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India's crazy solution to graft & Trump's cabinet picks

A few weeks ago, the Indian government decided that it would withdrawn all Rs500 and Rs 1,000 (respectively $7 and $15) as a means of combating graft in the country -- it turns out that that Modis' government had neither consulted the Ministry of Finance or the Central bBank of India.  The plan was to remove cash from society, the impact has been brutal.  There is simply no cash available in India!  Business are failing because nobody can pay, the idea would be that everyone would use electronic transfer for payment ensuring that graft cannot occur (as if!).  However, India's problem is somewhat different; nearly 600 million Indians don't have a bank account -- their entire life is cash based with little savings (a cow here and there).

BTW its the kind of crazy off the cuff solution I expect from Trump.  Last week he blasted the replacement of Air Force One -- already at 17 year old aircraft, getting on in age -- because its built of the frame of a B747-200 parts are increasingly hard to find.  This morning Trump discovered the F35 -- again this is a man who thinks the ultimate weapon is a $200 riffle (no don't think about it, riffles are a lot more expensive than that).  Modi's government was run by professional but still politicians who like to shoot from the hip.

Trump loves to shoot from the hip, this could be a problem.  He's manage the scare Europe and Germany in particular, piss of the Chinese, scare the Japanese and Korean that America will no longer be there for them to stop any madness from North Korea.

The new head of the NSA strongly believes in conspiracy theory -- including one where Clinton was running a pedofile ring out of DC pizzeria... the kind of guy who will se conspiracy everywhere and with a trigger fingered President.  Dr Strangelove is among us!

So far Congress is having a ball (wet dream actually) about their ability to repeal every social program that exists so that their paymaster can reduce federal taxes.  its already worked well at state level where some universities have seen their budget cut by 70% (Nevada).  America was already mean now its about to get dangerous, because people with no way out will strike out!

Congress' priority after January 20th:

1) Repeal Obamacare
2) Terminate Medicare Part D
3)  Replace Medicare with voucher system pegged to inflation
4)  Privatize Social Security
5)  Eliminate EPA/HUD and Department of Labour & Education
6)  Increase pressure on illegals to get out -- either through coercion of their employers or via stricter implementation of "crime" laws

The on reason "5" is there is that the guys who have been nominated run these departments have long said they should be eliminated -- they will see it as their mission to seem them all gone.

The one area where Trump will find conflict with Congress will be free trade -- The GOP's paymasters are not about to get that changed, they gain too much.  The other is the military that the GOP wants strengthen -- Trump bulks at the cost of F35s -- yet he wants to boost the navy back to 500 vessels (how much does he think these suckers cost?




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