TheWiseOldFart

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart A recent survey by the United Nations confirmed that 80 percent of the world’s people are concerned about climate change. The poll revealed that most people believe their countries are not doing enough to slow or halt the greatest threat to mankind. You might have noticed that America no longer leads the world in anything positive. Right-wing politicians are owned by our nation’s biggest polluters, including the oil industry, and businesses which continue to rely on oil and coal to operate their factories. Although some progress was made over eight years of the Obama administration, all of it, and more, was negated during just four years of the failed Trump administration. FOX News is complicit. It has supported the less than five percent of all climatologists who deny the irrefutable fact that climate change is caused by man’s use of products coming from carbon-based products mined from deep inside the earth. Fossil fuels are deadly to humans and to our

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart If we can’t trust our 813 billionaires in the United States, who can we trust? These hard-working men and women care about you and me more than the thousand-dollar bottle of wine they will have with dinner, or the next mansion they plan to buy in Italy. We can trust them: right? Silicon Valley billionaires claim that they will support another Donald Trump presidency, but it has nothing to do with the fact that he has promised them additional tax cuts. Why would they lie? WE SHOULD ALL BE SUPPORTING PLUTOCRATS: LOOK WHAT THEY DO FOR US Billionaires don’t like Joe Biden, and why should they? He wants to take away some of their hard-earned money by making them pay their fair share of taxes. This is wrong. They have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle. Should any part of that be taken away from them? Why should they be prevented from buying a new and much larger yacht? Dreams belong to the wealthy, and they should come true. Stop blaming the insanely rich for t

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart                  The largest salary ever received by the man I consider the greatest pitcher in baseball history, Sandy Koufax, was $130,000 per year. The highest salary earned by the greatest hitter of all time, Hank Aaron, was $240,000 per year. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $1.35 million today. The most successful basketball player in history, Bill Russell, was rewarded with $125,000 per year: $1,164,000 today. Johnny Unitas, the greatest NFL player in history, was paid $250,000 in his final contract. The best players in professional sports receive as much as 50 million dollars each year. The average pay for a starting MLB player in 2024 is about $4.5 million in 2024. For NBA players, the average is $9,512,000 per year. NFL players make a minimum of $750,000 per year. The average veteran makes nearly two million dollars per year. PASSING COSTS TO THE FANS In 1970, the highest price of a ticket for NBA games was about six dollars. Today the “

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart “America is the richest country in the world:” “America is the greatest country in the world.” The former are two phrases professional politicians use ad nauseam. The second claim is absolutely 100 percent false: it’s not even close to the truth. Our country is far behind other developed nations in many areas including healthcare and education. However, the only one which matters, is quality of life. We are last in the world. As for being the richest country, this only applies to about five percent of our nation’s people. At least one-half of all Americans struggle in the low-income demographic or with incomes which are below the poverty line. The middle class is diminishing. Earnings for a middle class in the U.S. ranged between $43,350 and $130,000 annually in 2021. It has become extremely difficult to find employment which offers what is now a middle-class income. You must remember Trump’s only accomplishment over four years was a tax cut. However, the only p

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   I wanted to inform you about both of these stories. Although they are literally worlds apart, and one involves worker’s needs and rights, and the other a tragedy involving humanitarian efforts in Gaza, both will make you think about our world in the 21 ST ce ntur y.   Netanyahu’s Autocratic Israel   If you have read me over the years, you know that I believe Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , is at the core of the discord in the Middle East.   For years he has refused to meet with Palestinian leadership in good faith. By his own actions he has refused to discuss a solution which would create a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people.   Most men and women who are experts related to the history of the Middle East, believe that the only road to peace is a “two state solution.” However, Netanyahu rejects any possibility of the situation ever happening.   One Unforgivable Attack Results in Another   On October 7, 2023, the terrorist