LUCKY US…

There is an old Chinese proverb “May you live in interesting times”. With all the world-wide turmoil do you think anyone looking back at this point in time will judge this as an uninteresting time? We thought not. The world continues to disgrace itself in many ways with hostile invasions, economic disparities, climate disasters, an abandonment of ethics, and a general “I must win” selfish attitude. Today’s postings are intended to help you, the reader, make sense out of chaos. As usual, we will present what we believe to be facts and make what we hope are intelligent observations. If it appears that we favor one side of an issue versus the other ask yourself whether you see the facts and you are making that decision. The following items are presented for your consideration. We don’t expect universal agreement but we do hope for objective, factual debate.

MUSK-TRUMP: ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND TARIFFS

This topic touches on climate issues, economic/political impact, the relationship between Musk and Trump and our overall trade relations with China. Earlier (January 8th posting) we said we would compare Tesla EV autos against Chinese the BYD Company EV models.

TESLA IONIC (cost $38,000 and a range of 318 miles) vs. BYD DOLPHIN (cost of $22,500 and a range of 350 miles)

TESLA MODEL Y (cost $53,000 and a range of 326 miles) vs. BYD HAN EV (cost $35,000 and a range of 400+ miles)

TESLA MODEL X (cost $110,000 and a range of 348 miles) vs. BYD Tang DM-p (cost $40,000 and a range of 400+ miles)

This shows the superiority of BYD over TESLA. And reliability ratings are comparable for the number of vehicles currently in use. So you can see that BYD has a strong competitive advantage over TESLA. And now that Trump has allowed the EV tax credit to expire the pressure on TESLA is immense. TESLA sales are down in the US. In Canada, partly due to political scene changes, TESLA sales dropped 60% in the last reported quarter. All this while Musk talked his Board of Directors into a trillion dollar compensation package. There is so much wrong with this situation that it is difficult to imagine. Suffice it to say (1) Musk is overpaid (2) TESLA cars are not worth the money (3) tariffs are destroying–rather than-promoting US manufacturing (4) we will all suffer pollution damage because of the expiration of the tax credit for electric vehicles (5) Foreign countries (Canada, our biggest trading partner) are signaling a shift in consumer behavior to steer (pardon the pun) away from American made autos and (6) our president is punishing Musk and his voters by taxing Chinese imports (tariffs), ignoring the climate pluses of EV’s and filling his pockets with tariff money. Does anyone else see how perverted this is?

PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS…THE ROAD TO THE SUPER BOWL

We will step out on a limb and predict the Super Bowl contestants. The game will involve the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks. And the winner will be…Seattle. Sorry if you bet on the others but historically the team with the best season record usually wins the Super Bowl. Both New England and Seattle have 14 wins and 3 losses. But the difference will be the competition each team played this season. Seattle had arguably the tougher schedule. We predict a 7 point Seahawk victory.

THE POLITICAL MESS, COURTESY OF TRUMP

• The mess in Greenland is caused by Stephen Miller, the Trump adviser, who wants the president to challenge NATO countries. By facing off he accomplishes several goals: (1) he hopes to secure Greenland (2) he wants to divorce himself from all NATO obligations so Putin is free to decide when to absorb Europe (3) he wants to test the loyalty of his Congressional GOP gang (4) he wants the rare earth minerals in Greenland (they have the 8th largest deposit on the planet) (5) he wants to set the stage for colonizing South America (6) he wants to provide a northern sea route for Russia to the orient (Russia’s manufacturing/oil industry, etc. are in the western part of Russia) (7) he wants to discontinue NATO mutual dependency (8) he wants the United Nations committee to accept military dominance as a righteous manner to assume control of other countries so he starts with a “weak sister” situation in Greenland/Denmark. We said it was a mess. Eventually he will back down saying that he had secret talks and is willing to expand the US military presence there–it was just his way of negotiating. Too many GOP members of Congress are objecting –not because they are ethical–but because they fear not getting re-elected in November.
• Trump routinely screws up a situation and then tries to fix it. Examples: By destroying farm exports, he’s offering a $12 billion bail out to farmers. This is a very small fraction of the losses they are incurring and thousands of farmers are going bankrupt, Second example: Trump is offering millions of dollars to the medical provider industry because the loss of Medicaid dollars under the Big Beautiful Bill is causing hospitals and other care facilities to eliminate some services or close down completely. What Trump doesn’t understand is that the people those facilities serve HAVE NO MEDICAID OR OBAMACARE SUBSIDY MEDICAL PLANS. So the facility may continue to exist but none of the local residents can afford to use them. Third example: Trump wants energy independence and he wants the US oil industry to benefit. Apart from the climate implications, OPEC has now increased production by a million barrels per day. The world price of oil has plummeted to less than $60/barrel. At that price US oil companies CAN’T MAKE A PROFIT AND SO THEY ARE TEMPORARILY CURTAILING PRODUCTION. Instead of making us energy independent, Trump is making us dependent on foreign oil supplies and pricing. Other examples include his promising $5,000 checks to every citizen (DIDN’T HAPPEN), $2,000 tariff dividends (DIDN’T HAPPEN) AND IS NOW BILLED AS A TAX REFUND OF YOUR OWN OVER DEDUCTIONS. We’ll talk more down below about his solution to the Health care cost problem–spoiler alert-IT WON’T WORK EITHER.
• Your president showed why he’s still in grade school during a recent trip to a Ford plant. He was trying to position a “photo op” to prop up his positive impact on US manufacturing. It failed. First, manufacturing is less than 10% of our total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and falling further each month under Trump. Second, Ford just announced that it is abandoning its $19 billion EV venture and laying off those employees. Third, when heckled, Trump dropped the “F” bomb and displayed his middle finger twice. That’s real class and something we should be proud of. Imagine what we look like to the world and try to picture any former president acting like he does every day. It’s shameful and embarrassing–to us–NOT TO HIM.
• Canada, our biggest trading partner and (up to now) our closest ally has just signed a deal with China to buy billions of dollars of Chinese products while cancelling those comparable US products. Can you see more layoffs? Unemployment is soaring and will get much worse as Trump tariffs destroy the ability of the average wage-earner to provide for his/her family.
• LET’S NOT FORGET EPSTEIN FILES. The DOJ is breaking the law passed in Congress that required Pam Bondi to release ALL THE FILES by December 19, 2025. So far, we have less than 1% of said files. And apparently there is no recourse against the DOJ. This is another example of Trump and his menagerie being above the law. And it won’t change until the GOP candidates running for re-election start facing angry crowds who are fed up with this criminal bunch in the White House.

QUICKIES…

• The new Food Pyramid inversion is not to be taken seriously. It comes from RFK Jr. who consulted with 7 individuals, 4 of whom will directly benefit from the changes. In other words, it appears that our boy took a bribe. Why not–he sees everyone else getting in on the grift and sees a chance to make the most of his phony authority. Watch the numbers on the flu season and the nationwide measles outbreak and reflect on his anti-vaccination stance. As people (many of whom lost their Medicaid coverage) are admitted to hospitals and kids die from totally preventable serious measles infections, the clamor for his resignation will add to the displeasure of voters.
• This past year will be recorded as the second hottest on earth ever–going back to the 1870’s. We could recount all the droughts, wildfires, rivers of moisture, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. but the real story here is that none of our leaders care. Trump calls it a hoax. And he actively ignores electric cars for ozone-depleting oil pollution to repay his oil industry mega donors.
• The latest farce is the Trump announcement that he will initiate tariffs (10% to 25%) on all NATO countries that oppose his taking control of Greenland. Think about it. He’s adding 10% to 25% to the price of what you will pay for those products to make NATO countries fall into line. He’s penalizing you because they won’t give him what he wants.
• Switching gears, there is talk of using Artificial Intelligence to diagnose illnesses. Late night show comedians will joke about having a robot tell you how to care for yourself; but we see a role in that process. With fully digitized medical records on every patient an individual–using AI–could list symptoms he/she is experiencing and receive instantly a list of potential problems including the probability of each. This would, of course, involve a doctor but it could be useful on the urgency of care. And remember, each doctor uses the same info when you visit their office. Another advantage is that the quality and completeness of the potential issue is totally uniform. We know that not all docs are created equal. Maybe your doc knows more than mine due to his/her years in practice, other similar cases he/she have treated, etc. By using AI, you will get a full range of ALL possibilities. This kind of info is the perfect place to start a dialog with your physician.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: HOW TO SCREW UP THE NATIONAL PAST TIME

Ok, the LA Dodgers have won the last two World Championships. They did it by buying the best players on the planet, including some from foreign countries. And during this winter break they are again shopping with deep pockets. Two of their off-season hires are relief pitcher Edwin Diaz and outfielder Kyle Tucker. Diaz gets a 3 year deal worth $69 million and Tucker gets a 4 year deal worth $240 million. This brings the Dodger payroll to $429 million annually. They can afford this kind of spending because Fox Sports offered them a multi-billion broadcast contract. To put this into a perspective, the Dodger payroll is 3.3 times the payroll of the Cincinnati Reds, 4.5 times the payroll of the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3.2 times the payroll of the Milwaukee Brewers and 4.5 times the payroll of the Washington Nationals. Get the picture? Not exactly a level playing field. But where it really hits home (pardon the pun) is that the MLB Commissioner’s Office refuses to intervene. This is a clear case of the “rich getting richer” and the poor getting what’s left. If you’re a fan of baseball you might want to attend a game but if your home team is playing the Dodgers, your chance of seeing any honest competition is slowly but surely slipping away. It’s so obvious that one of the Dodger pitchers who had retired came back out of retirement TWICE because he sees this as a great opportunity to win games, add to his already glowing stats and maybe guarantee his election into the Hall of Fame. Question: Mr. Commissioner, how many times must the Dodgers win World Championships before you grow a spine and try to even up the talent?

• While we’re on the subject of baseball, the Hall of Fame committee is actually including an admitted sign-stealing World Series player to its 2026 ballot. Carlos Beltran was one of many Houston Astros team members who was caught stealing signs in 2019, the year the Astros won their World Championship. Does anyone see the hypocrisy in allowing an admitted cheater and a drug pimp (Alex Rodriguez) on the ballot while denying Pete Rose the same opportunity while he was alive? All these offenses definitely affected the outcome of games. But Beltran and Rodriguez come from large markets; Pete Rose does not. Are the “rich” to be treated better than the “poor”? Do you see a pattern here?

THE LATEST JOKE: THE GREAT TRUMP HEALTHCARE PLAN

As of today, Trump feels the GOP feedback that tells him “we are in deep you-know-what if we don’t come up with a healthcare plan”. Re-election is a waning hope unless we float at least some idea that we have a plan. Trump sees the impact of a Dem super majority in Congress and realizes that he will be impeached (without a doubt) if that happens. So–he acts out of self-defense. He doesn’t care what happens to others but–when it hits him–he’s all action. The problem is he has no clue about what to do so his thrust is to give money to people so they can buy their own coverage. Problem is: he can’t begin to cover their cost. Health care in 2026 in the US is estimated to cost approximately $5.2 TRILLION. That’s just for one year. Do you see how ridiculously out-of-touch our leader is? Of course, there are no details about how this fantasy plan will work but Trump hopes that, for the present, his faithful moronic voter base will forget about it after they see his headlines. He has a very low opinion of his supporters and so far he’s been right on target about their IQ.

MEDICAL PLAN COSTS: HOW TO CONTROL THEM

Your blog editor spent 40 years in the employee benefits field and delivered many lectures on how to control medical plan costs. Earlier this month we reminded our readers (1) medical care is dependent on the amount of needed medical services and (2) the way to control costs in any plan involve cost transfer and cost avoidance. The focus needs to start at the demand for services. The old rule is that, in any group, 20% of the medical plan participants account for 80% of the plan expenses. So the obvious solution is to get rid of that 20%. Fortunately for all of us, it can’t work that way due to laws, key employee retention, an ethical context and group morale. Here’s the problem. We’ve been taught to accept people for whatever they choose to do as long as it’s legal. We suggest another standard. We suggest that WE ACCEPT PEOPLE FOR WHATEVER THEY DO AS LONG AS IT’S LEGAL AND IT DOESN’T ADVERSELY IMPACT OTHERS. Example: if I’m an employee in a company and participate in a medical plan as part of my compensation I shouldn’t be asked to pay for the 3 members in the group plan who eat too much, drink too much, smoke too much, etc. You get the idea. When those people live their lifestyle they may do it legally but they cost me if my medical plan contributions increase because they don’t care to be responsible members of the group. Legally the employer may have no recourse but ethically the employer has a responsibility to the other employees who must pay for the physical abuse these 3 “bad apples” inflict on themselves. So, here’s our suggestion (disclaimer: these will not comply with current legal or other guidelines):

MEDICAL PLANS: all employees and dependents (if including family coverage) must submit to a series of questions and basic lab tests. Those who achieve high marks are asked to pay the lowest contribution to participate in the medical plan. Those who receive the lowest marks must pay the most for their medical plan participation. Such individuals are told that they should address their medical issues and may be re-tested every 6 months to determine whether they qualify for a lower medical plan contribution rate. Each year the company sets its contribution rates based on insurance company-provided premiums. The peer pressure exerted will either cause the 3 individuals to change their habits and improve their health or they will look for other companies that won’t hold them to task. If the individual who is causing the cost increases shows they are doing all they can to fix the problems but without success, an exception may be made. As we said, this isn’t legal but it is an intelligent way to focus on those employees who ignore the consequences of their lifestyle decisions on fellow employees. BTW, all medical info must be kept private and only an outside medical resource should be used.

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NEXT TIME: A PHILOSPHICAL NOTE, SOME RELIGION, POLITICAL UPDATES, THE SPORTS WORLD, HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON ALL EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS, ETC.

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