"Welcome to Trump D.C." #403
By Hank Silverberg
After all, the current occupant of the White House has changed the city's landscape substantially already.
He pretty much destroyed the reflecting pool on the National Mall by trying to "fix it". He tore down an entire wing of the White House to build a ballroom that really isn't needed (with security features underneath), and he destroyed the Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts by trying to put his name next to Kennedy's by installing a Trump-friendly board, which is now pushing for either massive Trump-inspired renovations or has threatened to tear down the building if they don't happen.
Then there's D.C.'s public golf course in East Potomac Park, long a place to play without snooty memberships and expensive tee-up fees. Trump wants to replace the public facility with an exclusive course for championship tournaments. He wants to rework the layout of three courses to one 18 hole championship course on about 50 acres of what is now a public park. That has led to the removal of 60 of the oldest cherry trees that have been on the site since they were gifted by Japan in 1912. There is a lawsuit over all this, but the judge did give the administration permission to perform needed maintenance at the site-- so there go the trees.
There's also the Arch he wants to build at Memorial Circle and the bronze statues that he plated with gold. He even has ordered the changing of the 200- year-old columns on the White House North Portico from the simple Ionic style to more ornate Corinthian.
Why? Much time has been spent trying to get inside the President's head and figure out what he is thinking. But one word pretty much sums it up: EGO.
Donald J. Trump wants history to remember him as a builder, a man who reshaped the world. He has proposed some changes at other places outside D.C. as well, like all the nonsense about renaming Lake Ontario, the Gulf of Mexico, and annexing Greenland.
This may sound harsh, but a few other people in history pushed their way to infamy with monuments and makeovers. Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Napoleon , Hitler, Stalin and Mao come to mind.
Trump seems to be in a hurry, probably knowing his time in office is running out.
I don't have a price tag on all these physical changes in D.C. I don't think anyone has added them up, but it's billions of dollars. Some of it is coming from private sources, but you and I are footing the bill for most of the "improvements".
News You May Have Missed!
When To Retire?
So when are you going to retire? The set age used to be 65, and some companies actually had mandatory retirement at that age. You can claim Social Security at 62 and and Medicare at 65, but the full retirement age is still listed at 67, with benefits maxing out at 70 if you stay on the job that long.
But the workforce is changing. Researchers at the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies say the average American actually retires at 62.
Boston College researchers say that figure is a bit higher, at 62.6 for women and 64.6 for men.
A lot of it has to do with Social Security facing insolvency. Congress passed legislation in 1983 raising full retirement age to 67 hoping that would decrease demand. It did, but just a bit. Between 1994 and 2024 the typical retirement age rose by about three years for both men and women. And Social Security no longer regards 65 as the normal retirement age. The Social Security system could run short of money by 2032, and recipients could see a 28% cut in benefits, so delaying retirement and saving more might be a good idea.
Express Lanes To Expand?
There's big news for those of you who live, work or travel near D.C. or northern Virginia.
Dumbest Quote Of The Week!
This week's dumbest quote goes to repeat offender, President Donald Trump, for attacking NBC's Kristen Welker of Meet the Press for her reporting on the Republican primaries, in which she said there were mixed results from candidates Trump endorsed. That was true. But Trump took offense to that, and said he would report her to the FCC:
"...because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment. Unfortunately, she is not the only one."
President Trump has tried to make the FCC into a censorship tool, but there's really nothing under the law they can do against Welker even if she was wrong,which she was not.
(My latest book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at: HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)
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