Thanks Reindert Franke for the beautiful logo.
IMMIGRATIE: Trump heeft ongeveer 500 kilometer gebouwd, op een grens van 3.200 kilometer. Mexico heeft er geen cent van betaald.
OBAMACARE: De zaak zal op 10 november, een week na de verkiezingen, bij het Supreme Court belanden. Van de tweede helft van de belofte, de vervanging van Obamacare 'door iets veel beters', is nooit iets terechtgekomen. Er is geen alternatief.
INFRASTRUCTUUR: Trump heeft nooit een serieuze poging gedaan iets aan de afbrokkelende infrastructuur te doen.
DRAIN THE SWAMP: Trumps belofte om Washington eerlijker, transparanter en minder beïnvloedbaar door het bedrijfsleven te maken, is waarschijnlijk de grootste en misschien de meest orwelliaanse farce van zijn presidentschap. Zijn diagnose was juist: de Amerikaanse politiek was, door de financiële invloed van het bedrijfsleven en/of rijke Amerikanen, al voor zijn aantreden corrupt te noemen. De draaideur tussen overheid en lobbyisten was duizelingwekkend. Alleen: Trump heeft het alleen maar erger gemaakt.
ECONOMIE: Protectionisme was, naast zijn anti-immigratiebeleid, de tweede pilaar van Trumps America First-agenda. Trump veranderde de internationale vrijhandel en benoemde daarmee een belangrijke oorzaak van de uitholling van de Amerikaanse maakindustrie.Daarnaast begon Trump een handelsoorlog met China. Hij hief hoge tarieven op geïmporteerde producten, waarna China dat met gelijke munt terugbetaalde. Resultaat: vooral Amerikaanse boeren konden hun producten niet meer kwijt in China. Zij hebben miljardensteun gekregen van Trump. Trump heeft dus een belofte waargemaakt, maar wil de consequenties niet onder ogen zien: veel spullen zijn duurder geworden. Trump blijft liegen dat China de importheffingen betaalt, en niet de Amerikaanse consument. De lonen stegen iets (2,5 procent in drie jaar, na inflatie); de economie groeide iets sneller.
DEREGULERING: Belangrijke ingeloste belofte. Trump heeft, in innige samenwerking met de lobbyisten die hij heeft aangesteld als ministers, voortvarend regels geschrapt die het bedrijfsleven in de weg staan. Vooral milieu- en klimaatregels werden bij bosjes geschrapt. Berucht is het schrappen van emissiestandaarden voor auto's, en de uitzonderingspositie die Californië daarbij had. Ook berucht is het schrappen van emissie-eisen aan de energiesector, waarmee hij kolencentrales wilde helpen - al zijn die door economische ontwikkelingen hoe dan ook minder rendabel geworden. Trump heeft daarnaast natuur- en kustgebieden opengesteld voor oliewinning en boskap, de methaanuitstoot bij gaswinning vrijgegeven, en bescherming van bedreigde planten- en diersoorten versoepeld.
BELASTINGEN EN STAATSSCHULD: De belastingherziening van 2017 verlaagde de federale belastingen voor middeninkomens met ongeveer 1.000 dollar, ongeveer 1,6 procent. Inkomens tussen een half miljoen en een miljoen dollar gingen er gemiddeld 21 duizend dollar op vooruit, 4,3 procent. Met andere woorden: de nadruk van Trumps belastingverlaging lag op de rijken, niet op de middenklasse. Met het steunpakket tijdens de coronacrisis werden rijke hedgefonds- en vastgoedbeleggers nog meer tegemoetgekomen, doordat zij voortaan kosten van hun winsten mogen aftrekken: een extra douceurtje van 90 miljard (dit jaar). het begrotingstekort onder Trump flink doen oplopen. Volgens het Congressional Budget Office bedroeg het tekort onder de eerste drie jaar Trump zo'n 2.500 miljard; onder de laatste drie jaar Obama was dat 1.500 miljard. En toen moest corona nog komen.
LEGER/VETERANEN: Trump heeft er veel extra geld in gestopt.De defensiebegroting voor dit jaar 738 miljard dollar; In Obama's laatste jaar, 2016, was dat 619 miljard. Het aantal militaire operaties is tegelijkertijd wel afgenomen.Trump is de eerste president in jaren die geen grote oorlog is begonnen.
Dank aan ANNE VAN DRIEL EN MICHAEL PERSSON en De Volkskrant
The Words and Actions of Donald Trump
The Trump dynasty
IMMIGRATION: Trump built about 500 miles, on a boundary of 3,200 miles. Mexico has not paid a cent for it.
OBAMACARE: The case will go to the Supreme Court on November 10, one week after the election. The second half of the pledge, replacing Obamacare 'with something much better', never materialized. There is no alternative.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Trump has never made a serious effort to address the crumbling infrastructure.
DRAIN THE SWAMP: Trump's promise to make Washington fairer, more transparent, and less corporate-biased is probably the greatest, and perhaps the most Orwellian farce of his presidency. His diagnosis was correct: American politics, due to the financial influence of the corporate world and / or wealthy Americans, was already corrupt before he took office. The revolving door between government and lobbyists was dizzying. Only: Trump has only made things worse.
ECONOMY: Protectionism, along with his anti-immigration policies, was the second pillar of Trump's America First agenda. Trump changed international free trade to identify a major cause of the erosion of the U.S. manufacturing industry, and started a trade war with China. He raised high tariffs on imported products, after which China repaid them with equal currency. Result: American farmers in particular could no longer dispose of their products in China. They have received billion dollar support from Trump. Trump has fulfilled a promise, but does not want to face the consequences: a lot of things have become more expensive. Trump continues to lie that China pays the tariffs, not the US consumer. Wages rose slightly (2.5 percent in three years, after inflation); the economy grew slightly faster.
DEREGULATION: Important promise kept. Trump, in close collaboration with the lobbyists he has appointed as ministers, has been driving down rules that stand in the way of business. Especially environmental and climate rules were scrapped from bushes. Notorious is the scrapping of emission standards for cars, and the exceptional position that California had in this regard. Also notorious is the scrapping of emission requirements for the energy sector, with which he wanted to help coal-fired power stations - although economic developments have made them less profitable anyway. Trump has also opened up natural and coastal areas for oil extraction and forest clearing, released methane emissions from gas extraction, and relaxed protection for endangered plant and animal species.
TAXES AND STATE DEBT: The 2017 tax reform lowered federal middle income taxes by about $ 1,000, about 1.6 percent. Earnings between half a million and a million dollars advanced an average of 21 thousand dollars, 4.3 percent. In other words, the emphasis of Trump's tax cuts was on the rich, not the middle class. With the support package during the corona crisis, wealthy hedge fund and real estate investors were even more accommodated by allowing them to deduct costs from their profits: an additional € 90 billion (this year). to widen the budget deficit under Trump. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the deficit under Trump's first three years was about 2.5 trillion; under Obama's last three years it was 1.5 trillion. And then corona was yet to come.
ARMY / VETERANS: Trump put a lot of extra money into it. This year's defense budget is $ 738 billion; In Obama's last year, 2016, it was 619 billion. At the same time, the number of military operations has declined, with Trump becoming the first president in years to not start a major war.
Thanks to ANNE VAN DRIEL EN MICHAEL PERSSON and De Volkskrant
TESTEN:
Testen, testen, veel meer testen.
Ik ben maar een eenvoudige Nederlander, maar kan niet goed begrijpen, waarom er zo weinig getest worden, bij o.a. vliegverkeer, horeca, werkgevers. Bij aankomst en vertrek controle en in quarantaine indien positief getest, zo ook bij de horeca.
Alle raadgevingen in acht genomen, zoals afstand houden, handen wassen, ontsmetten, masker dragen wanneer men binnen is. Het moet toch mogelijk zijn om de economie en leven enigszins leefbaar te houden, voor iedereen. De kwetsbare groep blijft thuis en de gezonde mensen leven laten, met respect voor de maatregelingen.
Ik wijt dit toch o.a. ook aan de grove bezuinigingen in de zorg en het hebben van te weinig voorraad, laboratoriums zijn verkocht. Nederland spant het paard achter de wagen en reageert, in plaats van ageren.
Dit is geen vaststaande waarheid, want ik ben ook een onwetende en zoekend naar oplossingen. Het is gewoon een stelling, om de discussie open te houden.
TESTING:
Much more testing.
I am only a simple Dutch person, but I cannot fully understand why so few tests are carried out, for example at air traffic, hotel, cafe, restaurant, employers. Check upon arrival and departure and in quarantine if tested positive.
All advice taken into account, such as keep your distance, wash hands, disinfect, wear a mask when inside. It must still be possible to keep the economy and life somewhat livable, for everyone. The vulnerable group stays at home and the healthy people live, with respect for the measures.
I also attribute this to, among other things, the gross cutbacks in healthcare and having too little stock, labs have been sold. The Netherlands puts the horse behind the wagon and reacts, instead of acting out.
This is not an established truth as I am also an ignorant and looking for solutions. It's just a statement to keep the discussion open.
Peter van Els
1 Euro. ( Iets om bij stil te staan) In Nederland
Minimum inkomstenbelasting en oplopend: 37,35 % = 0,3735cent
Btw: 21% (belasting op alle producten die men koopt, of betaald) = 0,21 cent
Andere belastingen, zoals WOZ waarde: WOZ waarden bestaan o.a. uit rioolheffingen, ophaaldienst van vuilcontainers en grond waarop men woont. Ook oplopend. Voor mij was dat 850 euro dit jaar.
Wegenbelasting. Ook oplopend. Voor mij 15 euro per maand.
1 Euro - 0,37- 0,21 - ongeveer 0,07 cent = 0.35 cent.
0.35 Cent blijft er over, waar we van moeten leven, eten, drinken, onderdak, vakantie, vervoer. Met dit systeem en dat laag betaalden zoveel belasting moeten betalen, blijven arme werknemers arme klootzakken. Verhoog minimumloon of verlaag belastingen voor lage lonen en verhoog vooral vermogensbelasting.
1 euro. (Something to think about) In the Netherlands
Minimum income tax and ascending: 37.35% = 0.3735cent
VAT: 21% (tax on all products bought or paid for) = 0.21 cents
Other taxes, such as WOZ value: WOZ values include sewage charges, collection service for waste containers and land on which people live. Also ascending. For me that was 850 euros this year.
Road tax. Also ascending. For me 15 euros per month.
1 Euro - 0.37cent- 0.21cent - approximately 0.07 cents = 0.35 cents.
0.35 cents are left, on which we have to live, eat, drink, shelter, vacation, transport. With this system and that low paid have to pay so much tax, poor workers remain poor bastards.
Increase minimum wage or lower taxes for low wages and especially increase wealth tax.
Countless Dutch people and in other parts of the world are now done with the virus, but as long as the virus is there and as long as the conspiracy thinkers and deniers still deny and just go their own way, the virus will grow and spread and soon the Netherlands is going in a lockdown again, with all its economic and psychological consequences. With new deaths and inundation of hospitals. Healthcare personnel will have to work overtime again, will be exposed to dangers and will be paid far too little. Stop the spreaders of the virus, such as deniers and conspiracy theorists, who are currently perilously busy playing with the vulnerable lives of others. Do you not realize that you are the spreaders now among other things and that the virus will not go away as long as you continue to behave like this. Freedom is not freedom if it is based on selfishness.
Talloze Nederlanders en in andere delen van de Wereld zijn ze intussen wel klaar met het virus, maar zolang het virus er is en zolang de complotdenkers en ontkenners ontkennen en gewoon hun eigen gang gaan, groeit en verspreid het virus zich en gaat dadelijk Nederland weer in een lock down, met alle economische en psychische gevolgen van dien. Met nieuwe doden en overstroming van de ziekenhuizen. Het zorgpersoneel zal weer overuren moeten draaien en aan gevaren blootgesteld worden en krijgen veel te weinig betaald. Stop de verspreiders van het virus, zoals de ontkenners en complotdenkers, die zijn momenteel gevaarlijk bezig en spelen met het kwetsbare leven van anderen. Realiseren jullie je niet, dat jullie de verspreiders zijn nu, onder andere en dat het virus niet weg gaat, zolang jullie je zo blijven gedragen. Vrijheid is geen vrijheid als zij is gestoeld op egoïsme.
Walking the Sacred Way. See our brokenness. We know that in all creation only mankind has strayed from the sacred way. We know that we are the ones who are divided. And that we are the ones who must come together again to walk the sacred way. You who are holy, teach us love, compassion, honor, so that we may heal the Earth and each other. (Ojibway prayer)
The dualism in ourselves.
My favorite writer, Hermann Hesse. He was my teacher in dark times and it was he who taught me that inner doubt is allowed and good and that one should search for your own inner self.
“Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at the rest.”
“Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately after they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish.”
“We must become so alone, so utterly alone, that we withdraw into our innermost self. It is a way of bitter suffering. But then our solitude is overcome, we are no longer alone, for we find that our innermost self is the spirit, that it is God, the indivisible. And suddenly we find ourselves in the midst of the world, yet undisturbed by its multiplicity, for our innermost soul we know ourselves to be one with all being."
“When someone seeks," said Siddhartha, "then it easily happens that his eyes see only the thing that he seeks, and he is able to find nothing, to take in nothing because he always thinks only about the thing he is seeking, because he has one goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.”
“We are sun and moon, dear friend; we are sea and land. It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is: each the other's opposite and complement.”
“Some of us think holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go”
“It is not for me to judge another man's life. I must judge, I must choose, I must spurn, purely for myself. For myself, alone.”
“There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such an unreal life. They take the images outside of them for reality and never allow the world within to assert itself.”
“I have had to experience so much stupidity, so many vices, so much error, so much nausea, disillusionment and sorrow, just in order to become a child again and begin anew. I had to experience despair, I had to sink to the greatest mental depths, to thoughts of suicide, in order to experience grace.”
“There is no escape. You can't be a vagabond and an artist and still be a solid citizen, a wholesome, upstanding man. You want to get drunk, so you have to accept the hangover. You say yes to the sunlight and pure fantasies, so you have to say yes to the filth and the nausea. Everything is within you, gold and mud, happiness and pain, the laughter of childhood and the apprehension of death. Say yes to everything, shirk nothing. Don't try to lie to yourself. You are not a solid citizen. You are not a Greek. You are not harmonious, or the master of yourself. You are a bird in the storm. Let it storm! Let it drive you! How much have you lied! A thousand times, even in your poems and books, you have played the harmonious man, the wise man, the happy, the enlightened man. In the same way, men attacking in war have played heroes, while their bowels twitched. My God, what a poor ape, what a fencer in the mirror man is- particularly the artist- particularly myself!”
“It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to love the world, not to despise it, not for us to hate each other, but to be able to regard the world and ourselves and all beings with love, admiration and respect.”
