Something To Think About Archive

The federal budget ballooned by almost 50% in 2020 due to Covid. Fair enough given that unemployment skyrocketed from 6 million to 23 million. But why is the budget still so bloated at $7.3 trillion as proposed by the outgoing Biden Administration for 2025? Why hasn’t it returned to a more reasonable inflation-adjusted $5.5 trillion which, coincidently, matches revenue projections for 2025. The federal debt, in just 6 short years, has exploded 650% from $5.5 trillion to $36 trillion. We hope that the Trump Administration brings with it some sanity and fiscal responsibility.

Writer L.M. Montogomery asks: “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

If you’re going to play the game, any game, remember: It is just a game.

Mark Twain once noted that “The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.”

Merle Haggard said: “I’m happier because I made up my mind to be that way.”

According to NFL Hall of Fame Coach George Allen: “People of mediocre ability achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to.”

Of the many bills signed into law for 2025 by Gavin Newsome, AB 1955 is one of, if not the, worst. It prohibits school districts in the state from enacting policies that would force educators to notify parents if students identify as transgender or request to use a different name, a policy that now ignores every parent’s right to know what their child is doing when not under their supervision. Schools must not be allowed to supersede a parent’s right to parent their own child and we hope that AB 1955 is challenged in the courts.

“Don’t plan it all;” advised poet Juliet Alvarez. “Let life surprise you a little.”

According to Thomas Jefferson: “It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.”

Mark Twain advised us to “Endeavor to live so that when you die, even the undertaker will be sorry.”

Gandhi believed that there were (or are) seven blunders of humanity: Wealth without work; Pleasure without conscience; Knowledge without character; Commerce without morality; Science without humanity; Religion without sacrifice; and Politics without principle.

Peggy Noonan, a former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, notes that “Big things are best said, are almost always said, in small words.”

If you have any questions on how the government got $35 trillion in debt, look no farther than the Biden Administration’s recent $6 billion “loan” to electric car manufacturer Rivian. This is a company that lost $100,000 on each and every one of the 37,000 vehicles it sold in 2024. Add to that the $2 billion in subsidies through federal tax credits for all the electric vehicles sold in 2024. Reminds us of the $535 million Obama wasted on solar cell-maker Solyndra who promptly went bust in 2009.

The Four Virtues, according to writer Ryan Holiday, are: Courage, Temperance, Justice and Wisdom.

Ralph Waldo Emmerson advised us to “Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.”

According to the artist Francis Bacon, “The wonder of a single snowflake outweighs the wisdom of a million meteorologists.”

Bernie Sanders of Vermont now argues that the Democratic Party suffered losses on Election Day because it was insufficiently hostile to the wealthy. According to the Tax Foundation: in 2022 The top 50 percent of all taxpayers paid 97 percent of all federal individual income taxes, while the bottom 40 percent paid none and 10% paid the remaining 3 percent.

On this first day of a new year, we reflect upon Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement speech at Stanford. He said: “I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

As the White House considers pre-emptive pardons for officials not yet convicted or even accused of breaking the law, we can’t help but wonder: What have our so-called “Leaders” been up to these past years that they require such unprecedented forgiveness?

Henry van Dyke “Every mountain is, rightly considered, an invitation to climb.”