure she is out there somewhere, yet I haven’t seen her in the news for awhile now. And that is probably a good thing, yet it seems weird.

Now on to the headline. On Substack Michael W Green identified as an investor or Wall Street Strategist who helps manage a hedge fund says on Substack that $140,000 or specifically $136,500 should be considered the new poverty line.

And of course everyone including yours truly has an opinion about that statement.

I want to focus though on something that is discussed as the valley of death or where most Americans fall economically. The poverty line probably does need to be adjusted due to the inflation of the last few years, but where it is actually may need a real deep dive that I am not going to do right now.

This valley of death is a rough idea of people above the current poverty income level and that $140,000 figure. And Mr. Green uses the $140,000.00 figure for what is needed for a family of four, the somewhat standard for measuring economic levels. 

Mr. Green postulates that the poverty level should be this figure to represent the amount it takes to meet all basic needs in modern America including housing, childcare, healthcare, food etc… And this is where some people say this isn’t the poverty level because poverty should represent where people are who cannot meet any needs. I agree closer to the latter idea. Poverty should represent what it means to be truly poor, not struggling.

So this brings me back to the valley of death thought. Most Americans earn enough not to qualify for government assistance or the bottom line of the valley of death to where Mr. Green states we need to earn to meet all our needs in modern America or the upper level of the valley of death.

And why is this important? Again too many Americans fall into this valley. They cannot make enough to begin to save, invest or basically get ahead. They spend their lives robbing Peter to pay Paul then the next month robbing Paul to pay Peter and one misstep away from complete financial oblivion. Some people use the phrase living paycheck to paycheck as another example of this economic group.

And if you read this blog regularly you know I have identified some public policy ideas to address help for this group. And I identify them as the working and middle class, technically the backbone of a healthy democracy.

And if you look around you know we need to send our country to a democracy doctor right now. Our education system is in the pits and being subjugated to the wishes of billionaires who really do not want us educated. Our Congress spends more time courting election funds from these same billionaires instead of actually representing the majority of this country and the needs of the people. And it is easy to spout of a litany of other ills facing our nation.

The what gives moment keeps getting ignored by our media because they are beholden to these same politicians for news.

So I don’t think $140,000 is the poverty line, but we need to step up and really do something about the valley of death of economic group.

If you wonder why I am so adamant about saying the duopoly has failed this country this is one of the main reasons. The people are barely making it, while the uber rich are allowed to keep taking from them.  This isn’t Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders saying the billionaires need to be reigned in, this needs even stronger action. And no socialism isn’t the answer. It will create a whole set of new problems. Don’t believe me, look at the history of the twentieth century. Socialism failed.

We need a full scale overhaul of our tax system that tilts cuts towards this group, a renewal to better education for all, improving social security so the working and middle class can live in their retirement. Work place savings plans are great, yet they should not be the main answer since they rely on the economy and current economic trends can go south on occasion such as 2009 or the pandemic. So I bet you can guess how I feel about privatizing social security. The last thing we need to do is give more money to billionaires to manipulate for their benefit.

Anyway campaign finance reform, rescinding the Citizen’s United ruling because billionaires should not be allowed to have undue influence on our government. I have said before, capitalism is great, but the winners shouldn’t be allowed to make the rules for society. So that means lobbying needs to be reigned in. And also it comes to a point where companies become so large they are counter to a growing economy since they pull so much out of it to retain their vast size.

I could go on, yet for now I am glad Mr. Green talked about the poverty level at $140,000.00. That figure may not be the poverty level, yet it does highlight what it takes in this country to break even between meeting basic needs and eventually getting ahead.  A real strong economy would mean the valley of death economically would shrink to such a point only a very small portion of the population would fall into it rather than the vast majority we see now.

Are the Cowboys for real? I do not know yet, but it is exciting to find out.

I really love the players on the Mavericks and see huge potential still, yet I hope they don’t become too frustrated before they figure out how to get over this last hump. I know they are close because they are in way too many games and just losing at the last minute. Pray for them to find the last ladder step to get where they need to be.

Advent is upon us, the preparation and the wait begin. I hope you find joy in your heart as we move towards the first and second coming.

The Supreme Court may be disenfranchising independent voters and candidates in Texas

 

The Supreme Court put a hold on the Order that barred the Texas redistricting map that Republicans created. This is supposedly for the Supreme Court to take this up at a later date. This redistricting plan already is fraught with problems. And most Americans are also becoming fed up with the massive amount of gerrymandering both parties have done for decades now.

The gerrymandering is bad enough for independent or third parties as it is, and actually shouldn’t be allowed on its surface. Yet as you know the duopoly does everything in its power to protect its interests which coincides with the fact their interests aren’t the interests of the people.

Yet how does the Supreme Court’s action affect independents in Texas. Well if you are tired of the duopoly and think we need new candidates or I want to vote for someone different such as an independent or third party you are now up against a deadline to file to run.

1. As per the Texas Department of State’s website if you want to run as an independent you must:
   File a Declaration of Intent to Run as an Independent Candidate (PDF) between November 8, 2025 and 6:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 2025 with the county judge (county or precinct offices) or the Secretary of State (district and state offices).  [Secs. 142.002(b)(2), 142.005]  This Declaration of Intent to Run as an Independent Candidate is mandatory. If you do not file a declaration during the applicable filing period, your subsequent candidate application will be rejected.

You now have to decide blindly if you think you have a chance because if you run, presumably you want to win. Yet, how do you know your chances if you do not know what the district will look like.

There are other requirements also, but that December 8 deadline is fast approaching. Now this basically affects a US House seat, but right now that body of our government desperately needs new people.

This affects candidates and voters because if you do not want to vote for either of the duopoly, you may not have a choice since an independent candidate may not be able to run or run an effective campaign.

And what is worse there is no recourse for independents since they cannot sue the Supreme Court to take action timely.

Sure you can file your intent to run as an independent and later drop out if you do not have a good district, but exactly how a district looks is an important piece of knowledge in making any decision to run for office.

And yes I know some people will say it is a waste of votes to vote against the duopoly. I have two arguments for you. One is right now people may be more open to someone new due to all the dysfunction in Washington right now and two well if you look at all the dysfunction in Washington right now, maybe voting for the duopoly is the wasted vote.

Since I live in Texas I only looked at the Texas rules, yet this may be playing out in other states as well.

Cheers

Here is a thought about the Papacy, recent Popes and a touch on the Church

 

It drives me crazy when liberals say the Church needs to change with the times. How? The Church’s job in straight forward liberal speak is to study and disseminate the teachings of Christ/God and belief in the Trinity just to keep it simple. Sure there is much more, yet for today’s purposes, this is what the Church does day in and day out. What can it change without a change coming from God?

The Church is not a political belief. It cannot change with the times. You cannot have a liberal or a conservative Church. You can review the teachings and adhere strictly to doctrine and that might be considered a conservative approach or vice versa you can take a generous view of the teachings and that might be a liberal view of the teachings, yet the Church is not liberal or conservative.

You cannot argue doctrine like you can argue if capitalism or socialism is better in practice than the other. It is a completely different ballgame.

Yet nowadays we have conservatives especially in the United States making the same mistakes liberals have made for God knows how long. They want the Church to reflect their political beliefs, what they think the Church should do or in essence change with their times.

And compounded by all this is Pope Francis and now Pope Leo XIV have different worldview experiences since they are not European Popes. Pope Francis especially having come from South America is not as dominated by Papal history. And mainly his personal history is set in second or third world country. He sees the world from a different lenses than most Popes.

Sure Pope John Paul II lived in trying circumstances during WWII and it definitely had an impact on his Papacy, yet he was European. Francis and now Leo XIV have completely different  experiences with Francis from Latin America and Leo XIV being in mission in Latin America.

Popes Francis and Leo XIV are just as attuned to the magisterium as all previous Popes, but how they view the world is also impacted by the environment of their lives. Yes, Leo XIV was born in the United States yet that is not his main or dominant life as a Priest. A person can easily see his missionary work has a great impact on him.

The reactionary right Catholics struggle with them, not because of Catholicism but because like the liberals they want the Church to serve their needs not God’s direction.

Pope Francis probably didn’t help himself with this group because he tended to speak off the cuff sometimes, but his work as Pope always was God’s work, not ours. Popes Francis and Leo XIV are not liberals just because the right in the United States and some of Europe say so. They aren’t liberals period. They speak from a different vantage point than the right does and that really is what is driving the right wing conservatives crazy. The Popes have seen first hand the suffering, the poor, the downtrodden Jesus spoke of and said we should help. This isn’t being liberal this is just them making the right wing uncomfortable. As right wing Catholics deep down they know Jesus’ teachings, but they let worldly views dominate their perspective. This is causing the disconnect from Papal teaching they cannot resolve externally and maybe even internally. It is the same word taught for 2,000 plus years.

Times do change, a person can choose one political belief over another, and they can even change their mind, yet when Jesus said whatever you do for the least of us, you do for me, it means the same now as when he walked this Earth. That will never change until God changes it.

Cheers

It is a crazy world out there, so let’s just finish that story.

 

I should be outside. It is a beautiful day. And I even sprained my finger so it is hard to type. And don’t ask me why. Clumsy is part of my personae so please leave it at that.

And if you remember the rules you know I never look back, I just type from where I left off from memory. And since it has been awhile, I will just pick up where I think I left off.

I thought about going back and finding the bits and pieces and copying them onto this document and then going from there, yet I if did that I would end up rereading and that breaks the rule.

And if things go well, I will go outside in a bit. Or otherwise I have to figure out what to eat for lunch and as all us first worlders know, what to eat is such a headache.

So without further procrastination, here we go.

 

Oops, I started writing and realized I had no idea at all where I left off. Usually I write the story consistently enough I have a vague idea, not this time.  So the rule has been broken, but I just read the last few paragraphs so will go from there. The remaining rules I apply I am just going from the last couple of paragraphs.

 

So without any more procrastination, here we go.

 

The mortal stood paralyzed, still trying to decide if he should run. Was his mind playing tricks?

The bird appeared confused. It began to meander over to the mortal. Again speaking and asked: what are you doing here?

The mortal’s flight or fight response system was failing badly. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t think, couldn’t respond to the question, he just couldn’t function. It isn’t every day you climb to the land of the Gods and see a talking bird, yet somewhere deep he knew he had to react and react quickly. The bird was approaching, slowly yes, but approaching.

The bird stopped sensing the mortal’s fear and inability to react.

Did the bird just smile thought the mortal?

The bird stopped asked if he was okay. What thought the man? Did he just ask me if I am okay?

In his head, he screamed no. His voice quivered and he stammered some noise.  The bird squawked mildly.  And then asked are you okay.

The mortal still frozen still, still stammering stared straight at the bird. Still unable to move, unable to speak still, his brain began to work just staring at the bird. The concentration of just staring interrupted his fear enough for his brain to start to function. He slowly started to back away never taking his eyes off the bird.

The bird realizing the mortal was beginning to come around, said do not run away. I am not here to hurt you. I am just shocked to see a mortal up here in the high ground.

The mortal realized the bird lived with the Gods and maybe knew the Gods. His past curiosity and need to find a sword began to filter thoughts into his brain. He thought maybe the bird can help him. He didn’t know if he could trust the bird though.

The bird sensed the doubt and confusion, asked again how are you doing.

The mortal finally said without thinking scared. The bird nodded in acknowledgement and I said I understand. Is this your first time in the high ground.

The mortal didn’t know how to answer. Should he tell the truth? He blurted no.

The bird laughed and asked when.

The mortal just blurted everything out that had happened to him over the last few days, the sword fight, his friend not being interested, what the Priest said and wanted, a sword from one of the Gods.

The bird had been able to walk closer to the mortal as he spoke and was within a few feet when the mortal said sword from the Gods. To the mortal the resulting screeching was absolutely terrifying, he froze again. After the screeching died down, the bird seemed in very good humor, “the Gods” he bellowed. The Gods!?!?!?!?! He screeched again.

Then the mortal realized the screeching was the bird laughing hysterically.

The bird tells the mortal, what makes you think the high ground people are Gods.

The mortal tells the history of his people that from time immortal the Gods from the mountains were the rulers of his people. The bird clarified them as the valley mortals. The mortal wanted to ask what he meant, yet just couldn’t stop talking until after telling the bird of his entire history and world, he just stopped and stared at the bird. The mortal had probably been speaking for what was it a couple of hours. He had just gone on and on.

The bird said I can get you a sword, but it is not of the Gods, it is just of the high ground people. The high ground people had moved away from the valley so long ago no one remembered, but they are related to you. The bird went on to say, to call them Gods is laughable.

The mortal stammered, but what about the Priests. The bird answered what about them. The bird then discussed the history of the high ground people. They were just like the mortal well without the Priests.

The bird thought it was funny that the only difference was the fact the valley people had Gods and the high ground people didn’t. Otherwise their lives were the same.

It did make the bird think. You know you and your people are so much more civilized than the high ground people because of your belief in the Gods. Maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone.

So what should I do asks the mortal. The birds suggests he take a sword of one of the high ground people to the priest, but instead of saying it was from a dead God, but it was a gift. The priests should build a new temple on the plains with the sword as a center piece. He told the mortal to tell the Priests they need to bring the people back to the temples and begin worshipping the Gods again.

So the mortal did just that. He helped the Priests re engage the people with a completely fabricated story about the Gods. He told the Priests they need to quit being merchants, quietly of course, and to go back to the temples and preach what it meant to be a good person and how to worship the Gods, yet never telling them of his meeting with the bird.

He held up the sword from the high ground people claiming it was a gift as instructed. Many asked him about his adventure on the mountain. He told them they were not to go up there like he did. People balked why not us if you. He let them know, he was instructed by the Gods to go up there, he just didn’t know he was told to go up there and they gave him the sword to proof he had gone. They wanted him to bring back the temples since they had fallen in disrepair and that is the end of him being with the Gods.

They asked him for more proof of his being the only mortal to go. He pointed up. Everyone looked and he said that is the new guardian of the mountain and he will swoop down on anyone that attempts to climb. On cue the bird squawked loudly and menacingly.

Everyone including the Priests believed and the people of the valley for generations to come worshipped the Gods and did well for each other.

 

Well until one day when it had been years since anyone had seen the bird, the temples were in disrepair and one young mortal got curious.

The End

 

And on a side note, MTG and Donald Trump in a feud. What craziness await us now?

 

And I am finally getting outside here at the last minute to grill dinner.

Cheers

Are the Mavericks a hot mess?.............No but what are they?

 

The Mavericks are frustrating right now for quite a few reasons.  Yet the Mavericks as stand are still a good basketball team not playing as well as they could.

Sure Nico was fired, but that doesn’t affect what is happening on the court unless there was some confusion going on that affected their play. Yet overall unless the players say it, I doubt it.

And what is interesting is Naji said the other day when he had a good game they needed to get out of their own heads. And that I believe is real. And unfortunately they couldn’t get out of their own heads in the fourth quarter against the Bucks.

The symptoms are missed wide open three pointers or weakly contested three pointers. Or when they drive to the basket and miss the layup, sure it was contested, but they are missing too many of those.

They are forcing shots over and over again. They are not in a rhythm mentally, ie they need to get out of their own heads.

The defense has been somewhat good, not great, but good and you can tell because they have lost more than a few games in this early part of the season by just a few points. If they made 1/3 of their three pointers in the fourth quarter against the Bucks, they probably win the game by 5 or 6 points, maybe more. Yet they missed too many.

And these are shots they can make. And don’t tell me they aren’t being set up well since Luka is gone. Yes he made a difference, but way too many of these shots can be made without Luka.

Would it help to have an elite point guard, of course. Yet if you really watch the game, they aren’t completely without some good point guard play. It could be better, but overall that isn’t the deep problem. A good point guard will make a difference in a close game, but making shots helps to prevent games coming down to the last minute.

I still feel good about this team with or without Nico. I just hope no rash decisions are made to try and undo the Luka debacle. They may need to give the players a chance to get out of their heads, win a few games in a row and see what is really needed on the court because yes, some improvement can always help.

For the time being though, the fans need the players to play, just play. Naji understood that and did well one game. He and the rest of the team need to carry that forward.

 

Cheers

Yes, this is much worse than you thought

 

First I have to say the flip side of the coin is worse, but to begin we now have proof without a doubt that the ACA was an unmitigated disaster. If this was supposed to be a way for people to afford healthcare or insurance for healthcare then why does it take these tax subsidies to make it close to affordable. Yes folks riddle me this question, because it doesn’t make sense to me.

Originally this was to be affordable hence the name, but what happened between now and then that we are in the middle of a shutdown debacle so people can afford their premiums because they are so high they need tax subsidies to be affordable. I don’t know, I probably missed something or I hope I missed something, but this is ridiculous.

Yet for how bad this is or became the Republicans are just sitting on their incompetent asses and have no clue what to do. So they are stuck having to do something with these subsidies or God only does what is going to happen next year. Realistically they have to approve some version of them or people will be in a world of hurt. So both parties let this problem become larger year over year because neither can govern.

Both parties cannot pass a budget, cannot talk to each other, cannot think, cannot come up with anything resembling a decent proposal, elected a Speaker who is so morbidly incompetent or so morbidly up the President’s ass nothing can get done.

This duopoly needs to pass this stupid CR with some relief on the ACA premiums, then get to work and I mean real work, not talk and come up with a better plan. And I don’t care which party, but something concrete that works. And do this while finally passing an actual budget not two years of continuing resolutions.

I know the Democrats keep saying we need universal healthcare, well tell me how because we have $38 trillion in debt to pay, social security and Medicare struggling and need a solution and again no one can pass the budget. We cannot figure out problems so yes you think we can have universal healthcare, then come up with the plan. Right now I see no path towards that without busting the budget even more.

So off the top of my head, and I mean the top of my head as I watch the Mavericks lay a colossal egg on the basketball court this evening.

And there are a multitude of problems with this plan, but for now it is a start and neither party has anything else to offer especially the Republicans. And yes I am a believer in the free market, but these are drastic times.

First we need to find a way to encourage people to have primary health care providers. And if your primary healthcare provider is one of the doc in a box varieties then so be it, but one central location to start managing your healthcare. Maybe require all PCPs to only charge the exact same price for initial visits say $25.00 and this visit needs no insurance validation. This is the price you pay to go to the same doctor regularly. And so this $25 visit includes an initial diagnosis and any necessary prescriptions. Basically everyone pays $25 to see the doctor of their choice as long as they become their primary provider for things like infections, colds, flu, covid tests, initial exams where there may be a follow up needed such as testing, yet not including an annual physical, to determine what might be wrong or to refer to a specialist.

The primary care doctor is responsible for an annual physical and they can charge up to $50 plus tests. This is where insurance can come in ie through your employer or your own private insurance and that insurance company can pay for the visit if they create that type of policy.

Insurance then covers, based on plan, all testing ordered by primary care doctor for many conditions from diabetes to autoimmune diseases for example. I am sure the experts can flesh out what conditions could be included. And with all that I speak about beyond the PCP general visit there can be a reasonable co-pay by the patient.

And now here is where I need help, but insurance companies would be limited in their premiums and their plans. Each company would follow a certain series of guidelines and they would have some control of pricing, but costs would need to be negotiated by the insurance company. So Company A can offer a full complete coverage for x amount, a high deductible plan for y amount, and a long term care plan for z amount and that is what they can do. And these plans have to meet certain guidelines of care and yes there are price controls, yep the free market is limited so to speak with these types of plans.

It is up to the insurance company to find ways for hospitals, specialists etc to reign in their costs.

Secondary items like plastic surgery that is not medically needed can be excluded from coverage if the insurance company so desires. And other types of elective procedures can be excluded. Again here is where experts need to get involved to flesh out what is elective and what is needed. I think people certainly would understand skin grafts for burn victims should be covered.

Insurance companies can set some pricing let’s say for the employer plans based on number of employees, yet still cannot exceed the government guidelines for all employer plans based on any number of people.

Insurance companies to be competitive will need to find ways to enhance services for the limited dollars to attract customers. And there is a good chance some won’t be making excessive billions year over year like they do now.

And yes the government can create guidelines for what is full care or care with high deductibles and the long term care plans are for people who are generally healthy now, but are starting to become older. These plans allow older people to transition this plan into a Medicare enhancement plan when they reach 65 or let the participants start paying a small extra premium when younger and I mean small to cover illnesses such as dementia care for when they are older. It is going to be on the individual to decide if they want to start paying extra premiums in advance of things that might happen. And if a patient becomes incapacitated then the premiums are stagnant for the rest of the patient’s life.

So basically insurance companies offer three general types of plans with some tweaking as needed for the market, everyone and I am not sure how to push this, but everyone designates someone as their PCP, and this can be changed over time as needed, but there is a designation.

Doctors can charge patients basic amounts for all general care, I haven’t mentioned this yet, but a whole list of drugs would be a generic pricing for everyone, that list again determined by experts, and specialized drugs covered by one of the three insurance plans.

So you are taking the cost of going to the doctor and basic prescriptions out of insurance coverage completely and placing restrictions on these costs. The PCP would still gather insurance information, but they can start to streamline staff hopefully since they would only need to contact insurance company when they are referring or running tests that aren’t the physical exam tests such as x rays in house or sending to a company that does radiology.

Secondary labs would also have scheduled pricing for the various tests so all insurance companies are paying the same.

Specialists would have a bit more flexibility in pricing for their work, yet it would come with some caveats such as regular routine work within the specialty would have prescribed costs for example, the cost of let’s say walking boots or casts at an orthopedic clinic or group.

And with cost controls patients should have choices on where to go. That way if one doctor does a better job and people hear about it then they could go to that doctor barring availability of course. This way good doctors and responsive doctors can do well.

I haven’t talked about emergency room visits. Now this is covered by the three types of plans, however if you go to the emergency room for a routine visit then the insurance company can limit how much they pay. If there is a limited amount of doctors in an area then for example rural hospitals can create clinics that can be designated as PCPs, but the hospital can limit clinic hours to the same hours as individual PCPs and going to the emergency room in the same hospital as the clinic after hours because you got a cold would still be more costly.

And there could be certain costs for some border line problems again experts are needed here yet for example does a broken leg that is just broken ie no bone protruding constitute an emergency. I do not know, but this can be worked out in the legislation. Or could a secondary charge be added since more tests may be needed, but those costs become split between the patient and the insurance carrier.

This isn’t much different from the current situation except for the general visits to a PCP. By taking the insurance completely out of simple visits and allowing PCPs to know their patients hopefully better care can be administered which helps in the long term health of the patient which should slow down more extensive care later on.

Is this the answer, I do not know, is it a start, maybe, but I can tell you just sitting here late on a Friday night this puts more decisions in the hands of doctors, controls the cost of insurance premiums which should force these companies and patients to find realistic care instead of abusing the system and we are already at least one step in the right direction.

And is much further along than anything the Democrats or Republicans are talking about or planning while they are yelling at each other in the media.

Fund the subsidies, open the government and get to work, or hopefully if this morass is still going on in two months people will realize we just need to change. The government itself is still great, it is the people we keep putting into office that is failing us. Let’s not wait until November 2026 to realize what we know now. Or otherwise we will wait until 2028 and each time we wait it only gets harder to fix.

And if you don’t like my plan, fine, put a better one on paper because if you complain about it without offering alternatives etc.. then you are part of the current problem, and nowhere near the solution.

What happened to the conservative movement?

 

Oops I accidentally overheard someone say this question, yet it is worth discussing from my point of view. And for the people who are concerned about this, my answer isn’t going to be liked by them.

And to answer this question, I am going to have to back up some. 

When I was young I considered myself a liberal. My first vote for President was Jimmy Carter. We had just finished up the Nixon disaster and being young with all my friends we thought that was the correct vote. But but but by the late 70’s I found myself at odds with much of what the Democrats were doing and saying. I didn’t consider myself a conservative yet, but there was conflict. It hadn’t manifested very strong yet so in 1980 I voted for Carter again.

Soon after 1980 my life changed some and I had a new best friend. He was a demonstrative Reagan conservative. He loved Reagan and I heard about him night and day. This did not change me. Like I mentioned my life had changed and I realized some aspects of conservatism appealed to me, yet others that the Republican Party hung much of their hat on, didn’t.

So my friend and I argued late into many nights what was really conservatism and I made the conscious decision I was an independent conservative and would not vote for either of the two parties. I felt even at that time they were losing touch with the realities on the ground about what this country needed. It wasn’t as obvious to many, yet as the Reagan years went on, I started seeing it more and more. In the 1982 midterms I voted for a few libertarian candidates. If there wasn’t a libertarian on the ballot I didn’t vote for that office. I was mocked to say the least because I had decided to be just as demonstrative about being an independent as my friend was being a Reaganite. We had an extended group of friends, some liberal some conservative, and they all mocked me.

1984 came around and after two years of hearing how my vote was wasted in 1982, I went real rogue and said y’all are wasting your vote and found the most crazy conservative candidate and voted for him. I told all my friends and since we all lived in the same precinct we voted together. And everyone in that line knew who I was voting for. I didn’t care, I was proud to “stick it to the man”.

And 1984 is just about the end of the conservative movement. After this year the one thing that benefits the Republicans and the worst instinct of conservatives began to dominate their thinking. And it is the same thing. Conservatives are conformists by nature. It helps them develop a culture, helps them to rally around their causes, but it also destroys creativity, creates groupthink even for policies that are not good, causes others to look over their shoulders to make sure they still belong.

To me the first sign of Republicans weakening as conservatives was when Grover Norquist had all Republicans in office sign his no new tax pledge and created a lock step environment that began the weakening of the party. They all did for some made up fear that they were not Republican enough if they didn’t. The long slow march to less than mediocrity began.

If you are a real conservative you would know how to manage the government in conservative fashion and would not need to proof it to anyone. This conformity was counter productive and today we see the results of that in the complete acquiesce to Trump. Grover being the little mini dictator of policy wannabe to be relevant hurt the party tremendously in my eyes.  I saw this and vowed never to support the Republican party. I might have made the switch if he hadn’t shown to me such a weakness dominating the party environment.

Two other reasons I do not support the Republicans. First is that Republicans tie supporting big business as a conservative principle. Yes, supporting free markets is a conservative principle, but there is a difference between supporting markets and trade versus giving breaks and developing policy that enhances big business. The Republicans can say they are the party of big business if they want, but they cannot say this is conservatism. True conservatives would support the free market which means it is up to the business to survive not give tax breaks and other benefits to prop them up or prop up their profits especially when they couch this in false facts and lies. Now I do believe in economic hard times the government can help in certain ways, as with helping the average Joe so to speak just as much. The government’s job is to protect the people, all the people, including during economic calamities. 

The second reason is why I thought I was a liberal when I was young and that is I am against pollution in all its forms. And as mentioned it is the government’s responsibility to protect the people so when a business is poisoning us, it is the government’s job to protect us and this is done through the EPA. I do not know if this is best way to do it, but something needs to be done on a regular basis when companies show disregard for our health to make more money. I never understood poisoning your workers or customers was a great business model. Anyway this goes against the Republican (not conservative) grain so I decided in the 80’s not to be a Republican.

And so the conservative movement reached it’s zenith with Reagan and began it’s descent with Reagan. Ever since then it has been hijacked by too much conformity, big business through lobbying (democrats suffer from this also) and absolutely no new ideas. Conservatives became good at pointing fingers and then first with Gingrich and then Fox News, the hate machine developed and started the slow march to Trumpism. Sure the Democrats aren’t better and if you don’t believe me you need to read the book Hate, Inc. by Matt Taibbi. He really takes the deep dive as to why the media became obsessed with picking sides, how far this has devolved, and why both sides are equally to blame. It is a great read for modern history.

So that is a quick hit as to what happened to the conservative movement. Not at all the full exploration that is needed, yet I hope it gives you an idea why I continue to say I am an independent conservative even though my public policy ideas lean slightly center right populism which is hard to explain what that means. Internally I am very conservative, yet I also know for our government to succeed it needs to look at the needs of the whole and as per our Constitution without taking away the rights and needs of the minority (and that could be any minority, but they meant politically when they framed it). That is one tall task which we currently are failing at religiously.

So the Republicans aren’t conservative, they are I do not know what right now, but it ain’t good and the Democrats are clueless on how to help the very people they keep saying they are helping.

So quit wasting your vote and start recruiting people you respect to run as an independent, liberal or conservative, because if you want to conserve our Constitution we need to get to work.

Cheers