Friday, February 09, 2018

There are some professionals that still practice ethics.

February 7, 2018
By Ron Foger

Flint, MI -- Legionnaires' (click here) contributed to or caused the deaths of two men who prosecutors say were victims of the disease while the city used the Flint River as its source of water, a doctor has testified.

Dr. Joel Kahn told Genesee District Judge David Goggins Wednesday, Feb. 7, that Legionnaires' at least contributed to the deaths of Robert Skidmore and John Snyder, both of whom died in the midst of the city's water crisis.

The doctor's testimony came during the fourteenth day of the preliminary examination of Nick Lyon, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, who faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office for his role in the water crisis.

Public records have shown DHHS officials were aware of a rapid rise in cases of Legionnaires' within months of the city changing its water source to the Flint River....

The kids can't read. The experience with Snyder's Michigan is profound and noted to be a direct result of the lead in the water.

Third grade reading proficiency reportedly dropped from 41.8 percent in 2013 to 10.7 percent last year.

February 7, 2018

According to the Detroit Free Press, (click here) third-grade reading proficiency in Flint, Michigan, dropped 75 percent--from 41.8 percent in 2013, to 10.7 percent last year. Flint school board vice president Harold Woodson, said the city was in "crisis mode," following news of the decline.

The water crisis began in 2014, when Flint's water source was switched from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The change caused grave long-term effects on the Flint community due to the consumption of toxic and lead-poisoned water. Now, a new report suggests the bad water may have contributed to a near 75 percent drop in third-grade reading proficiency in Flint.

Flint is not alone in its trouble with falling reading scores; achievement across the state of Michigan has been in decline in recent years....

It is silly policy to continue to replace dollar for dollar Wall Street losses to maintain the economy of the USA.

I congratulate the US Congress on passing a funding bill that will take any fiscal crisis into the year 2020.

US Senator Rand Paul has somewhat a rebel spirit when it comes to the national debt and national deficit. He has my enthusiasm, but, what I had to come to terms with is the idea that every second the government is not funded results in the losses of someone along the way, including the US Treasury.

While the financial sector is 24-7 there needs to be a reflection on the impact it has on the US economy as well as the global economy. It is the financial sector driving USA debt as noted in 2008 and today. At some point in time, the US government needs to replace regulation and consider a transaction tax. The transaction tax is the only way forward when the markets are stabilized by regulation.

The US Congress has to consider the financial sector is worldwide and the US is frequently used as a buffer to the volatility of other countries. The stability of the USA economy and it's ability to be exploited with silly policies from one administration and Congres to the next really has to stop.

The current volatility of Wall Street is brought on by two factors, the President's outrageous dialogue with the world, including domestic dereguation, and China's markets. China is a heavyweight in the global economy and with a billion people to move in their quality of life that is understandable, however, China does not regulate markets and only recently began to follow the FDA concept to ensure the safety of the Chinese people.

Over nearly two decades now China has been an open door to USA investors. That is changing and the once BRIC countries, including India, in this equation are coming of age. Realizing they are developing their own brain trust and their own understanding of the quality of life and longevity brings with it the same concerns for long-term well being and financial stability of 'the individual.' It is appropriate and necessary, but, it gives Wall Street heartburn. China has been an open checkbook and that is coming to an end in a very real way.

Additionally, over the past year, the USA Dollar is sliding and in a big way, not a simple and minor way. Given that, the Chinese currencies are looking interesting and Wall Street has never been at this juncture before in abandoning the USA currency as the bottom line to global markets, ie: the inopportune rebel Senator.

The world the USA lives in financially is changing. It's policies have to reflect greater stability and not less. Over the past year, the Trump White House has been destroying regulation after regulation or at least attempting to do so and the US Dollar reflects the uncertainty, while the Chinese currency is looking more stable than ever. 

So, with all that mess going on, the US Congress made the absolute best decision it could in funding the US government, but, needs to link arms and reflect on the stability of the financial markets and the effect they should and should not have on the US Treasury and it's growing deficit. Asking more of the USA people is not the way forward. It is time the USA return to responsible fiscal policy including regulation of the financial sector. The answer to political outcomes during an election is not for the USA to become reckless in order to find a stronger America. The recklessness of the past year has proven to be very detrimental to the USA, hence, the people.