On a periodic basis we do some posts that fall under the theme of “by the numbers.” Rather than trust what the American political class tells us about reality, we like to examine the real numbers and the real reality in the world to understand what is actually going on. Relying on politicians, and their cohorts in the media, to tell us what is reality is always a sucker bet. They have their own agendas and goals, usually centering around their needs and self-enrichment. So we need to look at the reality of the numbers to determine what is really going on.
Previous analyses of “by the numbers” can be accessed by entering the phrase in the search box above. This is the third and final post this month where we look at the numbers to truly find out how good, not likely, or bad, most likely, the American political class is doing in managing our tax dollars, protecting our freedoms, and resolving major issues that affect all of us.
1)The U.S. Federal government spends a lot of money, trillions of dollars a year. Unfortunately, as we have pointed out many times, we do not get a lot of value for our money:
We continue to under educate our kids with low performing public schools.
Our roads, bridges, and dams are crumbling apart after decades of neglect.
Social Security and Medicare are rapidly approaching bankruptcy.
Crime is rising across the country.
Millions of Americans are homeless, hungry and fighting drug addictions.
Yes trillions of dollars spent and never a problem getting resolved.
But it is even worse than that. Consider some numbers on price inflation over the decades:
The price of bananas has increased almost 2 fold since 1980.
The price of a dozen eggs has increased almost 4 fold.
The price of Levi’s 501 jeans has increased almost 5 fold.
The cost of a two door Ford Mustang sedan has increased almost 5 fold.
The price of an average home has increased almost 7 fold.
The annual cost of college has increased over 9 fold.
The cost of Medicare Part B premium has increased almost 18 fold.
A few observations:
The product categories which probably have the highest level of government and politician meddling, housing, Medicare and education, have had the highest inflation rates in the above categories.
Medicare is going bankrupt despite the Federal government trying to fix it for decades, home ownership levels have been stagnant for decades, and government student loan programs have saddled thousands of former students with high levels of student loan debt.
Categories where the Federal government has done minimal or virtually no meddling in, clothes and food, have much lower rates of inflation.
In fact, the cost of a 16” color TV, a product category where there is virtually no Federal government or politician intervention, has seen prices drop a whopping 77% since 1980.
Bottom line: politicians spend a lot of our tax dollars and get no issues resolved AND often where they do spend a lot of our tax dollars, they make the situation worse and more expensive for Americans.
2)California is a mess:
Its cities are filthy and suffering through rampant increases in violent crime.
The homeless problem is large and getting larger everyday.
The poverty level is the highest in the country.
The cost of living, for everything from gas to housing to utilities, is among the highest in the country.
The state government is facing almost a trillion dollars in future unfunded financial liabilities.
The state may be the most heavily taxed state in the union.
Companies, both large and small, are leaving the state which is reducing the tax base and making it more difficult to pay today's bills and tomorrow’s unfunded financial liabilities.
And it is not just companies that are leaving or who would like to leave the state:
A recent opinion poll conducted by the Joint Venture Silicon Valley found that 56% of those polled say they will relocate out of the California Bay area at some point in time.
This is up from 53% just a year ago.
Reasons for leaving in the poll include quality of life, taxes, high housing costs, crime, and homelessness.
While 47% of white respondents said they would be leaving the Bay area, 53% of black, 59% of Hispanics, and 57% of Asian Americans said they would be moving out of the area.
The least wealthy in the poll were the most likely to say they were moving with 57% of those polled who earn less than $35,000 a year saying they would be moving while only 41% of those earning $250,000 - $500,000 saying they would be moving.
A whopping 71% of those polled who identify as Republicans said in the poll that they would be leaving the state altogether while only 41% of Democrats said they would be leaving the state,
Another 15% said they would like to leave the Bay area but for various reasons cannot.
So the fact that California lost 182,000 residents in 2020 may just be the beginning of a continued mass exodus out of the state as residents look for a better, safer, and a less expensive quality of life elsewhere. Now, while those leaving the Bay Area may just be moving to other parts of the state, I would bet a good portion of that 56% will be getting out of the state altogether.
The numbers do not lie: California’s political class has somehow ruined an incredible paradise on earth and is driving out tax paying residents and businesses, accelerating a likely financial collapse of the state government in the not too distant future as the tax base erodes and tax revenue collapses.
3)There were some surprising numbers from a recent New York Times opinion poll:
Many Americans actually do believe that is a “threat to democracy” in this country.
Now, the mainstream media would probably have you believe that the main threats to democracy include Donald Trump, MAGA supporters, Republicans, and Second Amendment supporters.
Surprisingly, a large portion of those polled said that the “mainstream media '' is a major threat to democracy in this country.
71% of those polled said democracy is in danger and 84% of those 71% said that the mainstream media is a continuing factor to that danger
59% said that the mainstream media is a “major threat to democracy” and 25% said it is a “minor threat to democracy.
Only 29% of Democrats said that the mainstream media poses no threat to democracy, only 3% of Republicans say it poses no threat, and only 14% of independents say it poses no threat.
This is a serious situation and sad commentary on our democracy. One would hope that any journalist or news reporting entity would be unbiased and would be just presenting the facts of the world and not be a “threat to democracy” in the eyes of citizens and voters.
If citizens view journalists and newscasters as threats, then any truth that they actually do report will be doubted and shunned aside, making it more difficult to resolve the many issues facing the country and endangering our freedoms at the same time. Sad and depressing set of numbers.
So, according to the numbers, the mainstream media is the primary danger to democracy and our freedoms, California is still a raging dumpster fire as businesses and residents look for a better life for themselves, their families, and their employees, and anything that the government and politicians touch becomes more expensive and not any better.
Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:
