If I Were President: Here’s The Solution To Gas Prices (And Inflation And Pollution)… Stop Driving For A Month

I’m not suggesting we go into lock down, but there certainly were a few unintended yet welcomed consequences from the early days of Covid.

We learned that we could work remotely, at least those in corporate America.

We learned that we could hold meetings — work or personal — quite reasonably on Zoom.

We learned that even a month of reduced driving made a big impact on our environment. CO2 levels started coming down. You could see fish in the Venetian waters again. And all kinds of other miraculous things, too.

Most importantly, we learned that even a month of reduced driving made a big impact on oil supplies and gas prices…

… and since the price of a unit of energy affects the price of everything else in our world, we were reminded that the price of everything in the world comes down as oil prices come down.

So if I were the President of the United States, here’s what I’d do:

(1) I’d gather the top 50 employers in the country to an emergency meeting at the White House… hey, I can do that, I’m POTUS! :) I’d remind everyone that we’re in a time of extraordinary crisis… whether it’s Ukraine, Russia, China, inflation, deficits, interest rates, supply shortages, pandemics, whatever. I’d ask the CEO’s of all of these companies if they would consider voluntarily having their workforces work at home, just like they did during the early days of Covid. I’d suggest 90 days, to correspond during the spring, where temperatures would not be too cold nor too hot, so easy on home heating and/or cooling needs.

(2) I’d address the nation… and remind all Americans that we’re in facing multiple, life-changing crises… and just like great Americans have done through difficult times, we all can make a contribution. Nothing is locked down. But walk to a local restaurant or shop. Ride your bike to school. Take public transportation. If you have multiple cars and have to drive, take the one that gets the best gas mileage. Plan trips better, do all your errands in one trip rather than three. Get together with your friends and neighbors and carpool when possible. Want to show solidarity with the Ukrainians? Want to stop run-away inflation and pay less money for everything? Want to put a lid on pollution? Want to sock it to Russia (and the Middle East while we’re at it) where it hurts, in their oil pocketbook? For the next 90 days, let’s make a wartime-effort to reduce or eliminate driving if we can.

(3) I’d met with the leaders of other countries, talk about what we’re doing in the United States, and ask each and every country if they would join the battle.

Here’s what I love about this plan: It literally has a huge impact ON DAY ONE.

And it shows that we control our situation… our situation does NOT control us.

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You Won The Presidency, Trump, Please Stop Acting Like An Idiot

I like celebrity gossip.  But I don’t like celebrities that are knuckleheads and waste my time… I simply don’t listen or read anything about them.  I “vote” by turning them off.

Kanye West is a good example.  West doesn’t have any talent in my opinion… nor does he have anything cogent to say.  And whether you like or dislike Taylor Swift, West was simply a bully to the young girl several years back at the Grammys.  Therefore, I choose to live a “Kanye West-free” life.

Meryl Streep — probably THE MOST IMPORTANT ACTRESS OF OUR TIME — tee’d off on President-Elect Trump at the Golden Globes the other night.

Even if biased, she did so professionally… tastefully… and effectively.

All the news headlines the next day were about Trump’s tweets in response.

Knowing (dreading?) what I’d see, I almost choose not to look at these stories…

… and then it hit me smack in the face that I — literally — almost relegated the future President of the United States of America to buffoon status!

How can you ignore the President of the United States of America?  You can’t.

So I looked at what he wrote.

It was worse than I could even imagine.

Will someone tell Trump that HE WON… HE’S PRESIDENT… and he doesn’t have to keep acting like an idiot?

He could have taken the high road, something like:

          “I apologize to Ms. Streep if there are things I am doing that she may not agree with.  It is certainly her right as an American citizen to voice her concerns.  She is a wonderful actress.  I only hope at the end of my term America will be better off than it is today and that history will remember me similarly.  I appreciate being given a chance.”

THAT would have blown people away… because THAT is the REASONABLE response from a person that doesn’t have to immaturely squabble and bicker… because THAT person already occupies THE HIGHEST SEAT IN THE LAND.

You’re already President, President-Elect Trump, PLEASE START ACTING LIKE IT!

Who Thinks $78K Is Less Than $43K? Obama Does!

Obama has, or soon will, sign into law a raise in the minimum wage for federal workers.

Apparently, no one told the President that this is ENTIRELY UNNECESSARY… because the average federal employee salary of $78,467 is already FAR MORE than the average U.S. per capita income of $42,693.  (“I’m the boss, need the info!”, right?)

(This isn’t the first time he’s pulled this irresponsible maneuver… here’s my post when he did something like this back in 2010.)

The White House issued this statement:

     “It will also improve the value that taxpayers are getting from the federal government’s investment. Studies show that boosting low wages will reduce turnover and absenteeism, while also boosting morale and improving the incentives for workers, leading to higher productivity overall.”

Really?  On what planet do those economics work?  Lucky us, we’re all going to pay these employees more to continue working less.

Completely and utterly unproductive spending.  The worst kind.

Will An Act Of God Get Obama Re-Elected?

Absolutely Hurricane Sandy is devastating.

For a president seeking a second term, though, it may be a gift from heaven…

… seems like the entire election just became an after-thought… whatever momentum a challenger may have had just got washed away with the rain.

After all, it’s hardly a time for bi-partisan bickering, not when people’s houses are floating down the street!

Politically, an event like this — a natural disaster affecting 1/3 of the country — will always be in the standing president’s wheelhouse.

Hell, the country even liked George W. Bush for a time during the 911 crisis… something that, indeed, took an act of God to accomplish.

My election prediction?  The longer Sandy blows, the greater the chance of re-election.  It’s just the way this kind of thing works.

If I Were Running For President I’d Fix Everything

If I were running for president, I’d promise to fix everything.

Seriously.

How would I do it?

I would mandate natural gas… the energy alternative that we have about 100 years worth in the U.S.

That would allow me to promise — and deliver — everything:

(1)  More money in consumer’s pockets:  Natural gas is cheaper than black oil… by about 1/3 to 2/3rds to consumers.  But anyone that reads this blog knows that the price of energy goes well beyond simply what we spend on energy for our cars… it affects the price of everything.  Lower energy price is the greatest — and most effective — stimulus in the world

(2)  Jobs:  A new/updated infrastructure would be necessary… as would new/updated vehicles.  Someone has to build all that stuff

(3)  More corporate profits:  More jobs and more money in people’s pockets mean more spending.  Cheaper energy also means less input costs.  Economy improves.  Stocks rise… and so does everyone’s 401K plans

(4)  Health:  Pollution is — literally — choking the world… just look at the rise of breathing-related illnesses like asthma over the last few decades… but unlike dirty fossil fuels, natural gas burns clean

(5)  Environment:  No more ugly, toxic oil spills… let’s make the Gulf disaster our last

(6)  Smaller military:  Reducing our dependence on foreign oil means less “geopolitical” conflicts… as in, if we didn’t need oil, how much would we really care about the Middle East?

(7)  More money in Uncle Sam’s pockets without raising taxes:  All those new jobs create tax revenues.  Also would require less spending on entitlement, health, and military programs.  Bottomline is a dramatically improving national bottomline

(8)  Oh, yeah, an extra $1 trillion per year — money that we usually send out of the country each year, mostly to countries that hate us — is kept in America

Now that’s the candidate I would vote for!

So Cool… But So Broken

A small item… last night we were interrupted not once but twice by the President Of The United States… !

We were at the My New Red Shoes charity event in the afternoon (such a nice charity!)… when it was all over, we were stuck until the presidential motorcade went by… on their way to a fundraiser.

Unfortunately, it passed by on the freeway so we only saw the cars whiz by from afar.

But, then, lo and behold, the second fundraising stop was — literally — two blocks from our house… with the presidential motorcade scheduled to pass by our street in short order.

I must say, it was a festive atmosphere.  Regardless of whether you are a republican or democrat, if you haven’t seen the most powerful person in the free world travel, it is definitely a sight to behold.

Most of the local residents — alerted by heavy police support — lined the street to sneak a glimpse and maybe catch a wave.

I took my daughter and shot some video of her waving as the president went by, literally feet away!

So that’s the cool news.

The broken news is how much that cost.  Apparently, we taxpayers pick up most or all of the tab for these trips…

… which include the total operating cost (machinery, gas, personnel, flight maintenance, etc.) for flying out Air Force One, a dummy Air Force One, a bunch of military transport planes carrying the 20-30 armored vehicles (which had been flying in to Moffett Field all week), probably a lot more equipment that was behind the scenes, and what felt like hundreds of local law enforcement personnel.

Someone has had to figure out the exact costs… but my guess is the amount he raised was dwarfed by the taxpayer tab.

I get the need for positive press… especially in times like now… but given that his official business in Silicon Valley was to have a town-hall meeting with LinkedIn, you’d think he could have actually used some technology and done it virtually and save us all some dough?