Achievable action for Parkland

Another school shooting.  17 innocent people die.  This time in Parkland, FL.   Emotions are expressed in prayers, sad faces, candle light vigils, and protests.  Families hold funerals.

Details trickle out of opportunities lost to stop the murderer.   This particular case is egregious as multiple opportunities to stop it failed miserably: the FBI received two warnings (one very specific) that were not followed up; dozens of visits to the murderer’s home by police; expelled from school; Florida’s child welfare agency was called to investigate self-harming videos the murderer put online and concluded he was stable; mental health treatment likely with psychiatric medication; neighbors reported killing of animals; a friend’s parents allowed the murderer to bring a semi-automatic rifle into their home without knowing him well.

Stand for the National Anthem?

Once again, the political divide erupts!  This time amid controversy over National Football League (NFL) players refusing to stand for the playing of the National Anthem before the start of games.  Once again, President Trump, speaking extemporaneously in his raw manner, touches a nerve.   This is a complex issue with many parts.

For many who feel intimidated into silence in the public square there was a great cheer in hearing the president say “throw that son of a bitch off the field” for using the National Anthem in protest.  But that comment and associated Tweets about specific athletes also caused a defensive reaction among many professional football players and other athletes to circle the wagons.  The NFL and team owners, already suffering declining ratings at least in part related to the national anthem protests of last year saw the President’s comments, particularly calls for boycotting the NFL if they did not act on the issue, as a threat to their bottom line.

Charlottseville lessons for Boston

Following the events of last week in Charlottesville, Virginia and the upcoming Free Speech rally this weekend in Boston, one cannot help but try and understand better what happened in Charlottesville in the hope of preventing it occurring again in Boston.

The organizers of the Free Speech rally previously held a similar event on the Boston Common in May.  Antifa counter-protesters were nearby, but the two groups were separated by police.  That event was small with only a few hundred participating from both sides and no violence occurred.

The upcoming Saturday event will draw an unknown number of Free Speech protesters that some estimate will be a few hundred.  Counter-protester numbers are expected to be much higher - potentially in the tens of thousands.  

The City of Boston has taken many actions to prevent any violence.  The Mayor, after consulting with the Southern Poverty Law Center, asked people to stay away and avoid confrontation.  The City has experience with both protest and counter-protest groups and has met with them to detail methods to prevent violence.   Sticks, bats and other potential weapons have been banned for example. 

Despite preparations and warnings - things can go wrong.  They did in Charlottesville.

Nuclear Armageddon – stop worrying

The Trump Administration is attempting to stop the accelerating North Korean nuclear and missile development programs with a different approach from the past.  In a recent joint editorial Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis said, “We are replacing the failed policy of “strategic patience,” which expedited the North Korean threat, with a new policy of strategic accountability.”  The President’s charged language, though unconventional, may be part of the strategy rather than the obstruction most of the media suggests.  The strategy is having the desired effect and may be successful in the long term.

The escalating confrontation between the United States and North Korea has generated rhetoric that recently reached a fevered pitch as North Korea threatened to launch missiles at Guam and President Trump made statements in non-diplomatic language about grave consequences should North Korea take such an action.

Trump Tax Reform

President Trump released his tax reform proposal this week.  The focus is to increase economic growth by cutting both personal and business taxes and simplifying the tax code.   Details are in short supply, but it appears it is underpinned by the Trump Campaign tax plan.  Using that document one might gain some insight into the impact on families should the reforms be implemented.

Trump proposes to simplify the tax code by reducing the number of tax brackets from seven to three:  10%, 25%, and 35%. The standard deduction for a married couple would double to $24,000.   The “death” tax and alternative minimum tax would be eliminated.  Child and dependent care expenses would be deductible.   Business tax rates would lower to 15% and the maximum dividend and capital gain tax rate would slip to 20%.

Attack North Korea?

Was the failed North Korean launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine on April 15th incompetence or a hack by the U.S.?  Is the nearly 90% failure rate of launch tests of the 2,200 mile Musudan missile incompetence or hacking?  One can only hope that the U.S. has and has exercised such a capability.  If not, are the Chinese responsible?   Again, one can only hope.

Stability in the home, office, army, country, or world is brought about by the expectation of a code of behavior that is reinforced by the clear and consistent application of rules.  A system of incentive and disincentive buttresses the system – it is called discipline.   When expectations are unclear, rules are inconsistently applied, discipline is not enforced, or threats are idle - the undisciplined grow emboldened.  North Korea is the perfect example of the failure of this system.

South Coast Rail a Mistake

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker should cancel the South Coast Rail project and re-purpose the nearly $3.4 billion capital funding and long term operating costs into a regional capital trust fund to support regional economic development on the South Coast and on Cape Cod through grants and low or no interest lending.   Municipalities and regional consortia could tap these funds for economic development and potentially leverage them for federal funding through existing programs or any potential infrastructure law.

In September, 2016 the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the MBTA announced the South Coast Rail project will cost $3.4 billion - a more than 50 percent increase over the original $2.23 billion estimate – and the original completion date of 2022 was extended to 2030.  More recently, the MBTA began investigating an interim route via the Middleborough line using diesel trains while simultaneously pursuing development of the preferred Stoughton electric line.