With Trump’s Tweets in mind, I may have to rethink by 2020 decision. I like Trump, but his knee-jerk, petulant tweets are “off-putting,” especially to a voter who lacks blind party loyalty.
IN HIS ADS, the former this and former that (can’t he hold a job? 😊) makes a number of claims.
Because of time constraints, he fails to elaborate on the claims.
For example, in one tv ad1 it is claimed that Bloomberg “created” “tens of thousands” of jobs.
- Where?
- What type jobs? Government? Productive?
- When; over how many years?
- How many jobs were lost during his terms as mayor of New York City?
According to the New York Times2, Bloomberg Has Added Jobs, and Lost Some, Too. In an October 2009 article, the Times claimed
- During much of his tenure, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has taken credit for helping to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in New York City, from high-paying construction work to sales jobs at dozens of new big-box stores. Even as the city plods through the recession, the mayor has set a goal to “retain and create” an additional 400,000 jobs over the next six years.
The Times article noted that
- “There’s been much more growth in lower-wage industries than in middle-wage industries,” said James Parrott, chief economist for the Fiscal Policy Institute, a liberal research group. “That’s a challenge for people struggling to maintain a decent livelihood in New York City, given the cost of housing and everything else.”
There is a big difference in pay between a manufacturing job and that of a hamburger flipper.
The candidate claims in the aforementioned tv ad that he has created “tens of thousands” of new housing units. (His ad men apparently like the ambiguous “tens of thousands” — gross numbers are hard to pin down. As the candidate states at the end of the message, he approved the contents of the advertisement.)
All candidates “fudge” the numbers. That’s pretty much Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Bloomberg should not be singled out.
The questions asked earlier about jobs can be asked again, this time about housing.
The tv spot brags that Bloomberg “took on” the NRA.
To what avail?
He takes credit for forming a Mayors Against Gun Violence group; what mayor in his or her right mind would claim to be for gun violence? Meanwhile, New York City with its strict gun control laws still has murders on an all too frequent basis.
The New York City police department’s statics for the last week of November 2018 and 20193 shows:
- Shooting victims: 2019=23; 2018=14
Shooting incidents: 2019=16; 2018=14
Murders: 2019=1; 2018=0
Those figures are just for ONE WEEK. So much for gun control.
To be fair, there are far worse murder counts elsewhere. Detroit is, according to the FBI, “the most violent big city.”4 In 2017 there were 267 murders in Detroit; in 2018, there were only 261 murders.
There are actually two (2) “bottom lines” to gun violence statistics:
- Most guns used to murder someone are stolen; few are purchased legally.
- NO NRA member, to the best of my knowledge, has been charged with murder with a firearm.
On a personal note, few gun owners with whom I am acquainted object to
- Background checks
- Magazine capacity limits
- Ban on automatic weapons for civilians
Bloomberg promises to raise taxes on the rich and (presumably) lower taxes on the rest of the population.
That requires a change in the federal tax laws and while it could be popular with the voters, given the years Congress has ignored this taxing effort, it seems unlikely that a president — any president — could push it past the denizens of The Hill. Too many politicians and lobbyists would balk.
Still, it sounds good in an advertisement.
Bloomberg is not the first super-rich person to complain about the inequality of the U.S. tax code; equally wealthy Warren Buffett publicly has championed a code change.
The former mayor promises that everyone will have health care. Everyone will have insurance — those that currently have insurance can keep it; those who don’t will get it.
Shades of Obamacare, but will Bloomberg’s plan work? (One of the “kicks” against Obamacare was that while the premiums were (relatively) low, the co-pays and deductibles discouraged its use.) Having a national health plan that covers everyone could reduce healthcare costs by having people treated early for illnesses rather than wait until they need hospitalization (Medicare Advantage plans’ Big Plus). On the other hand, if the care America’s wounded veterans receive is an indication of government-run healthcare . . .
IF BLOOMBERG survives the Democrat primaries — or decides to run as an independent — I will want answers to the questions I have today and the ones I will have as time goes on.
Trump has kept his campaign promises — whenever the Democrats failed to block his effort — keeping, or at least trying to keep, campaign promises is a huge plus for the incumbent.
Both Trump and Bloomberg prove that running for president is a rich man’s game, but it is the Average Joe and Jane’s vote that will determine who lives in the White House.
Rhetorical question du jour: If BOTH the Democrats and the Republicans want to abolish the Electoral College — both having candidates who won the popular vote but lost in the “college” — WHY IS IT STILL THERE? Does ANY Congress do ANYTHING?
Sources
1. Tv ad: https://youtu.be/j_1T_xPpAwo
2. Jobs: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/nyregion/15jobs.html
3. NYPD stats: cn-en-us-city.pdf
4. Detroit: https://tinyurl.com/s3mqvua
PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.
Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.
Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.
No comments:
Post a Comment