The View from Right Field

Tony Campana, Thanks.

Tony Campana announced on Saturday that he was retiring from professional baseball with a classy announcement.  (Here.)  Tony played parts of two years with the Cubs, in 2011 and 2012, playing 184 games.  Tony got his only major league home run with the Cubs, which I think was smash down the third base line that bounced away from the left fielder while Tony rounded the bases.

But the thing I remember the most about Tony was the Cubs Convention in either 2012 or 2013.  When they introduced the players on Friday night, Tony got the most applause of any of the current players.  Because we liked him.  I recall reading afterwards that Theo Epstein was surprised because Tony wasn’t our best player.  But Theo shouldn’t have been surprised, and maybe he learned a little about Cubs fans from that.  Because we not only like the stars; we like the guys who try, and who give it their all, even if they don’t have the most talent. 

Tony was one of those players.  And anybody who saw him play will be glad they did.  I know I am.

Covid-19, Vaccines, and Systemic Racism

An article in The Washington Post notes the difficulty Washington, D.C., is having in getting younger Blacks vaccinated.  According to the article, young Blacks worry about side effects from the vaccine.  Also, some “are wary of the medical establishment" or don’t think they will get a severe case.

In addition, according to Ankoor Shah, the head of the city’s vaccine program:

“The solution is not only some program or initiative.  I think these are systematic and systemic and historical, structural problems that have happened for hundreds of years.  Institutional and structural racism that’s embedded through all parts of our society is making itself known.”

If that’s true, then it’s hopeless.  It’s already too late for this pandemic and maybe the next one, too.  I don’t know what the solution is.

The “Why Should Anybody Trust Us” Version of Leaving Afghanistan

As we leave Afghanistan, the question (or at least one of the questions) is what about the people who we are leaving behind.  Maine Senator Angus King (I, but really D), among others, is worried we aren’t going to be getting our Afghan translators and interpreters out with us.¹  These people helped us.  They worked with us.  They took a big risk in doing so, because the Taliban, who are not nice people, will come after them if they can.  They already have in some cases.  When we leave, they’ll do it more.

We promised these people we would get them to the United States, but guess what, it’s not going to happen.  Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told CNN:

“We’re determined to make good on our obligation to those who helped us, who put their lives on the line, put their families’ lives on the line working with our military, working with our diplomats”

Why Are Our Taxes So Messed Up? My Guess Is Spelled C-O-N-G-R-E-S-S

My previous post was about the amount of taxes rich people pay.  Based on leaks of confidential tax info (so much for secrecy of tax returns), the ProPublica website disclosed the absolutely shocking information (shocking to people who don’t pay attention) that rich people don’t pay any more taxes than the law requires.  And if the law lets them take deductions, claim credits, etc., they do it and, thereby, pay less taxes.  ProPublica was shocked.  I’m not.  I think it says more about the tax code – and the people who pass it – than it does about the amount of taxes people pay.

Which brings me to an example of the simplicity and ease¹ of our tax code: the deductions and credits for families and child care.  Before 2021, there were two basic credits: (i) a refundable tax credit of $2,000 for each child, which began to phase out when modified adjusted gross income exceeded $400,000 for a married couple; and (ii) a refundable child care credit of $3,000 per child, up to a maximum of $6,000 for two or more children, with a phaseout beginning at $125,000 for a married couple.

Are You Surprised Rich People Try to Pay as Little Tax as Possible?

The media has reported the shocking news that: (i) if you’re not vaccinated, you’re more likely to get Covid-19 than if you are vaccinated: and (ii) rich people don’t pay more taxes that they have to under the law.  Let me address the second.¹

The ProPublica website has published information about how much taxes people like Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffet,² etc., pay, information they got from IRS data that was leaked to them.  According to ProPublica, the information included more than fifteen years of tax data on thousands of people.  ProPublica says that it does not know where the information came from or who sent it to them, but they published it anyway.  Even though this information is supposed to be confidential and secret, not that many people seem upset about the disclosure.  The information is too much fun to care about confidentiality

What About That Covid-19 Lab Leak Theory?

Nothing has been proven yet with respect to the origins of Covid-19.  The theory that Covid-19 might have leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, is only one possibility.  Much more research and investigation need to be done.  We don’t know yet.

Except, we do know.  We know that, instead of the lab leak theory being so absolutely false that Facebook wouldn’t even let it be mentioned and would take down posts that talked about it, it’s now a possibility.¹  It’s definitely not for sure.  But it is, apparently, something that could have happened.  Which means we know what we need to do.

“One Little, Two Little, Three Little Babies.” China Changes Its Policy Again.

Six years after abandoning its one-child policy for a two-child policy, China has now gone to a three-child policy.  The one-child policy, which began to be strictly enforced in 1980, was put in place to limit population growth in the world’s most populous country.  The problem was that it worked too well, and in 2015 China went to a two-child policy because its population was aging and its workforce was shrinking.

But the birth rate hasn’t rebounded.  Economic growth around the world has reduced the number of babies that women have, and China has been no exception.  As its middle class has grown, its birth rate has fallen.