TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Intelligent humans learn as much or more from their mistakes than they do from their successes. Contrary to claims by the orange buffoon, pretending to be your president, no one is or ever has been perfect. As he did between 2017 and 2021, he constantly brags about accomplishments which are clearly non-existent. What Trump has “accomplished” in his first year as your illegitimate president are all destructive and will require decades to undo. Here is a short list of his failures. Sadly, there is not a single positive success to find. A failure to end Inflation/Greedflation. The problem has been escalated by his ill-advised tariffs. Unemployment is rapidly rising across the nation. This situation is the result of his failed economic policies. The opinions of our allies are critical. In the 21 st century, the future of every nation is only sustainable if it has loyal allies. Today, in 2026, America is no longer a respected and revered nation. Trump’s actions, com...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart 50-year mortgages? Would you be willing to pay three times the cost of a new home and never live to see the loan marked “paid in full?” The American Dream has become just that: a dream. According to most leading economists, generation “X” and those who follow, will never have careers with an income which allows them to purchase a single-family home. In my area of the United States, Northern Nevada, new homes are under construction. However, the focus is clearly on building large apartment buildings. The average rent on a one-bedroom apartment in Reno, NV, ranges from about $1,350 to over $1,800 per month. The consensus is that the average salary in Reno is 35-36 thousand dollars per year. I am not a math wizard, but it appears that rental rates on a one-bedroom apartment in Reno are likely to be more than one-half of one month’s wages. The average price of a single-family home is between $545,000 and $578,000. Monthly payments range between $3,200, and $3,900. I...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart In 1980, I was fooled by a better actor than I believed him to be. As a resident of California, Ronald Reagan had impressed me as our governor. His remodel of our state’s educational system, most significantly our state colleges and universities, was a major influence as to why I, and many other Independents, voted for him in 1980. However, early in 1981, Reagan revealed himself and his agenda. He began the right-wing’s war against the working class, minorities, and women’s rights. He also made me aware of his support for the establishment of Christianity as our nation’s only true religion and his support for our nation’s billionaires. He planted the roots of fascism with a demand that his party offer him 100 percent loyalty. He rejected any efforts to oppose his policies and plans for our nation’s future. The Republican Party’s platform was based on lies and misdirection, and hypocrisy became its cornerstone. [Newt Gingrich notably touted the Republican Party a...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart “I will end inflation on day one.” “I will negotiate peace in Ukraine on day one.” “I have a better healthcare plan than Obamacare.” “Tariffs with grow our economy.” These are just a few of Trump’s campaign promises in 2024. He never intended to keep any of those promises: they were nothing more than blatant lies. He would never end “Greedflation.” That would upset his 902 oligarchs. Only Putin can end the invasion of Ukraine, and that will only happen when his ambitions become reality. Trump and his party claimed to have a healthcare plan 10 years ago. It does not exist today. On this day, the American people are beginning to experience higher prices on nearly every necessity and discretionary commodity they purchase. Tariffs were a very bad idea in 1930, making the depression worse, and they are a destructive policy today. Free trade always increases the quality of life for everyone in the world. Trump’s only idea of a great economy is how much he can steal fr...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart If you ask any working-class person in any democratic nation, “what is the most important issue in any election,” the answer will always be “the economy.” Uninformed voters believed Trump’s baseless braggadocio between 2017 and 2021. He claimed that America’s recovering economy was his accomplishment, although facts prove that every positive action began during President Obama’s administration and was responsible for the growth of America’s economy. The choice to choose ignorance over fact was a critical fact in Trump’s illegitimate victory in 2024. A little history ignored by voters who, like Trump, “learn everything they need to know from television.” In 1992 Bill Clinton was elected. The primary reason for his victory was the fact that the fiscal policies of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush greatly diminished the quality of life for the majority, and increased the national debt by more than a trillion dollars. When Clinton left office in 2001, the economy o...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart The word is “tariffs.” Few people understand them, and the definition is incomplete. “A tariff is a form of tax imposed on imported goods or services. Tariffs are a common element in international trade The primary reasons for imposing tariffs include (1) the reduction in the importation of goods and services by increasing their prices and (2) the protection of domestic producers.” The last time a President of the United States applied tariffs to all imported commodities was after the Stock Market crashed, and the economy nosedived and the Great Depression began in 1930. Herbert Hoover was warned about the dangers of such a drastic decision, but he refused to listen to more than 1,000 respected economists. As expected, Hoover’s actions negatively affected the world’s economy. Trump inherited an economy in full recovery. Biden was the most successful president since Bill Clinton with the establishment of a fiscal policy which proves to be beneficial for everyone....

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I’ve said it all. I know everything about Trump, all of it bad, and anyone who doesn’t see what I see is choosing to be ignorant. Trump lacks everything needed to be an average president because he is void of the qualities necessary which compose a good person. It doesn’t take a genius to see that all of his problems are related to the irrefutable fact that he has less than average intelligence, was poorly educated, and possesses absolutely no common sense. I grew up in Los Angeles in the 1950’s and 1960’s. My brother and I were latchkey kids, and most of our entertainment at home came from a 19-inch black-and-white television. Even when doing homework, the television was on. Therefore, I often think of people I know as characters I saw in movies and on sitcoms. Trump reminds me of the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. The only thing he wanted was a “brain.” However, unlike Trump, he learned that he possessed common sense, and made good decisions most of the time. ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart After the Great Depression began in 1929, Hoover and his administration attempted to restore America’s economy by placing tariffs on imports. This only exacerbated the situation. However, Trump is a schoolyard bully and doesn’t read or understand the lessons offered by history. The truth is, free trade agreements stimulate the world’s economies. Trump doesn’t care about any other country, or the fact that in the 21 st century, no nation can stand alone. America’s economy is dependent upon consumerism. His choice to place excessive tariffs on every nation, including our allies, is founded in a mixture of arrogance and ignorance. He believes that he can bully other nations, and force them to obey his demands. This is what happens when a lifelong failure is chosen to lead a nation of 340 million people. Remember what Trump did to America’s economy between 2017 and 2021. When he was evicted from the White House, our nation was nearing a second Great Depression, and...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Trump’s supporters are suffering from Trump’s many failed and destructive policies. Most remain loyal members of his cult. These are “Trump’s people,” and the only men and women in America who do not reject his attempts to replace democracy with fascism. I doubt most Americans are aware that today the United States is a plutocracy/oligarchy. Trump and his 902 billionaires/oligarchs control everything in America today, without exception. Fact: a plutocracy cannot be sustained in a democratic society. Only a fascist regime can maintain the status quo. This is why Trump fears and even hates well-educated and informed Americans. The truth is his greatest enemy, and only those who choose ignorance over fact could possibly support Trump after all the damage he has done to their futures. We cannot forget the facts. In 2020, Trump was solely responsible for the massive number of American lives lost related to Covid-19. His ignorance and apathy could have prevented the l...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart NAFTA was not perfect. However, this free trade agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico was critical in establishing economic security for all of North America. Tariffs were eliminated. All three nations were allowed to set prices for their commodities without interference. It was very successful until George W. Bush placed our nation in two unwinnable wars, and allowed Wall Street to avoid oversight and nearly bankrupt our nation. This agreement was voided by Trump in 2017. In 2025, and although he was advised not to place tariffs on nearly every nation in the world, Trump is playing the role of a schoolyard bully and threatening all nations, including our closest allies and neighbors, with outrageous tariffs unless they agree to his demands. On September 18, 2025, Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, and Mexican President, Claudia Scheinbaum, met in Alberta, Canada to finalize negotiations designed to bypass involvement by America’s failed and...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart As we all learned more about Trump over the last 10+ years, it became crystal clear why he failed at every business venture in his life, including casinos, and why he was forced to rely on assistance from foreign nations to avoid absolute financial ruin. Anyone who voted for Trump, in any of three disastrous elections, placed the economy of 340 million people in the incapable hands of a draft dodger and criminal who avoided paying taxes with fraudulent practices. Every qualified economist in our country warned against Trump’s plan to place large tariffs on every other nation in the world, including our oldest and most trusted allies. In 1930, Herbert Hoover was faced with economic disaster after the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929. His idea was to place tariffs on most imported commodities. His plan failed miserably, and exacerbated the many problems facing the American people. Beginning in 1981 with Ronald Reagan, the idea of free trade agreements wer...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Military leaders are seldom the “sharpest tools in the shed.” They are narrow minded. Their focus is on one thing and one thing only, ‘how to fight the next war.’ I should have said “two things,” the second being how much money they will receive each year from congress. Therefore, I doubt that the Pentagon will learn from their last four defeats by far less costly and numerous forces they promised to defeat quickly and with minimum effort. If we go back to WWII, the last war in which the military of the United States could honestly claim victory, the same lessons we should have learned from Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq apply. In the 21 st century, wars will not be won by force. Hitler’s ambition was world domination. Allies who refused to accept rule by fascism united to defeat the Nazi armies and save millions of people around the world from being forced to bow to a ruthless, fascist dictator. If WWII taught governments and military leaders anything, ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart On June 17, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Approved by both houses of Congress, the bill’s intent was to lessen the harm caused by the Great Depression of 1929. Although America’s leading economists opposed the bill, an incompetent group of politicians ignored their warnings and sent it to President Hoover for his signature. Needless to say, it was a disaster. Not a single reputable economist has ever sanctioned the establishment of tariffs on imports as a constructive effort to grow the economy. What works are free trade agreements between various nations. [In his final weeks in office, Republican President George H. W. Bush signed the agreement on December 17, 1992. The House and Senate approved NAFTA less than a year later in a bipartisan fashion with Democrat President Bill Clinton signing the Implementation Act in December 1993.] Prior to Trump, a phrase likely to be used by historians when referring to the failures of th...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I say it again: if Trump’s piehole is open, he’s lying. He has never once in 79 years told the truth about anything. Today he is attempting to cover up his efforts to serve his 813 oligarchs with huge lies no one with common sense will believe. After Trump’s ill-advised tariffs begin to take effect, Trump’s administration released a press release. "WELCOME TO THE GOLDEN AGE," the White House wrote in a post on X, along with an image of Dear Leader pumping his fist. "Thanks to the leadership of @POTUS, the U.S. has generated over $150B in tariff revenues within the past 6 months." Let’s break this down with some facts; reality about how tariffs will harm 340 million people while benefitting Trump and his 813 oligarchs. I begin with the obvious: the “golden age” is in our past. America is led by a regressive, old man and his fascist minions who are moving our nation into the “dark ages.” We, the people, will continue to suffer from the failures...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart When Trump was evicted from the White House on January 20, 2021, the economy of the United States was nearing a second Great Depression. You never heard this on the evening television news broadcasts. They would never make their leader look bad. His failure to lead our nation in the fight against Covid-19, combined with a fiscal policy of “trickle-down economics,” a policy which failed three previous Republican presidents, unemployment was rising, small businesses were nearing bankruptcy, and increasing uncertainty resulted in a nosedive on Wall Street. In 2025, Trump is dumb enough to continue the worst fiscal policy in American history, “trickle-down economics,” and has added an even more destructive policy, huge tariffs. The lengthy fight to create a free economy with our allies was flushed down the toilet. Tariffs never work, but Trump doesn’t care. Afflicted with malignant narcissism and a corrupt Supreme Court, he is mad with power. A lifelong schoolyard b...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Trump is a very dumb man. If you don’t like my blunt words, stop reading now. By his own words and actions it is obvious that he did not earn his degree from Wharton. I have no doubt that Daddy Fred bought his diploma in the same manner he purchased deferments which prevented Trump from doing his duty and serving in Vietnam. This is why he had all of his academic records sealed in January of 2017. 99 percent of the world’s economists agree that placing outrageous tariffs on imports is moronic. However, there are two things everyone should learn about the old man defiling our White House. Trump has no idea how to administrate America’s economy. He is a serial failure in the business world, and a seven trillion-dollar budget is far beyond his comprehension. The second reason is based on his only tactic in the business world. Trump is a schoolyard bully. Tariffs are a tactic only a bully would use, not a man educated in an Ivy League business college. Trump’s tarif...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Immigration reform. This is a problem ignored by both political parties for decades. It has become a “hot button” issue for many men and women who watch network news broadcasts, most frequently by the fake news, Fox News. From day one, Trump began his attempts to detain and deport anyone who is not pure white, even if they could prove they were in America legally. We know that he has a very low level of intelligence, and once again he proved my assumption by his own actions. Without immigrants, legal or illegal, two industries will lose millions of dollars, and consumers will pay for his folly. Ask anyone who works in the agriculture industry or in construction, and they will tell you that in 21 st century America it is difficult to find young men and women who are willing to accept jobs in these to industries. Both of these jobs require hard, physical effort. For as long as I can remember, immigrants from our neighbor to the south arrived in the fields of Cent...

I admit to giving Trump many nicknames over the last 10 years. All were applicable, but none was simple and defined him for the “real Donald Trump” he has always been. I called him “Trumpenstein,” “Putin’s Puppet,” the “Fuhrer,” the “Destroyer,” a “Con Man,” “The Orange Buffoon,” and, of course, a “sexual predator.” All of these are true, but not as humorous as I would have liked. This week he has become known as the “TACO Man.” The acronym stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” It’s funny and accurate. He constantly makes a fool of himself. His intellect is far below average, and when he speaks to his supporters it is clear that he is illiterate. His greatest display of ignorance had become his decision to place tariffs on imports from nearly every nation in the world. Nearly every economist in our nation exposed the fact that tariffs are never effective and are always destructive to economic growth and national security. When his oligarchs began to complain, and Musk resigned, he re...

Fifty percent. That’s the number Trump is planning for tariffs on products coming to America from the European Union. Have no illusions, Putin’s ambitions are Trump’s responsibility. During his service in the KGB, Putin was open about his intent to end the organization which has prevented a WWIII, NATO. Trump’s constant criticism of NATO , the reason world peace was ever a possibility has a darker intent. He is desperate to accomplish his puppeteer’s primary ambition. If you are honest, everything Trump does or says is moronic. I would love to see the mainstream media post a notice everyday why they are not reporting anything about the idiot who occasionally visits the White House: “Trump did a bunch of stupid stuff again today that you don’t want to know about.” If the truth is told 25-40 percent of Trump’s time in office is spent on a golf course, at Mar-a-Lago, or at some event where the purpose is selling his cheap bibles, watches, fake bitcoins, or something else which puts money ...

China had all the leverage. When Trump made an absolute fool of himself by levying the highest tariffs in history on a nation possessing equal financial and military power as the United States, the deranged and senile old man actually believed he would be victorious in his trade war. On Monday, it was revealed that he failed once again. Both nations agreed to a 90-day pause in retaliatory tariffs, but the damage is irreparable. This ludicrous and historical 145 percent tariffs on imports from China would have been laughable if they were not a disastrous policy implemented by an ignorant old man inflicted with malignant narcissism. Regardless of what happens over the next few months, Trump has added “economic moron” to his resume. The truth is, with the stock market in steep decline, and protests occurring every day across America, Trump capitulated. As it was between 2017 and 2021, the West Wing is in turmoil. There is now an internal civil war within what was once the Grand Old Party....