Now that Joe Biden has stepped down as Democrat candidate for president and endorsed Kamala Harris, the question arises whether he should resign as well. This Wednesday, Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu will address Congress. Seemingly unrelated, the address and Biden’s fitness for office are closely connected.
The recent history between the two leaders has been fraught, but the immediate future would be truly dangerous.
Joe Biden is unfit for the presidency. He is unfit right now. It is not that he is incapable of campaigning effectively over the next four months or of providing presidential leadership over the next four years.
His current mental deficit was manifest in the recent debate. His obvious physical deficits reinforce the assessment of overall infirmity. He walks like a stick man and stumbles and falls regularly.
Biden’s unfitness is being processed as a partisan issue. Democrats are agonizing over his candidacy. They worry that he cannot campaign effectively. Yet the real worry is that he cannot govern effectively - not just in a second term, but for the next six months until Inauguration.
“Hamas can’t be destroyed.” So announced Israel Defense Forces spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, last week. Immediately, Prime Minster Netanyahu contradicted him, revealing extraordinary disarray at the highest levels of the Israeli government.
Actually, Netanyahu’s rebuke was a concession, in which he reformulated his original war aim of “eradicating Hamas” into “the destruction of Hamas’s military and governance capabilities.”
While the concession was long overdue, it did not acknowledge the whole of what Hagari said “This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear – it’s simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public. Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people – anyone who thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong.” The “idea,” of course is freedom for Palestinians.
April this year brought a nice surprise for federal and state tax collectors. Uncle Sam enjoyed unexpectedly robust net income tax receipts of $483 billion, amounting to a $103 billion or 27%, increase over April 2023, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Uncle Sam can use the revenue, but even a $100 billion surprise will hardly make a dent in ongoing massive federal deficits.
The increase was driven by a $77 billion, or 26%, increase in final payment of non-withheld income taxes, namely net taxes paid in estimated installments throughout the year. A large portion of non-withheld taxes are taxes on capital gains.
Connecticut enjoyed the same unexpected serendipity. Net non-withheld individual income taxes in April hit $1.7 billion, amounting to a $275 million, or 19%, gain over April 2023. Yet towering deficits loom.
April brought a big surprise – unexpectedly robust individual income tax receipts of $483 billion, a $103 billion, or 27%, increase over April 2023, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Uncle Sam can use the revenue, but even a $100 billion surprise will hardly make a dent in ongoing massive federal deficits. But why was it unexpected?
The increase included a $77 billion, or 26%, increase in final payment of taxes paid in estimated installments throughout the year, so-called non-withheld taxes. A large portion of non-withheld taxes are taxes on capital gains.
During his re-election campaign - and ever since, Governor Lamont has claimed credit for a Connecticut Comeback and for “progress on pensions.” Yet long-term debt has increased $3 billion. The unfunded liability of the state employee pension fund (SERS) has barely improved, despite that the state has put a whopping $5 billion in special deposits into it. The latest news on the economy is that Sikorsky will be laying off 400 workers. Where’s the Comeback? Where’s the progress on pensions?
When did you last hear of a major business moving into Connecticut?
This week every Democrat in the General Assembly voted for Governor Lamont’s 4.5% state employee wage increase for next fiscal year that will bring wage increases during Lamont’s time in office to an eye-popping 33% total increase. A state employee making $100,000 just prior to Lamont’s inauguration will get $133,000 next year. Nice pay if you can get it, and 46,000 unionized state employees will get it.
The time may be right for an international protectorate on the West Bank and in Gaza, creating a homeland for Palestinians and providing strategic security for Israel. Troops from a multinational coalition led by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia would replace Israeli troops. For Palestinians, this would end the hated IDF occupation; for Israel, it would place its existential security in the hands of troops from a broad and powerful international coalition.
The promise of the proposed multinational protectorate approach has just been demonstrated in an ad hoc way as multiple nations coordinated with Israel in the successful repulse of the recent Iranian missile and drone attack.
Two weeks ago, Joe Biden okayed more weapons for Israel to use during the U.N.-mandated Gaza ceasefire that Biden then greenlighted. Huh?
Yes, you read that correctly. As widely reported, Biden okayed the U.N. resolution for an immediate unconditional ceasefire in Gaza on March 25th. Few knew that, over the prior weekend, Biden had certified Israel as being in compliance with U.S. law and U.S foreign policy regarding acceptable use of U.S.-supplied weapons. So, more bombs and artillery shells are headed to Israel for... Somewhat incoherent, right?
Last week, there was a hearing in Hartford reviewing the investment performance of the state’s two big public pension funds. There was much self-congratulation. Hearst newspapers published a headline: “CT’s pensions hit $55B with a strong ’23 but debate rages over how we stack up.”
First, hitting $55 billion in assets is meaningless. What matters is whether those assets are sufficient to cover future pension costs. They are not.
Second, there’s no debate about “how we stack up.” The article confirmed once again the inadequate funding of the state’s big public pension funds, which rank – again – in the bottom five of the 50 states.
There was no mention at all of one major factor impacting “how we stack up"...
Wednesday, Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu met with Senate Republicans via video link. Netanyahu’s only friends in the world seem to be Republicans in the U.S.
Republicans seem to have forgotten the example of Ronald Reagan. When Israel began heavy bombing of West Beirut nine weeks into its 1982 invasion of Lebanon, President Reagan called then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and expressed ''outrage'' at the ''needless destruction and bloodshed.” Begin halted the bombing the next day.
Biden is no Reagan. He has been characteristically timid and feckless in his attempts to rein in Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has adopted a non-negotiable stance on his invasion of Rafah, despite that it will achieve none of his stated objectives. Backing down will constitute a dramatic rebuke for him – and, unfortunately, the nation he leads. How to prevent the assault on Rafah without Israel losing complete credibility?
