The Magic Market Meets the Covid Pandemic

The Magic Market, or, more precisely, Magical Market Thinking, has met the Covid-19 Pandemic and been found wanting. Magical Market Thinking, the fantasy that Capitalism and the Free Market can address every problem better, faster, and more completely, has been ascendant among the proselytizers and acolytes of Capitalism for several decades and has now found a home in the White House in the persons of Larry Kudlow, Peter Navarro, and the President himself, Donald Trump. Whatever the problem, whatever the outcome desired, all they have to do is wave the Magic Market Wand and everything will work out fine. Need healthcare, let the Market do it. Need education, let the Market do it. Need to solve inequality, let the market do it. No problem is too big or too complex that the Market cannot solve. (Never mind that the Market has been doing its thing in the US for several hundred years and we are no closer to solving these problems than we were at the beginning.) These beliefs can lead to poor policy decisions and, sometimes, very bad outcomes. They can blind policymakers to urgent problems that need to be addressed in a different way. They also led to the single most monumentally stupid decision by a President in the middle of a crisis - Trump changing our policy for dealing with a health crisis during the biggest pandemic in 100 years without warning, consultation, public discussion, or preparation. The abrupt change from a Federal Government lead assault on the crisis where the Feds help to coordinate the response and supply assistance when necessary to one where every state and even individual hospitals are on their own and fighting it out in the markets for supplies is akin to the US being invaded and the President declaring that he wasn’t going to use the military to fight it, but each state would have to get their own tanks and planes to do it. Trump is the general who sits in his tent, holding back his troops, while the outcome of the battle raging around him remains in the balance. No one outside the administration was aware the change was going to happen so when it was thrust upon the country, the public and private sectors were unprepared. There is a discussion worth having about whether the Federal Government, the states, or some mixture is the proper way to meet such pandemics, but in this case there was just a unilateral, unannounced determination by Trump that the Federal Government would not lead in this crisis, but also would not serve as the supplier of last resort to aid those places which were overwhelmed. Had the states, cities, and healthcare system known that this was going to be the case, they could have planned better for how to meet the crisis. The same goes for the private sector, which would have worked with the public sector to parse out production and supply lines so that it did not turn into the Wild West where everyone competed separately for limited supplies, driving up prices and creating scarcities. But that is the Magic for its proponents, especially Trump. Demand and high prices, market signals, would draw more providers in and solve the problems of shortages. How did Magical Market Thinking do with the Pandemic? It’s too soon for a final answer, but not too soon for a definitive one. Markets performed well, but too slowly and inefficiently to keep the potential pandemic from becoming a real one. A lot of companies responded, but no matter how quickly, they were starting at a standstill and unprepared for the speed of response required. To the extent that supply has met demand, it is due more to efforts to slow or halt the spread of the virus than it is to increased supply. Had the initial rate of spread prevailed, the healthcare system in many places would have been overwhelmed no matter what the supply increase was. And some critical supplies, such as PPE, remain far short of need. It is not fair to blame the private sector for this shortcoming; they were just as surprised by the policy change as anyone. It took longer for them to realize just what their mission was and slowed their response. When you have a crisis where the only thing you cannot waste is time, any lag is too much. It only allows for the further spread of the virus. Why would such a destructive change be made so abruptly and secretly in the middle of a crisis? Other than the mercurial nature of the President, that is. Magical Market Thinking and the use of The Magic Market Wand have led Trump to this moment. His absolute belief in the power of the Magic Market to save the day. All that was needed was to let loose the Animal Spirits and the pandemic would be beaten, defeated utterly. The Market would seamlessly move to ramp up to meet the challenge. The Gospel of Capitalism and unfailing Market Success are the roots of this. But Capitalism is not a religion and the Market does not perform miracles. There is no economic system more powerful than Capitalism and nothing more efficient than the Market, but there are times where they are insufficient to meet the challenge of the moment. The damage is not limited to the Covid response, either. It is no coincidence that as Magical Market Thinking has ascended, the attraction of socialism among the young has too. They see that Capitalism is failing them and many of those around them and are looking for an alternative. The inflated claims cannot be met in reality and this failure has disillusioned many. We saw a similar outcome in post-colonial countries which embraced Socialism in counterpart to the Capitalism of the colonial overlords. So, let’s put down the Wand, start thinking clearly, and begin to tackle the pandemic the most effective way, leadership from the top.

The Worst President In History, But Not Why You Think

Two polls of historians have been held since Donald Trump became President. He tied for last. It’s not hard to see why. He wants to kill us with poison, put children in cages, shoot us down like dogs in the street, and promote White Supremacy and Neo-Nazi ideologies. He degrades women, African Americans, and Native Americans. He lies – several dozen times daily – while tweeting vile garbage of every kind from his porcelain throne. He loves our enemies and savages our friends. He wants to imprison his enemies and create a kleptocracy for his family and friends. He foments violence and racism wherever he can. He has dismantled our State Department and emasculated our intelligence services. He uses the military as props for his political theater. He schemes to corrupt our elections. Rather than marshal all the country’s resources and unite us together to mount a massive assault on the Covid – 19 threat, he chose to pick petty fights. He couldn’t damage our domestic and foreign policies any more effectively than if he were doing it deliberately. But none of that is what makes him the worst president in history. He is the worst because he could have been so much more, a potentially transformative figure along the lines of Lincoln, Roosevelt, or even Washington. When he took office, he had the GOP in his back pocket and the Democrats in disarray. All he had to do was move to the center and use his clout over the GOP to keep them in line and provide enough sweeteners to attract the Dems. He could have passed a generation’s worth of legislation in his first two years. He even got Nancy Pelosi to offer him $25 billion for his wall in exchange for the Dreamers and all he had to do was say yes. He had an agreement on an infrastructure plan if he could have seen a way to do it. He has had very few defectors in the GOP no matter what the bill with the exception of the repeal of Obamacare. The moment was made for him to bring the two sides together to push through immigration reform, tax reform, an infrastructure program, and even health care reform that required both parties to successfully address. But Trump was not made for the moment. He didn’t have a clue what to do or how to do it. If he had even an ounce of strategic vision or political acumen, he would have recognized where he stood. But, alas, he has neither. And, apparently, no one else in the GOP did either. He chose instead to be a petty, vindictive ignoramus who spent his four years in one tiny cesspool after another as he chased demons only he could see. Trump decided to carry on his petty squabbles, insults, and grandstanding, while the rest of his party schemed how to give the money to the rich and manipulate the system to try to remain in power. It was a stunning display of incompetence that may have no parallel in American history. There has never been another President who did so little with so much. Someone who stood on the cusp of greatness and chose instead to wallow in the manure. What would drive him to make this choice, especially for a man so desperate for adoration, which he surely would have gotten by the bucketful if he had chosen the path open to him. It may never be known, but clearly Trump has no ability to understand what he is presented with and no idea how to self-reflect on how to change his course or on what he has lost. It is clear that Trump’s growing list of outrages, incompetencies, lies, and pettiness will get longer and the nation’s appraisal of him as the worst President in history will grow, but that only makes the true depth of his awful choice to be a petty would-be tyrant instead of a transformational leader all the more clear. To paraphrase Shakespeare, some people are born failures, some achieve failure, and some have failure thrust upon them. Trump will be unique. He is a failure and the worst president in history because he chose to be.

Random Thoughts on A President Who Lives in A Random Universe

As we approach the election, a few random thoughts on a President who lives in a Random Universe. Trump is disappointed that he never won an Emmy for the Apprentice. Given his convincing portrayal of a racist, misogynist, anti-Semitic, White Supremacist President he absolutely deserves one. He says that’s not who he is which makes the performance all the more authentic. Donald Trump says he’s the chosen one. In the year after he was sworn in, the US was hit by 3 Category 4 hurricanes, Biblical flooding in Texas and Louisiana, the largest mass shooting in US history, and the largest wild fires in California’s history to that time. And just when it looked like he was going to cruise to reelection on the strength of a strong economy, a pandemic struck that wrecked the economy, killed thousands of Americans, and threatens to send us into a depression deeper than the 1930s. And we may yet be wiped out the day before the election by an asteroid. Even the seemingly wonderful gift of a s\Supreme Court seat may prove to be a poisoned chalice instead. And now he has Covid. They say God works in mysterious ways, but I didn’t know he was a counterfactualist. Diogenes went forth with a lantern looking for an honest man. What does it say that it went out when he put it in Trump’s face? Trump is a money guy so you always look where he puts his money for what he really believes. Does he believe in Climate Change? He says he doesn’t but he is certainly putting a lot of money into building a sea wall to protect his property in Scotland for someone who doesn’t. If aliens came to Earth and asked Trump to sell the planet to them so they could use its people as cattle to feed their population, does anyone believe he’d take longer than 30 seconds to agree other than to haggle over the price? The only thing that anyone who put their eggs in Trump’s basket ever got was smashed or stolen eggs. No one has ever enjoyed a chicken dinner on Trump. Trump fancies himself a Mafia tough guy. He’s just a Cigar Store Don. He’s no more a Mafia Godfather than a cigar store wooden Indian is a Native American Chief. So stop flattering him. Trump’s a kiss up, kick down kind of guy. He kisses up to Putin, Xi, MBS, and Un then kicks down on everyone he disdains including a teenage climate activist, disabled people, women, minorities, and even dead people, especially soldiers. Trump loves to dish dirt on people. He and Stephen Miller must role play Mean Girls in the Oval office to get him in the mood. I wonder if they do cosplay. Trump has criticized Obama for his supposed Apology Tour, but even if true it still has nothing on The Trump Kiss the Feet of the Dictators Tour. Donald Trump whines like no other President before him. He must have the biggest “Kick Me!” sign on his backside. Trump says that he saved America from having 2 million deaths from Covid. That is true, but it’s also true for every other country in the world. China and India would have 4-5 times as many dead as the US if they had done the same job as Trump. The only other countries that have done as badly as the US, Mexico and Brazil, are run by Trump Left and Trump Right. Trump said before he was elected that he had a health insurance plan that was cheaper, covered everyone, and included anyone with a precondition. We have yet to see that plan, he still has it in his pocket. For all those without insurance, paying exorbitant amounts for coverage, or who have a preexisting health problem, ask yourself why he won’t stop your suffering. Why doesn’t he think you deserve the benefits of the plan he keeps tucked in his pocket? And why is it always two weeks away? Trump most reminds me of a 5-year-old who is trying to one up his friend “My dad can beat up Superman!” “My dad can beat Superman and the Hulk at the same time!” “We’ll give them something even more powerful than nuclear!” “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen!” I find it interesting that almost no one from the intelligence or Federal law enforcement sectors endorsed Trump in 2016 or now. What do they know that they’re not telling us? Trump is one of those people who belong on a party line so that everyone can listen in to hear what he says. Can you hear me now Carl? One thing we know for sure, he wasn’t calling from his Panic Room. When Trump sees the forest fires destroy towns and kill or burn their residents, all he can think about is grooming the forest floor. I’d say give him a rake, but he’s never done a lick of manual labor in his life. Has there ever been anyone else so desperate for attention that he was willing to kill all his supporters and risk being left all alone? I guess we’re going to find out if he can kill 200,000 people and get away with it. The total obliviousness of Trump and his minions at his convention to the Covid virus casualties and the growing economic despair while he carries on like nothing has ever changed brings me memories of the prince in the Masque of the Red Death. Sometimes when I see Trump having a meltdown, I keep looking for those little steel balls to come out. Trump is doing his damnedest to fix his reelection. It appears golf is not the only thing he cheats at. Trump still doesn’t understand how Mitch McConnell made him the patsy in his own impeachment. Trump saying he didn’t collude with the Russians is like the guy who says he didn’t have an affair with his neighbor. Well, maybe he saw her a few times. Perhaps it was more than that. Ok, it was 128 times. Then there were all those phone calls. And isn’t it interesting that her new baby has his eyes? Donald the Quack -A quack is a “fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill” or “a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, qualifications or credentials they do not poses: a charlatan or snake oil salesman.” Bleach anyone? Trump calls Kamala Harris a madwoman. The Mad Hatter thought everyone else was off their rocker and told them so. Trump has told more than 20,000 lies since he was sworn in. Is he a liar? He probably could pass any lie detector test because he doesn’t really know what truth is. Trump calls everyone names and ridicules them. He must have absolutely ruled the playground. He must long for the days when he was the only bully around. Too bad he’s no longer back there. Trump says being Presidential is easy, he can do it anytime. He’s like the guy who looks at a rowboat and boasts it would be really easy to row across the ocean. Once he’s out a little ways he starts whining “Who knew it was so hard?” Just everyone else His own advisors won’t let him testify. They know it would be like giving a 3-year-old a roll of tape and watching him get all balled up in it. Donald Trump whines like no other President before him. He must have the biggest “Kick Me!” sign on his backside. He also reminds me of the star High School quarterback who spends the rest of his life reliving his greatest moment of glory 30 years ago. Now he’s an overweight, potbellied snake oil salesman. Is there something I admire in Trump? He won a nomination and an election that absolutely no one thought he would. And, from the look on his face election night, he didn’t believe it either. That’s why he didn’t prepare, doesn’t try to learn anything, and operates from his gut. Considering that only junk food goes into that gut, it’s not surprising that only garbage comes out. The Fickle Finger of Fate touched him four years ago. He’s likely to get a different finger this time.