THESE TWO IMPORTANT ISSUES ARE IN THE NEWS OF LATE AND THANKS TO THE DONALD'S TWEETING WE KNOW HIS THINKING ON BOTH ...at least at the time of his respective tweet:
Let's address the lesser emotional one first...Infrastructure.
One of President Trump`s election promises was to spend great wads of money to restore America`s worn out infrastructure. As far as election promises are concerned this was a good one since quite frankly the roads, bridges and sewers and such, are desperately in need of upgrading.
But as I have pointed out in the past, his promise was Dead on Arrival simply because the Federal Government is flat busted broke. It`s Debt is larger than the annual GDP and sadly it continues to grow at a rate far exceeding inflation.
So Trump`s recent tweet that there will be Infrastructure if necessary but not necessarily Infrastructure, came as no surprise. In making this statement he turned the matter over to Congress ...where it rightly belongs but he also said that any Federal contribution to renewed infrastructure spending would pale in comparison to what he expects the States and Private Sector to pony up.
I knew from the outset, that he would wiggle out from under this election promise and all things considered, I believe he did a good job of getting out of it.
The second issue is Gun Control in the wake of the mass shooting of students and teachers in Parkland Florida.
President Trump has a real opportunity to reduce the chance of future such mass killings even though, by doing so, he will upset a core Republican Philosophy i.e. that the Second Amendment is sacrosanct. But Trump is in a unique situation since is not per se a Republican... the constituency he has carved out for himself is his and his alone. Plus he should be able to count on Democratic Support since this is one of the pet policy.
He has indicated that he will promote changes to gun procurement including raising the qualifying age, greater scrutiny of prospective buyers and a longer waiting period. All good, but really do nothing substantive to ensure the likelihood of future such tragedies are significantly diminished.
The one thing that would make a difference is if Trump came strongly out against Assault Rifles...that would really make a difference. But the likelihood of him doing so a slim to none.
So on the issue of Gun Control he is partially correct but it will be seen a mere window dressing. More problematic for Trump and the Republicans is that it will reduce their chances for electoral victory come this November.
As I see it...
K.D. Galagher
