Why Donald Trump?

     I think the scary thing about the upcoming presidential elections is how unclear it is to many people. I think it's reasonable, considering the stereotype that most (all?) politicians do the damnedest thing: make promises they don't (or can't?) keep. The strangest thing is when a politician comes up for re-election. You would think the performance evaluation is easy: did they do what they said they were going to? If not, are they making progress I am happy with? Lastly - who could I replace them with?
     With regards to the president, I was told he was going to lock Hillary up. Well... that hasn't happened. I was also under the impression that he was going to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. Still waiting on that as well...
     I don't want to be such a Debbie Downer, so let's look at some of those good things that have happened in the past few years. The unemployment rate is super low and the economy is crushing it. I feel like, but am not sure, that this is "just some line." As in, something that people say because it's true and everyone is supposed to think it is a good thing. As someone who thinks that there are many jobs that only exist because they are (currently) cheaper than automation, though, the unemployment rate doesn't really mean much to me. In 2019 I think it's a damn shame that, for example, cashiers, servers, and janitors are a thing. You're telling me we can't, in order, craft our orders, pick up our food, and pick up after ourselves? I'm not denying reality - I know people (especially when we get in big groups) are just... messy. We aren't very good at picking up after ourselves. And if you've ever needed any proof... just survey the scene after any concert, festival, or large group event. It's basically always a disgusting mess. So I'm not going to treat the fact that everyone has a job like it's some momentous achievement. The number of people that have jobs is, to me, a dumbass way to measure a country. Why isn't it assumed that everyone should have a job? It's like counting the number of high school graduates. Really? You couldn't get over this extremely low bar constructed by society? Well... bravo (not really).
     As for the economy? Well, it's largely a function of time. As in, progress is inevitable, so whether under one president or another, the economy will (generally) go up. Let's say you disagree and that the president holds quite a bit of sway over the economy. I will concede that point. My follow up is - who does a booming economy serve? Leveraging the stock market is a distinctly privileged activity. Apparently, ~38 million people in America are poor. Are their investments gaining steam? Also, does it even matter considering any amount invested is bound to be negligible? Let's say one were to sock away $100/month (& considering Market Watch says that 44 percent of Americans have expenses exceeding income, this may be a generous figure). Over the course of 30 years, assuming a 7% annual growth, you'll have a nest egg around $116,000. Which isn't gonna last for very long. So we have this instrument (the economy/stock market) that doesn't serve those who need it the most (the poor) and really just helps those who are ahead (the wealthy) to stay that way (by getting even richer). So...remind me why I should care about "the economy," please?
     This is even before we think about the economy and how much it contributes to the fact that we are laying waste to the environment. There are billions in goods that are made in sweatshops in foreign countries that just end up in landfills - why the hell would we be happy about that? It's a cost against the planet and humanity that the rest of us have to pay without even benefiting from. What on earth??
     The crazy thing is I haven't even mentioned the president himself, in terms of character/behavior. I'm just looking at promises made (and broken) as well as why his "wins" don't even count for much (with me, at least). So for those who love the man and ask others to pray for him and CONSTANTLY FEEL THE NEED to connect him to President Obama (who I literally have not mentioned until now and am DEFINITELY not a fan of his policies) - my only question is: why?

Backwards Planning Society

     One of the ways teachers figure out what and/or how to teach is called backward planning or backward design. The gist is to set a goal first - graph quadratic functions, explain 3 or more causes that led to the fall of Rome, you get the gist. That way, you can structure the lesson more intentionally (by leaving out details that might be considered minor or making a checklist of the things you need to include). I used to adhere to this practice a lot more than I currently do (shoutout to my former roommates for being willing to get together to figure out a curriculum on the weekends), but I still recognize its importance and practical use outside of teaching. In today's case, I will lay out my vision for American society. After all, if change is inevitable, don't we owe it to democracy to choose the future we want to build? (Yes - the answer is definitely yes)
     I don't intend for this post to be political - I think too many folks identify too strongly with one party or the other, so I just plan on writing out ideas. If you can't get behind the ideas, you may be some or all of these:

1. Too cynical/pessimistic
2. Uninformed or misinformed
3. Not very imaginative

     With those in hand, here are some things I envision for The Greatest Country in the World and why I believe in them: 

• Everyone gets to see the doctor when they need to
•  Need doesn't mean the ER - I'd much rather we offer health services at the preventive stage because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (which, in theory, might reduce healthcare expenditures by 93.75% [16 oz = 1lb so 1/16 is 6.25%], lol)
•  Reduce the work week to 30 hours/week
• The 40-hour work week has been in place since 1940. You mean to tell me after damn near 80 years of technological improvements we haven't improved efficiency by 25%? We definitely have, but the labor movement hasn't caught up to taking advantage of that improved efficiency by calling for less hours.
•  Those who don't work (for whatever reason) should still be entitled to: basic lodging and sustenance 
• No one likes a freeloader, but y'know what? I'd rather society churn out a small number of freeloaders (and take care of those who can't work) than to turn the misguided, desperate, or just plain bored into criminals (because newsflash: that's what's happening!!).
• Basic lodging can be defined as high density housing with communal spaces (think dorm accommodations with double/triple occupancy per room, several rooms per hall, and shared common spaces)
• The IRS is fully funded and offers better service (as in, actually telling us how much we owe instead of making us pay to figure it out. How tf that makes sense to anybody is honestly beyond me)
•  How the hell can we (the royal we) pay for things if we: 
• 1) have to PAY someone else just to find out how much we owe, 
• 2) don't go after cases of tax fraud, and 
• 3) don't sufficiently inform the populace
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is fully funded 
• How the hell can we protect ourselves against financial shenanigans? Most of us don't have the resources to pursue any type of legal protection on an individual basis. The solution? We pool resources to create an entity (with teeth) that clamps down on shady financial practices 
• Essentially, this would be a transparent version of the Better Business Bureau that has the ability to (meaningfully) punish
• The military isn't overfunded
• It's 2019 and the Military Industrial Complex is a thing. It's an engine of death, profiteering, and environmental collapse. I believe in funding the military - I just think our view has been skewed by decades of overspending and fearmongering. I relate it to being morbidly obese for a few decades - just because you got used to it doesn't make it healthy.
• Profits for certain industries are capped (potentially even eliminated?)
• Take insurance, for example. The idea behind an insurance company is simple: everyone has accidents, and it would suck for dumb luck to ruin your life. The solution? Well if everyone pools their money together, they can look out for each other and mitigate that. Sounds simple and benign enough: a communal pot that prevents financial ruin for any one member of society. The issue? Well, when you scale up to have millions of customers, this simple plan requires administrators and other paper pushers - inspectors, adjusters, etc. etc. So not only do you need enough money to cover all the accidents, but then you gotta account for funding all the people required to make the thing go - that's fine, they're doing work for the group at large, they should make enough to get by, right? Well... I would argue $40 million across 5 people is a tad overboard. I mean, I view companies the same way I view machines - if you build it well, it sustains itself (or at least endures for a long time). You're asking me to believe that these big wigs are providing $40 million+ in value (because it doesn't make sense to pay someone more than they are worth) and that no one else could run it for cheaper. Which, I hate to say, I just don't believe ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . This is where you can chime in and enlighten me on the value of executives, I guess.

      These ideas are just part of my vision for American society. I underestimated just how much I had to say, but I definitely put out some ideas I think are really important - I've got plenty more, I'll just add them in another post. In any case, I know I might come across as entirely too optimistic, but I'd like to challenge that - could you at least entertain the notion that things in the country are in desperate need of revamping/advancing?