Election, Elección, Élection

    A broad overview of the domestic and geo-political implications of this year's election along with some somber questioning. 

    First, I am having serious doubts about the efficacy of a Biden/Harris taxing protocol. The US budget's outlays are roughly 20 percent of an expected GDP of $20Trillion. I do not see a path forward anywhere, where we can come close to that collection of revenue while maintaining such output. Years ago, it became illegal for long-term care facilities to seize the assets of a patient to help pay for cost of care; however, under a B/H administration I wholly expect that grandchildren will watch their grandparents wealth building mechanisms be seized by the state under taxing authority in a bid to offset Medicare expenses. I understand we have medical bankruptcy now as a country and such a proposition disgusts me; with that said, there is a reason Medicare Gap insurance exists (Medicare is rationed) and above a certain income threshold Medicare enrollees already pay monthly premiums. Medicare is not free now, it won't be in the future - also, nothing is free; the costs are just borne out somewhere else. 

     Secondly, I'm concerned with Venezuela. The N/NW tip of South American country has been reduced to rags under the reign of Maduro. Biden backs Maduro / Trump backs the duly elected Guaido. As Venezuela falters and its neighbors bear the brunt, I will not be surprised to see a migrant caravan approaching our South by this Summer. That is NOTHING against the migrants whatsoever. Instead it is a call to action that Venezuela needs our help. There's no use is constantly bailing out the reckless while the innocent suffers - at some point the impetus of the problem needs slowed and the people aided. A B/H admin is not up to such a task. 

    Thirdly, I work in healthcare and deal with COVID-19 up close. It can be exhaustive work and I look forward to its blunting for both the patients who are ill and the care providers who are carrying the load. Notwithstanding, I do not see how it makes sense to compare the US to Indo-Pacific islands and Asian peninsulas especially when our cohorts across of the Atlantic -who are on the same latitudinal lines as us -are experiencing similar, if not outright worse, COVID-19 events. 

      Penultimate, I am tired of the smug condescending diatribes of the "education" crowd. Newsflash, many of us are "educated" and have the licenses along with the degrees. We're sick of the juvenile approaches we dealt with in undergrad and grad school. It is absolutely dumb to keep feeding the cost monster that is education. According to the NEA, we do not have a single state of elementary and middle schoolers who are majority proficient in either reading or math. We are FAILING our future at alarming levels and throwing dollar bills at it will not solve the issue. Same as higher ed, it's asinine to pay the salaries of umpteen administrators while the students get left behind. Higher ed costs must start decreasing at rapid rate and show some ACTUAL learning if the academicians want any sense of credibility with the hardworking taxpayer. 

    Lastly, and with somber mind and pure curiosity to root out any blindspots I may have, what rights are people going to lose? The SCOTUS has already struck down DOMA and added to Title VI protections. Roe is precedent and if somehow was overturned, it would fall to the states and we already know the states' positions. Women make up the majority in the college educated labor force; roughly half out-earn their husbands; and on a whole live longer. 

    Epilogue. I have serious concerns for tax-induced poverty under B/H; fewer freedoms for our children than we had; and the likelihood of being cast into a new foreign war in the near future.