Headlines

Nearly 1 million Americans have already voted

Coronavirus live updates: Positivity rates top 25% in some Midwest states, small businesses create succession plans

Delaware State University denies Biden's claim he attended school

New YorkTimes: We have Trump’s tax returns

Trump ex-campaign boss hospitalized after threats to hurt self

The U.S. is ‘not in a good place’ as daily coronavirus cases grow beyond 40,000, Fauci says

Biden refuses to answer if he’d pack the Supreme Court

Blumenthal: I won’t meet with Barrett

Poll: Democrats have slight edge heading into Barrett confirmation battle

Trump offers no proof as he claims he’s paid millions in taxes and has little debt

NY Times investigation into Trump taxes finds no Russian links or illegality

CO Secretary of State encourages non-citizens to register to vote


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

Headlines

Health officials bearish on administration effort to open economy by May

Coronavirus live updates: NYC sees negative ICU admissions, HHS begins $30 billion in aid

Debt tops $24 trillion ...

Report: Donald Trump pressing to reopen country by May 1

Fauci: Coronavirus immunity cards for Americans are ‘being discussed’

Mexico throws OPEC’s historic oil production cut in doubt ahead of G-20 meeting

Poop study reveals virus cases undercounted ... Traces found in wastewater at high levels ...

Coronavirus crashes prices for hotels, rental cars and women’s dresses

Barr backs Trump on firing of Intel IG, calls Russian investigation baseless

Trump administration pays out $26 billion in relief funds to hospitals Friday

Antibody test in German town reveals 15% infection rate ...

WHO launches $1.5 billion global funding appeal

Debt

Fed Chairman Powell is justifiably concerned by the growing level of debt in the United States ... and this is because, at about 2.70%,  for a 10-year government bond, interest rates throughout the economy are at very low levels. This, of course, encourages borrowing instead of equity financing. Powell sees a debt crisis in the U.S. looming and he is likely right.

However, the rib is ... interest rates in other developed countries are quite a bit lower ... except for the U.K. They are well below 1%. So, if America is n danger, the rest of the developed world is in extremis. This suggests that an almost-certain debt crisis will start elsewhere and then spread to our shores.

Of course there are problems compounding this threat:

- The U.S. national debt, at close to $22 trillion, means that interest payments on this debt can easily consume our annual budget as rates go up. This puts pressure on the Fed to keep rates low ... and also let inflation run to monetize this debt.

- The large differential between American interest rates and the rest of the developed world means that the "carry trade" drives up the dollar and hurts  our balance of payments. This should do nothing but encourage the Fed to keep rates from going up further until others start tightening ... with a nudge from Trump.

Bottom line: Powell is right to be concerned, but this is not just an American problem ... it is worldwide. And Trump should take up this cause too ... not that he doesn't have enough on his plate already.

Full Plate

President Trump has a full plate of problems ... mostly because of other presidents ignoring them. But he seems to recognize most of them and is willing to try to fix things.  Here are some:

- Our broken immigration system

- Our porous southern border

- The political mare's nest in the Middle East

- Our enormous negative balance of trade with China and the EU (read Germany)

- The burdensome cost of being the world's police force

- An economy burdened by regulation and a counter-productive taxing system

- Constitutional-guaranteed freedoms under constant assault

- A military unprepared for its looming challenges ... particularly from China

- The North Korean and Iranian nuclear threats

- The constant menace of Islam-inspired terrorism

- Soaring medical costs not matched by results (particularly for veterans)

- A growing national debt driven largely by feel-good entitlements

- Restoring the national dream of equal opportunity for all

You get the picture ... the list goes on and on. And, in most cases, Trump is fixing things ... or , at least, trying to. This is not something that could be said for our previous three prexies.

Will he remedy them all? Probably not ... but enough of them to be called very consequential and to MAGA. That is enough for me and most attentive Americans (maybe not Mueller).

President's Report Card

Yes, here comes another list. Since Obummer is on his way out the door, it seems time to grade his performance as president. I realize that most liberals might disagree, but I am trying to be fair:

Economic Growth                    D

Employment Growth                C

Personal Income Growth          F

Tax Reform                                 F

Entitlement Reform                   F    

Regulation Reform                    F

National Security                      D

Rhetoric                                       A

Immigration Control                  F

Military Readiness                     D

Environmental Gains                  C

Terrorism Pushback                    D

International Relations                F

Race Relations                              F

Education Improvement              D

Infrastructure Rebuild.                 D

Trade Relations                            F

Debt Reduction                            F

Golf Game                                      B

March Madness Brackets             C

Smiling Cobra

John Hinderaker, my favorite at the Powerline blog, loves our president almost as much as I do  He states that by the time he leaves office we will have $20 trillion in national debt ... see: Powerline blog ... but then he goes on:

Americans everywhere are counting down to the end of the Obama presidency. The damage he has wreaked is beyond calculation. He has hobbled our economy, trashed the Constitution, eroded trust in government, politicized one federal agency after another, poisoned relations among the races, stifled opportunity for poorer Americans, weakened our armed forces, conducted a perverse foreign policy, made the U.S. a laughingstock abroad…the list goes on and on. And we have almost two years yet to go!

But John ... you forgot ... he has a sharp crease in his pants.