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Trump President for The Computer Age, The Lazy, The Unhealthy?

by John on 05/04/2016

(This is another look at the Trump phenomena now that he has nearly wrapped up the GOP nomination. There are logical reasons why he is winning, but there should also be some re-examination of ourselves too. Because “Trump thinking” is, on further examination, unhealthy, lazy, and does nothing to solve the real problems.)

Trump is the candidate for the Computer Age.

The majority of Trump supporters see The Donald like a smart phone or a laptop.

“I don’t care how it works. Get the job done.”

It makes sense. Not many of us marvel when we turn on our smart phone or laptop. We don’t ponder how someone programmed the software that allows us to talk to anybody around the world, post anything so anyone around the world can read it, track our exercise, track our kids, or allow someone to produce a television show in the palm of his (my) hands, etc.

No. We just expect that device to work so we can work and live our lives with little interruption or confusion.

Trump supporters see Trump that way.

“We’re going to be great again.”

They want him to be like Nike. Just do it.

Trump makes us feel that we the voters are the boss and he as candidate is the employee; that employee you want to hire who does the job without anyone looking over his or her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I will get it done.”

Don’t we all dream or think that we are that type of employee? I sure do.

And that feeling or desire – for someone to just shut up and do their job – is what leads to Trump’s success.

It explains Trump supporters complete dismissal of his many contradictions on trade, defense, and foreign policy.

Trump supporters, like many of us, are tired of the nonsense fed to us from both parties who extoll an ideology but seem more interested in pocketing special interest dollars.

And what has that special interest money gotten us?

  • Lawmakers more interested in making money for re-election.
  • Lawmakers stuck in an ideology bought by special interests that shuns compromise
  • Lobbyists that can easily write bills that favor the narrow special interests.
  • A Middle Class – which has no special interest support – that pays the load for the upper and lower classes.

Trump supporters are tired of the media too.

Mainstream media, namely cable news outlets, fail to offer legitimate news. Instead the media:

  • caters their message for advertisers who are also special interests;
  • creates more toward entertainment concerned with the reality-like ratings rather than educating the populace;
  • moves toward the sports-ification of political coverage getting more into the inside game of delegates and nominations rather than hard-core issues hitting most Americans;
  • moves toward this sports-entertainment type of coverage to make it seem they are not partisan towards any candidate or party.

Although this makes sense, this thinking is also dangerous.

First, understand what the real solutions are that Trump and the other candidates either don’t discuss or only touch on minimally.

We need:

  • more tax revenue from a broader base
  • reformed entitlements especially Medicare
  • massive infrastructure investment
  • massive retraining for workers to get 21st Century jobs that are needed.

These steps, as researched by the Simpson-Bowles Report, would reduce the nation’s debt while spurring economic growth that could last for decades. Sure it requires sacrifice and a roll up the sleeves attitude from all of us.

But it won’t happen until all of us force lawmakers to understand them.

Let’s look at the specific barriers to the solutions from a wider point of view that ensnares not only Trump, but Hillary, and Bernie. No one is discussing these simple solutions because too many special interests either pay off lawmakers or vote in large numbers.

  • First, corporate special interests pay the election expenses for lawmakers. As a result, we will not see tax reform to end senseless deductions and eventually get a fair tax rate for individuals and corporations. Those same corporate special interests drive mergers and consolidations that reduce the free markets so prices go up.
  • Second, seniors vote. But they are, and will be in the future, strangling the federal budget as more Baby Boomers retire. Estimates show that each Medicare recipient has paid in 1/3 of the Medicare bill they will use in their lifetime. The rest will come from taxpayers; many who might not be able to find good paying jobs.

Now let’s look at the mindset Trump and his supporters are taking – that should make us stop and think.

First, Trump comes across as a job seeker. He is applying for the job of President. But he is not. If he was he would be talking about creating new businesses. Instead he only talks more about jobs. Where Trump differs from Reagan is that The Gipper encouraged new businesses and entrepreneurship. That thinking brought us guys like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Trump is not encouraging that. He wants to be the boss and everyone else is just the worker. Without new innovative companies, we won’t grow.

Second, Trump’s thinking and the acquiescence of his followers have led to the same conditions that had led to the poor health of our nation.

Let’s go into more detail. Trump is saying the same thing the health insurance companies have said to us over the decades. Just pay us your monthly premiums and we will take care of your health. Here’s what we have in healthcare:

  • Higher premiums to pay for health insurers profits
  • Higher deductibles that put more burden on our household budgets;
  • Using our health insurance is more costly than not using it;
  • Not using the health insurance because of cost reduces any prevention that can stop future long-term, more catastrophic costs;
  • Insurance companies make money when we are sick;
  • Doctors lose control of caring for their patients and adhere to insurance company bureaucrats.

Again, like the solutions I outlined above, there are simple solutions in healthcare that have massive amounts of research to back it up.

80% of what ails us can be cured or controlled by lifestyle changes:

  • Exercise, even if it is walking an hour a day
  • Diet including the right mix of foods
  • Stress reduction
  • Sleep

All that would reduce short-term costs (no need for surgery or drugs) and long-term costs (life-long drug and treatment maintenance and hospice care).

Think about it. You can change your life by doing those simple things rather than taking more expensive drugs or just agreeing to costly surgeries.

Think about what we can do for our country: reform the tax code; reform entitlements so they’re fair; create a clearer picture for taxation; start reducing the debt; investing in our infrastructure and our future employees so they can compete in the high-tech 21st Century.

But if you leave all the thinking to: special interests, lawmakers run by special interests; the media run by special interests; and don’t think or research for yourselves than we may think we are voting out the establishment for something new and different, but really we’re getting the same old, tired, unhealthy way of thinking.

Starting being your own journalist. Start here by looking at these videos I have created for you – for free.

Give me your thoughts.

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