Moral Relativism

A liberal friend asked me a question this weekend, “Is Trump dirty?” My answer was “probably.” My reasoning was based upon the fact that, as a successful skyscraper builder in major metropolitan areas, Trump had to deal with many unsavory characters, seedy union bosses, greedy contractors, corrupt politicians and building materials suppliers (many concrete companies are mafia controlled) ... therefore he couldn’t help but be somewhat sullied in the process. But was he any shadier than almost any politician you can name  ... including the Clinton crime family? I sincerely doubt it. And unlike the Clintons, Obama and many other polluted pols, I have no doubt about Trump’s love and loyalty to the United States.

And so I expect some mud in Mueller’s Trump witch-hunt report whenever it comes out. But I also expect no smoking gun regarding Russian collusion or obstruction of justice. The dirt, to whatever degree, will be revealed by Michael Cohen and the Southern District of New York prosecutors delving into Trump’s earlier business deals ... for which he can’t be impeached, but besmirched nevertheless. I have no idea whether any of the short cuts Trump took as a builder are felonies. It will all depend on the quality of legal advice he got during that period. But, in any case, it will have to wait until he leaves office and well may be mitigated by other politicians scrambling to cover their own dirty deeds.

Yes, in my dotage I’ve slipped into moral relativism. I am even regretting my sanctimony in condemning Richard Nixon in my salad days. My measure now is much broader when rating presidents. I ask what do they do to benefit America ... and do they put our interests ahead of their own personal ambitions and greed. I think maybe the only truly “squeaky clean” president we have had in my lifetime was Jimmy Carter... and you saw what that got us.

Headlines

Federal judge orders Trump administration to reunite immigrant families

Trump has announced his plan to crack down on foreign investment -- and it's less harsh than expected

Millennial Socialist rocks Dem. Party

Spain: Students kicked out of dorms to make way for boat migrants

Bolton to meet Putin in Moscow

Weekly mortgage applications fall sharply, as home buyers drop out

Supremes  deal big setback for labor unions ...

Koreas plan to construct joint railway

America's problem isn't too little democracy, it's too much

North Korea making 'rapid' improvements in nuclear reactor despite Trump-Kim agreement

Shock poll: 44% see civil war soon in USA ...

Le Pen: EU can't be trusted on borders

Now, for the Rest of the Story

Paul Harvey

President Obama, as predicted, indicated in last night’s State of the Union address that he was going to sign an executive order raising the minimum wage under government contracts to $10.10 per hour from the current $7.25 per hour … a 39.3% increase!  Many pooh-pooh this move as irrelevant since very few employees working on government contracts are making the minimum wage … even though the administration claims the number to be over two million … see: Fox News Story/.

However, what is forgotten in this whole White House ruse is that many unions have contractually established their pay scales based upon the minimum wage … see: Wall Street Journal Article.  So President Obama is surreptitiously throwing many unions a gigantic bone by increasing their members’ wages even when they are earning far above the minimum wage ... figuring most of us naive doofuses will not realizing what is going on.

Now you know the rest of the story ...

Look for the Union Label ...

The average stagehand in many New York City venues makes a six figure salary. See: stagehand salaries. No wonder tickets to plays and concerts there (and elsewhere) are costing many hundreds of dollars these days.

There is something fundementally wrong when unions can muscle their way into such egregious econimic inbalances.  And many among us just shrug our shoulders and say that "if they can get it, they deserve it." Poppycock!  I think that such golden eggs are in the process of killing the geese that laid them.  I know I refuse to pay such outlandish prices to see the mediocre stage productions they are putting on these days.  And, by the way, the same goes for most sports programs too ... that also cost hundreds of dollars to sit in the nose-bleed section watching some multi-millionaire athlete prance around like a spoiled teenager. 

Eventually, John Q. Public is going to have the scales fall from his eyes ... and these houses of cards will collapse on themselves. Then is when I'll start cheering.