TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart The United States of America remains a very young country. Recent surveys reveal the fact that America remains behind all other developed nations in several critical issues, most importantly the quality of life for its people. Politicians claim that “America is the greatest country in the world,” but this is far from the truth. There have been times in my life when I felt that our country was on the path to greatness, but each time we stumbled and lost our way for a while. Between 2017 and 2021 America took the wrong fork in the road, and our nation moved backwards into some of its darkest days. However, President Biden placed us back on the right path, and once again hope was on the horizon. AMERICA MUST LEARN FROM ITS PAST MISTAKES Our country has many things to be proud of. However, some of our greatest mistakes continue to be problematic. America remains a nation where racism, bigotry, and prejudice is prevalent in every area of our country. These are learne...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart If our Founding Fathers were alive today, they would take a long look at what they accomplished in 1789. Much of what was done during the Constitutional Convention was both great and revolutionary. However, they would also learn that they overestimated their faith in mankind, and this single fact placed the future of the new country in jeopardy. At the top of their revelations would be the failure to establish term limits for all three branches of government, and their creation of the Electoral College. Their intent was to allow the people to choose their president, but the Electoral College gave that right to the states. They believed that every vote should count, but that has never happened. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This quote describes both the legislative branch and the judicial branch in the 21 st century. The legislative branch is not broken, it is shattered and dysfunctional. Lost are the precepts of a two-party system whe...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   The 2024 IRS budget is 14.1 billion dollars : 1.8 billion dollars more than 2023. It is fair to claim that this system is far more expensive than  it’s worth.   The tax code consists of 6,871 pages. 99 percent of those pages involve exemptions for the wealthy and super-rich as well as large corporations. These advantages are better known as “write-offs.” The basic rules for at least 50 percent of all Americans can be found in the first few pages.   Maybe I’m crazy, but it appears that the primary purpose of the IRS is to assist the wealthy and corporations in their efforts to evade paying their fair share of taxes.   Over my 77 Years Several Suggestions Have Been Made to Create a Simpler and More Just System   Our government is incompetent, and I am not referring solely to what happens on Capitol Hill. Along with the IRS I believe there is enormous incompetence and corruption in the FDA, the FCC, the Consumer Protection ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   I am writing this article on the morning of January1, 2024. I am celebrating the end of one of the worst years in my life, and remembering some of the good. As a political writer, I mourn the end of truth, the rejection of facts and acceptance of blatant lies as reality. I am saddened by the increase in corruption in our government, and its complete incompetence to perform its function and duties. I fear the rise of fascism not seen in America since the dark days of the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. I am completely disgusted by the irrefutable fact that America has become a nation void of laws. The rich and powerful continue to be immune from being punished for their crimes against the people of the United States of America. Only indigent Americans pay full price for their crimes. America now ranks last in quality of life. The 2010 Decennial Census and the 2020 Census revealed that adjusting for inflation, the income of the average working man had declined...

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   “Convict Hunter Biden of Anything.” “Impeach Joe Biden without a legitimate reason.” “Protect Trump even if he is convicted of treason.” “End democracy and create a fascist state.” These are the goals of today’s fake Republican Party. McCarthy is owned by the Freedom Caucus, a group so far to the right it can only be labeled as fascist. Unlike Trump, who was impeached twice for violating the Constitution, Biden has done nothing wrong. Quite the opposite, he saved our nation from additional damage from the Covid-19 disaster created by Trump. He also saved an economy which was moving closer to a depression, while saving millions of jobs. He signed an infrastructure bill which was decades overdo which will help to repair roads, bridges, schools, and decaying government buildings. And America is once again a supporter of the Paris Accord which will aid in the lessening of climate change. However, the failed men and women who call themselves “R...