Musing of the Moment: Oncoming Proposals to Improve Birthrates

I've read a number of newspaper articles about how the current administration has plans to boost the birthrates in the U.S. There's even talk about giving mothers a $5,000 "baby bonus" after they have a kid. 

How you gonna fund that, bro? 

I don't get the fascination with improving the birthrates in the U.S. But I do think that their proposals and plans are not probably going to address the reasons why birthrates have been declining in the U.S. for quite a while.

To expose some of the factors that probably affect the U.S. birthrate, I'm going to ask some simple questions, and as you read these, please do so in your head with a snarky tone:

• Do you know how expensive child care costs if the parents both work?
• Have you looked at how high rent is?
• Have you considered how expensive buying a new home costs? 
• Do you know how expensive it is to raise a child?
• Do people have access to IVF?
• Do you know how expensive IVF is?
• Have you noticed that people are getting married later in life?
• Do you realize how many people are in student loan debt? 
• How does parental leave work in the U.S.?
• Don't you even understand how tariffs work? 
• Have you bought a dozen eggs lately? 
• Do you realize how much the U.S. economy relies on Chinese imports? 
• Don't you know how expensive health care is in America?

Actually, if the U.S. went to universal health care like every other modern, industrialized nation in the world, that move might actually improve the U.S. birthrate. 

Instead, we have one of the most expensive health care systems because of health insurance, medical, and big Pharma lobbyists pimping owning politicians in D.C. 

Random Notes from a Crank

If you like a good fact checking like I do, read "Fact Checking 26 Suspect Claims in Trump's Address to Congress" from The Washington Post.  

Journalists need to stop calling what he's doing as "false claims." They are LIES. I do like how the author calls one of his assertions "absurd" though. 

I learned in January issue of Harper's that the "word 'huh' or its equivalent seems to exist in every human language, for unknown reasons." That fact makes sense to me. 

Here are some interesting gleanings from the February and March Harper's Indexes:

• Rank of November 6, 2024, among the days with the most account deactivations on X since Elon Musk acquired the company: 1
• Factor by which the average wait to receive approval for federal disability benefits has increased since 2019: 2
• Estimated number of Americans who died in 2023 while waiting for such approval: 30,000
• Percentage change since 1973 in the average American's carbon emissions: -36
• Factor by which per capita U.S. carbon emissions exceed the global average: 3
• Average percentage by which the opening of a Walmart Supercenter causes nearby household incomes to decrease: 6
• Percentage of U.S. solar-power capacity growth last year accounted for by Texas: 31
• Percentage by which Texas's new solar-power capacity exceeded California's last year: 358
• Chance that an American believes they have undiagnosed ADHD: 1 in 4
• Chance that they do have ADHD: 1 in 17

I wonder how many more deactivations have happened on Twitter because of Musk's work with DOGE? I hope there have been a lot. 

And I imagine the number of Americans who will die while waiting for approval for federal disability benefits will skyrocket this year because of DOGE cuts to the workforce. 

I'm surprised about the solar growth in Texas. However, it makes sense that the state could harness solar power. 

Like ADHD, I think there is a similar difference in Americans who think they have an anxiety disorder and those who actually have an anxiety disorder. 

The U.S. is a well medicated nation because of Big Pharma. 

Random Notes from a Crank

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that Congressional Republicans are going to reduce funding to or simply eliminate Medicaid to help try to offset their tax breaks for the rich. 

A repost on Bluesky the other day shared a great article shared by Charles Gaba shows by congressional district how many and what numbers and percentages of people are enrolled in such government programs. 

In my district, House District 15 of Illinois, 25.6% of the population depends on them. I would venture to guess that a number of those folks voted for President Adolf. 

If you're interested, it's "How Many People Have Medicaid/CHIP Coverage in YOUR Congressional District?"

I'm not much a gaming kind of guy. I had an Atari back in the day, and Mrs. Nasty and I got a Playstation as one of our wedding gifts, but other than that, there's only two games I've really played in the past five years. The first was Stars Wars Commander, which was a lot of fun and went defunct years ago. 

The past month I've gone back to the 80s. I'm playing Tetris. 

I find the game kind of calming for whatever reason. 

It seems pretty clear to me that President Adolf and his dumb-ass Secretary of Defense are going to "negotiate" in favor of Putin acquiring Ukrainian territories unless NATO gets involved, which they should. 

Read about it in the New York Times: "Warming Trend in U.S.-Russia Relations Leaves Ukraine in a Tough Spot." 

Random Notes from a Crank

I'd venture to guess that the people who say "America is the greatest country in the world" haven't been to many other countries. And if they've been to other countries, it's not been for a long while, possibly only on a vacation. 

I know of family who has had to have fundraisers to help pay off their debts because their father, who died recently, had cancer. The US has to be one of the few, if not the only, first-world industrialized countries in the world that doesn't have universal health care.  

We don't have one of the best health care systems in the world, but it's certainly one of the most expensive. 

I think there needs to be a Karen/Karin support group out there. Being a "Karen" has been a negative epithet for a few years now. I've never thought of the name Karen in a negative light. 

One of my former girlfriends in high school was named Karen. And she provided fabulous hand jobs. So when I hear something along the lines of "you're being a Karen," all I have is fond memories. I smile and have an overwhelming feeling of good. 

The past month or so when I wake up in the morning I have found one of my bird feeders and the hummingbird feeder knocked down. My bird feeders are "squirrel-proof" because they have a mechanism on them that shuts the feed holes if a rodent weighs down on the feeder. So I was nonplussed about how a squirrel cracked the code. 

I pulled into the drive the other night and discovered the perp who has been knocking down my feeders. It's a raccoon. 

When my son was young, I remember watching a PBS nature documentary on raccoons. The scientists were tracking their movements in the city of Toronto. It was amazing how active they are and how many they are. They're everywhere. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The other day I made up some sweetbreads according to the recipe in The Joy of Cooking. I had never had them before, so I thought I'd try them. 

I won't be trying them again. They're a gland from the cow, and I don't care for them at all. They remind me of chicken gizzards except they're bigger and spongier. Not good eats.

I thought I might like them since I like other offal, especially liver. 

When I called into my local health care provider about getting my Covid-19 vaccine, as I was on hold, one of the songs that played was "Take the Long Way Home" by Supertramp. 

I had not heard that song in a good while. 

And then the song after that was "Calling Dr. Love" by Kiss. 

I like their sense of humor. 

D.C. and Puerto Rico deserve statehood. Here's a recent article from the Washington Post that breaks it down for you: "No Longer 'Chocolate City,' D.C. See Calls for Statehood Grow Louder." 

Random Notes from a Crank

With so many people out of work, it clearly makes sense that the US should have universal health care for all citizens. Since health insurance is typically tied to employers, if you have no employer, you're out of health insurance. Having health insurance is crucial during a pandemic. 

This week I watched season 2 of Sunderland 'Til I Die, which is a great documentary series on Netflix. I feel for the fans of Sunderland. I can relate because I'm a Cubs fan. 

Based on the frozen standings of EFL League One right now, Sunderland is in seventh, which is not good. I'm hoping they make it back up to the Championship League in the near future. 

In Premier League news, there's a rumor out there about Wolves striker Raul Jimenez possibly wanting to transfer to one of the big six clubs. I'd hate to see Kane go somewhere else, but Jimenez would be a good replacement. 

And as this report from football.london relates, Mourinho is supposed to have plenty of money to spend on new players this summer. 

"A Shot in the Dark" by Roger Ebert

In "A Shot in the Dark," I like the way Ebert points out his opponents' beliefs and how they don't cohere with their stance against universal health care, Romneycare, Obamacare, and the Affordable Care Act.

As he says, "Many of the opponents of Universal Health Care identify themselves as Christians, yet when you get to the bottom of their arguments, you'll find them based not on Christianity but on Ayn Rand capitalism. Financial self-interest and the rights of corporations are more important to them than loving their neighbors." 

A recent study also indicates that the expansion of Medicaid in states is probably saving lives. However, Kevin Drum, a blogger for Mother Jones, has a good take on the study with graphs and a link to the original study.

And here's another of Ebert's blog posts titled "The Body Count."