Amidst the fervor of extreme loyalists on both sides, it’s easy to get lost in the fog of political rhetoric. Few people truly understand what either side plans to do to tackle our most pressing issues—inflation, Abortion, hot and potential wars, and debt. This confusion is not accidental but a result of both sides’ contradictory positions. They present their plan with conviction, only to undermine it in the next breath.

There is little doubt inflation underlies our economic discontent. No matter how hard we work, even receiving pay raises, we have less at the end of the month. That new house or auto keeps getting further out of reach. The little extras, an evening out or a quick vacation that makes life enjoyable, are outside the budget. The Great Inflation of the 1970s ended when double-digit interest rates ended in a deep recession. What are our two parties proposing to avoid a repeat?

The simple definition of inflation is too many dollars chasing too few goods. One gains control over inflation by cutting down on excess dollars, increasing the amount of goods, or both. So, what do the two major parties propose to improve in these areas?

The Democrats gave us the “Inflaton Reduction Act,” with its likely trillion-dollar price tag, it’s putting more dollars out there. Enormous subsidies for expensive electric vehicles (EVs) require materials such as lithium batteries, which are not readily available here. Most come from China, allowing that nation to produce cheaper EVs. Denying Chinese producers subsidies through local content rules and high tariffs will protect our high-cost auto companies. Favoring unionized plants will further increase prices. These problems extend to solar panels and windmills, which are also subsidized by this act, guaranteeing their high costs.

The Trump Republicans have also shown a taste for tariffs and subsidies. Biden extended and added to Trump’s tariffs, and some Republicans happily signed on to the subsidies in the Chip Act. One saving grace for the GOP is their likely reduction of restrictions on mining essential materials here. For instance, EVs require twice the copper of a gas-powered auto. The fact is renewables will need mountains of copper. Lotsa Luck with mining it here. The Resolution Mine in Arizona has been waiting for decades for approval. The Biden administration just vetoed Alaska’s world-class copper mine.

Subsidized Industries protected by tariffs and other rules raise prices. That’s what inflation is. The actions of both parties raise prices when we need to reduce them.

While both parties claim the Abortion high ground, if either extreme position is adopted, we’ll have adverse outcomes. Banning Abortion earlier than the second trimester runs up against the fact most abortions are done by pill. These are allowed in the first eleven weeks or almost all of the first trimester.

Banning these pills in a nation where it’s legal in some states but not in others will be impossible. Some will travel to get them or, more likely, rely on a criminal black market. Prohibition taught us to deny what many of the population want, only to enrich bad people.

However, once we hit the second trimester, the pill option is no longer considered safe. Ultrasounds have started the testing on what the grandparents see as their grandchild. The knowledge gained may result in procedures on the unborn. Some of these are life-saving.

It’s common sense: You can’t perform a life-saving procedure on something that isn’t alive. The argument should stop right there with the acknowledgment of human life. Nobody, even a mother, has the right to arbitrarily take a life. 

Constantly improving testing will reveal much more information about the little one. Enhanced by AI, we’ll know the combinations of genes, enzymes, and hormones dictating those “born that way, ” including those on the Autism Spectrum, LBGTQ+, and pedophiles, well before birth. We have to face the fact that armed with this knowledge, many, for their own reasons, will terminate pregnancies.

While reducing the number of pedophiles is a positive, do we want a significant reduction in other groups? Are Bill Gates and Pete Buttigieg comfortable with fewer people of their kind? Is diversity essential or not? Allowing at-will Abortion up till birth will have unintended consequences. Look at China. Far fewer females have unbalanced the population for generations.

Given the negatives at either end, it makes sense to join most of the developed world and limit Abortions with narrow exceptions to around fifteen weeks. Rather than thinking things through, both parties cling to extremes.

Since the last presidential election, we have lost the Afghanistan War and are supporting friends in two other conflicts. Does anyone know our plans to close out the present hostilities with victory? Trump claims he’ll settle the Ukraine War in 24 hours. How? By giving more of an invaded country to the invader? By threatening Putin with giving the Ukrainians the arms necessary for victory? Providing the right arms might defeat Russia, but Putin must feel the pain before he yields. Threats without follow-through have never impressed the Russian dictator. That takes time.

Biden has never provided Ukraine the arms needed for victory. He holds Israel to impossible standards, making its job much more difficult. As a result, both conflicts rage on, each possibly widening the longer they go on. 

Both parties owe us their plan for a favorable resolution on all fronts.

Everyone knows we’re heading towards a fiscal cliff, yet both parties refuse to discuss entitlements. We know in less than a decade, we will have to borrow vast sums to send baby boomers checks and pay their medical bills. If you hate the inflation now, wait. You haven’t seen anything yet.

With two clueless parties like the Republicans and Democrats, 2024 is the election no one wants.