THE FIRST ONE FOR 2021

 WELL, HERE WE ARE THREE WEEKSW INTO THE NEW YEAR OF 2021. SEEMS LIKE MUCH HAS HAPPENED SINCE I LAST POSTED.  Even though not a lot of time has gone by, a lot of events have happened, some of which I may comment on. Not really sure just what I will write today, except this.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.  You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help strong men by tearing down big men. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.---Abraham Lincoln said this many decades ago. It still holds true today. I could probably end this post right here and that would be nuff said, but I guess I won't.

On January 6, 2021, a group of people, a mob if you like, stormed the congress building and trashed a lot of it. I watched the events as reported by the talking heads on the news and had to wonder why they did it.  But, deep down, I know why. Or at least why some of them did it. The people are just really tired of the political process and the politicians that seem to want to rule the lives of the people of the United States. Donald Trump has been blamed for that event. What ever your opinion is, mine is that he did not incite it. At least not intentionally. Those who were there and took part in the destruction of the halls of congress did so intentionally. I know personally, one couple who was there and left when the violence started, as that is not what they, and hundreds of others went there for. It was to legally protest the election. Not to violently trash the place.

On January 20, Joe Biden took the oath of office as President of the United States. I didn't listen to his speech for a variety of reasons, but know that he promised that he would fix things that are wrong with the United States.  He said he would create jobs and stimulate the economy,  and then the first thing he did was sign executive orders that put thousands of people out of work. And anger our neighbor to the North, namely Canada. When the labor unions that supported him to get elected find themselves out of work, they may just turn against him.

Guess I'll stop here with this prediction. A prediction that I hope does not come to pass. I predict that the unemployment rate will rise higher than it has been for the past four years. I predict that more people will be laid off as employers of small businesses cannot stay in business and pay the minimum wage of $15.00 an hour. A wage that for now is geared at government jobs, but will soon spill over in to the private sector, in spite of protests against it. I predict that with the executive orders shutting down the pipeline, oil drilling and exploration and the other things that Biden is against, the price of gas will go up. And while the current pandemic may eventually go away, it will be because of the things that are currently in place, not because of any thing that Biden does, even though he will probably take credit for it. 

I could continue, but I will end this for now and if you actually made it this far, I will refer you back to the opening paragraph.

AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK