Picto Diary - 07, 08, 09 August 2019 - Hoover Institution Retreat Jackson Hole

Lee O'Hanian. Hoover Fellow. Hoover Institution Jackson Hole Retreat, Jackson Hole, WY. 09 August 2019.

Hoover Fellow Lee Ohanian notes AOC misperception of Sweden as an example of Socialism.

Bishop: Agree with AOC! We must institute policies of Sweden!

1. Flat tax.
2. Vouchers for for profit schools.
3. Low business regulation.
4. 20% corporate tax.
5. No minimum wage.
6. Significant co-pays for health care.
7. No new government spending sans offsetting cuts.
8. 401 k plans for government employees.

(Huh? Sweden is Socialist?) — at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole.

Gary Roughead. Hoover Fellow. Hoover Institution Jackson Hole Retreat, Jackson Hole, WY. 09 August 2019.

Gary Roughead, Hoover Fellow, notes China fishing fleet largest in the world. 14 MM Chinese in fishing industry.

China fishing doesn't play fair. They ignore international regulations, taking fish/protein out of African waters where African countries don't have the wherewithal to enforce regulations.

China manufactures more fishing shipping tonnage than any other country.
China remains a predator. — at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole.

David Davenport. Hoover Fellow. Hoover Institution Jackson Hole Retreat, Jackson Hole, WY. 09 August 2019.

David Davenport, Hoover Fellow, discusses "How Public Policy became War."

Act I. New Deal was America's "French Revolution." FDR might have studied under Rahm Emmanuel: "Never let a crisis go to waste." Massive aggrandizement of Federal power unintended by founders.

Act II. Advance the administrative state by "declaring war on something" ie. Policy Wars.

War on poverty
War on crime
War on drugs.
War on energy consumption
War on terror
Yada...

Five lessons on policy wars:

1. They don't solve the problem.
2. They block path to better solutions.
3. They increase executive power.
4. They are negative and destructive.
6. They never end.

National emergencies are a close cousin to Policy Wars. They, like "policy wars" are usually a smoke screen to cover for aggrandizement of federal power.

Presidential declarations of Emergency:

Trump. 3
Obama. 11
Bush. 10
Clinton. 6
Carter. 1

Act III. Manage the War Metaphor.

Above the line (Plato term): Implement Congressional reforms that will insure deliberation and attenuate confrontation. Eliminate policy wars.

Below the line: Improve education on America's founding principles and how government operates. — at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole.

John Cogan. Hoover Fellow. Hoover Institution Jackson Hole Retreat, Jackson Hole, WY. 09 August 2019.

If political differences could be reconciled, fixing entitlements (Social Security and Medicare) is a relatively easy fix.

1. Advance retirement date by two months per year.
2. Adjust annual increases to inflation, not, as is the case now, a benefit escalator that exceeds inflation

Addendum:

Hi Steve,

Enjoyed your post today. The information about the buying preferences of the Millennials and the changing dynamics of skier participation was especially interesting to me as I navigate renting our condo in Deer Valley. I have noticed that the norm these days is people looking to book a 2-3 day stay. Ten years ago, we wouldn’t think of booking for less than 7 nights, but we now are forced to accept a 3 day stay to keep up with the trend.

Keep the organ talk coming. Loved your comment calling the Bass coupler the automatic transmission of the organ. Organists are a special breed of musicians...Think about all that is going on simultaneously...As you read the score in front of you which is stacked “vertically” while moving “horizontally,” both hands responding on different keyboard levels, reaching up to change settings as needed, keeping your third eye on the conductor, all while the feet responds to the bass line “horizontally.” You have to be a freak of nature to coordinate all that at once. My applause to you!

Happy that you heard Kristin Chenowith at the Deer Valley Concert Series...jealous!!!!

Thanks for the fun and informative post!

Magnolia,
Miami, FL