Will America Survive?

For the first time in my life, I am afraid for the future of America. Not only do we remain deeply divided, but many of the current happenings place our future in jeopardy. To name a few:

We are short of water, electric and potentially natural gas, but building goes on unbridled.

The current administration shut down a key pipeline project, cut off others, halted oil production, yet we are dependent on foreign oil when we could become energy independent. 

Governmental entities, state, local and federal are mandating renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Some are forbidding natural gas in new homes. However even the top experts say we cannot be self-sustaining on those sources; the wind does not blow at sustained speeds all the time, turbines are subject to catastrophic failure, and on dark, rainy or snowy days the solar output is often negligible. California for one is all agog at getting everyone in an electric car, while they have power grid failures all the time, and are frequently asking people to conserve as the grid is overloaded. And on housing...how can we sustain all those new all-electric homes with such a fragile national grid? For some levity, after California dumped all their fossil fueled plants, when the grid was close to blackout they added more...yes..natural gas peaker plants to supplement energy, and will build more. What a joke! 

We have a housing shortage but truly “affordable” housing is a myth in many areas. A working family making $100,000 combined salary can hardly afford a home in an area nobody wants to live in.   

The current open border policy continues to allow huge numbers of unvetted illegal migrants to enter the country. Most will end up living on the government dole and we don’t even know how many who enter have terrorist leanings.

Lies and innuendo pervade Washington, with the current administration disavowing the Afghanistan debacle and the future terrorist issues we will face. 13 Americans were sent to their death and during their transfer to American soil, our demented president couldn’t tear himself away from looking at his watch. What an affront to those who died protecting American lives during that tumultuous time, and their devastated families.   

There is a shortage of workers because the government made it easier to sit at home instead of working. This impacts every lower and middle echelon occupation from restaurant workers to truck drivers.

Speaking of truck drivers, gasoline and fuel oils in many areas are in short supply because no truck drivers are available to move it to market. Same with many food chains who cannot get drivers to move groceries to the stores.

Crime has mushroomed in the cities and has spread to the suburbs as well. The number of homicides is out of control; imagine 60 shootings in a weekend in your city, as it was in Chicago this past weekend. The anti-gun folks want you to believe it's because of legal gun ownership and want to decimate the Second Amendment, while turning that blind eye to the criminals who commit this violence. Illegal guns on the street are the problem; most gun related crimes take place with a stolen gun or one that has been "ghosted" and is untraceable. Not what a legal gun owner has. But while the far left cries foul when anyone is stereotyped or broad brushed with a moniker, they don't mind broad brushing legal gun owners as criminals. And when the multitude of shootings and murders is in black and Hispanic neighborhoods, why does it become a white problem when the politicians in those cities, mostly black themselves, fail to address the problem and blame it on "white oppression". 

Why is it that antifa, Black Lives Matter and other far left organizations seem to have no accountability for mayhem; those in political power refuse to have them arrested, charged and prosecuted, yet more than willing to spend millions or more to identify, capture and prosecute anyone who dares fall on the right? Why is it "First Amendment" rights to maim, loot and destroy, but not tolerated if a white person has something to say? They are then deemed to be "racist" or a "white supremacist" even though they just want their voice to be heard too. Why is arson, property damage, destruction of public property and injury to others all okay if the leftists do it, but when confronted by people who believe in the law, they are wrong? Something has gone very wrong in the way the law is being addressed in America.

Law enforcement officers are retiring or leaving the profession in record numbers. Vilified by the far left government and media, those who risk it all every day to protect our land have become fed up. People want the police to have their backs when trouble comes visiting, but won’t stand up and have the officers back when some low life or politician makes him, instead of the criminal, to be the bad guy.

Fewer people working and contributing to Social Security means the system will run out of funds many years sooner than predicted, leaving many who depend on that meager income in jeopardy. Current estimates are that by 2035, the benefits will be lowered to 75% of current benefit levels. In addition, those not yet of retirement age will find their future Social Security benefits reduced because they are not working and contributing. And, the politicians see Social Security as a political football, so they don’t fix the system at all. Increasing taxes, and benefits, on those high wage earners, over a million dollars for example, would buoy up the system to solvency. But God forbid the politicians tax their big donation benefactors. They would turn a blind eye until the inevitable failure occurs.  

Speaking of Social Security, the programs to target and prosecute scammers on Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income is dismal. Tens of billions of tax dollars are diverted to scammers every year and the actual rate of successful prosecution is minuscule.

Medicare is another political football. Each year Washington spends billions massaging the plan to make it less effective and penalizing physicians who actually care for their patients. When Medicaid, a social program that serves indigents and illegal immigrants as well as welfare recipients pays better than Medicare, many doctors are no longer accepting Medicare patients. Sad when those are the people who likely need care, especially preventive care, the most. When an illegal immigrant can get a kidney transplant, while an American citizen waits, is just incomprehensible.

Veterans, who laid it all on the line for America, continue to be short changed. The Veteran’s Administration is short-handed and overwhelmed with the healthcare needs of veterans. Getting an urgent care or dental emergency appointment is impossible, leaving either a self-pay or simply going without care if one cannot afford the out of pocket payments. Veterans who were exposed to toxic agents and other ravages of war wait decades for adjudication of claims; many die long before they receive any payment that is due. Agent Orange veterans suffered for many decades while Washington battled whether to give them the care and benefits they were due. Imagine being exposed in 1961 or even as late as 1971 and being denied benefits until 2020? That’s what happened with the Blue Water Navy operation off the cost of Vietnam. Even the “Brown Water Navy” who operated in and around the coastal waters and rivers didn’t receive recognition until 2011.

Taxation of those who are honest and pay their taxes will become yet another burden as the unbridled spending in Washington continues. The promise to increase tax only on those who make over $400,000 annually is a lie; trickle down politics will end up costing all taxpayers in the end. And those with multi-million dollar incomes have means to shelter their income against taxes. Many have moved money offshore to avoid taxes at all. “Jeff Bezos, chief executive of Amazon and the owner of The Washington Post, paid $973 million in taxes on $4.22 billion in income, as his wealth soared by $99 billion, resulting in a 0.98% “true tax rate.” Jun 8, 2021.  Another political football as the incumbents don’t want to rattle their sponsors. 

Why do we send millions and billions of dollars to foreign countries that hate us, and happily accept the money because we are fools? What was once the strongest nation on earth has become a folly and fodder for shame and humiliation worldwide. It's inconceivable we sent money to the Taliban after leaving Afghanistan! On Sept 13, 2021 the US sent 64 million dollars to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian aid package. And the UN whined about needing 600 million. And, get this, the Taliban said we need to give more because we have it! They took the country…let them deal with it! When did it become in vogue to give aid and assistance to an enemy?

Where are we headed? I have no clue. We are on a severe downward slide that appears to have no end. Criminality appears to be okay as long as a person is of color or otherwise non-white is involved. If a Caucasian or other race is shot righteously by the police it’s not even mentioned, but if that person is of color, it becomes a protest, riot or whatever you want to call it. The race card is thrown at every opportunity, turning races against each other. That fermentation of discord is fostered by those in Washington, especially the “Squad” comprised of people who actually seem to hate America while holding office as “elected” officials. When did it become their right to hate the country they were elected to serve? When did the criminals and illegals have more rights than a law abiding citizen? 

I am more than worried for sure...only time will tell how America fares...and it doesn't look promising right now.