Expiration Date,. . .

(Expiration Date,. . .)

There is a common story told about Capitol Hill. A brand-new House Freshman goes to one of the more senior legislators and asks him/her "where is the enemy," thinking of the other Party. The more senior Member who had more experience, replies that the "enemy," is the Senate. This year, however, there is a time constraint. Like the Angel of Death. the President-Elect has been causing the collapse of governments, among which is France. When the Notre Dame Cathedral re-opens, Trump will be attending in contrast to current President Biden who fell asleep in Angola.


Trump has an expiation date. He has two years to attempt his agenda so certain items for passage. Among the more urgent is the Trump tax reform bill. Sueh measures had been central to his Campaign; no levies on tips, Social Security and so on. As had been reported, there are two Reconciliation Bills that have been planned from the House to the Senate but the tax reform is being included in the SECOND measure.


It is the stated preference of the House of Representatives that the tax bill be included in the first Bill. The House GOP Conference only has a 219-215 Majority. Every Republican Member will have be a "yes" on the tax bill and at least move the Bill to the Upper Chamber. It will then be up to Majority Leader Thune to decide how to proceed. If the reform is not passed in time, the previous tax reductions would have expired. resulting in an automatic tax hike.


Which is not what anybody needs, least of all the President-Elect. It is a question of priority. Tax cuts are a central element to Trump's agenda but also immigration and energy are also central. The Senate will need to walk and chew gum because, whether or not they admit things, their agenda is Trump's agenda and the earlier that fact gets acclimated, the better.


There is, therefore, a limited opportunity. Donald Trump is a fresh carton of milk. Whole milk, not that low fat stuff. But, like milk, whole or otherwise, needs to be consumed, or get thrown out. There is a limited with which to act.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TEQUILA !

(TEQUILA !) Happy Cinco de Mayo or May 5th. One can hope that a lot of you out there are awash in inebriation, seeking to mainline tequila shots or enjoying a nice margarita on the patio. Or, in other words, relax. Take a breath. De-compress. May 5th as it happens is the anniversary of Mexico's victory over French "occupation" of Mexico by Emperor Maximillian, brother to Austrian monarch Maria Theresa in what has been called the Battle of Puebla. The reason France was in Mexico in the first place was that Mexico, after the Mexican-American War and a more civil conflict called the Reform War, had bankrupted Mexico City. Mexican President at the time was Benito Juarez, who repudiated all foreign debt, of which France, Spain, and the United Kingdom were all major holders. A naval expedition was dispatched to Veracruz and France's Napoleon III thought it would be a good idea to establish a French "empire" in Mexico. But, on May 5th, 1862, in the aforementioned B...
Read more

Keeping The Faith ?

(Keeping The Faith ?) Happy Memorial Day ! This is the day when the nation pauses and recognizes the contributions of the men and women that strove, and often times perished in the defense of this country. How many campaigns and battles have been seen over the years with Americans in harms way. Theirs was not a pursuit of glory, necessarily but they are remembered as such. As an example, take the Joe Rosenthal photo of the "Iwo Jima Flag-raising," February 23rd, 1945. Most people know what that is and not a few have a copy on their wall. Three of those Marines survived Iwo Jima and went on a bond tour to promote that picture. The U.S. was able to fund the rest of the War off of that drive but the Marines in question did not fare well. Private Ira Hayes, the last casualty of the Volcano Island died of exposure some years later. There was one other Marine, Rene Gagnon, and who was originally believed to be Navy Corpman, John Bradley. Since then, the "place" in the Ros...
Read more

Siege Of The Alamo

(Siege Of The Alamo) Any visitor to Downtown San Antonio will recognize the City's most famous landmark, the Alamo. An old Spanish mission that means "Cottonwood" in English was the site where the likes of Jim Bowie, William Barrett Travis and Davy Crockett and about another 185 Texians defended the Mission and its compound for thirteen days against the Army of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana and his 5,000 troops. The garrison was finally reduced on March 6, 1836. However, the Texian defeat at the Alamo and another one at Goliad, bought time for General Sam Houston time to fall back and then face Santa Ana at San Jacinto. There, Houston's army surprised the Mexicans and yelling "Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad !" all but wiped out the Mexican force. Santa Ana was captured and was forced to recognize the Republic of Texas. Which is now the State of Texas and, like 1836 Texas War of Independence, there is a new invasion from Mexico. Not the armed body o...
Read more