Archive for the ‘POLITICS’ Category
Donald Trump would be a lousy dictator
Thursday, April 18th, 2024Beyond Israel and War
Monday, April 1st, 2024Tiktok: National security and free market capitalism
Thursday, March 14th, 2024Anyone who knows me knows that I am a free market champion. I want government to leave business alone.
So let’s correct some misinformation about Tiktok.
The government is not banning Tiktok. Young people will still be able to dance badly and eat Tide Pods (although they shouldn’t) because someone on Tiktok will dare them to do it.
(Please don’t make the argument that Tiktok in America has socially redeeming value. It doesn’t.)
The government is telling a foreign country that they must sell Tiktok to an American company.
Normally that alone would be a bridge too far for me. Yet the evidence is irrefutable that the Chinese Communist Government is using Tiktok to spy on Americans. This is a national security threat.
This page does not do politics, but Tiktok is not a partisan issue. An overwhelmingly bipartisan coalition of Congressmen understand the severity on this issue.
Nobody is banning young people from dancing badly. Heck, I even engaged in breakdancing in the 1980s. I wasn’t half bad, actually. Thank heavens there is no video or photo evidence.
If the Chinese Communist government refuses to sell Tiktok, the American government will have no choice but to shut it down. Then some private citizen in America will create another app very similar to Tiktok. The dancing will continue.
There is no conflict in this case between protecting national security and protecting free market capitalism. As for the concerns of the young people, that is the least important concern. It is the job of adults to protect kids from themselves.
eric TYGRRRR EXPRESS
State of the Useless 2024
Tuesday, March 12th, 2024State of the Useless 2024: More Biden Build Back Blather
The man who began his 1988 presidential run plagiarizing Neil Kinnock began his 2024 State of the Union plagiarizing Karl Marx. President Joe Biden’s 2024 annual address was a State of the Useless. For 68 minutes, he screamed at Americans. He rallied his base while demonizing political opponents. His dark, angry, divisive speech starkly contrasted his carefully crafted nice guy image.
Even many Americans who like Mr. Biden personally lament his inability to improve their lives. Rather than calmly address real voter concerns, Biden rehashed the worst elements of his 2023 SOTU speech. The four categories of Biden’s remarks were divided between unmentioned issues, factually false statements, partially true statements lacking context, and highly questionable policy proposals.
The unmentioned is self-explanatory. Biden failed to show empathy regarding Laken Riley, a young woman murdered by an illegal immigrant. He confused her with football coach Lincoln Riley. Biden then pivoted to the loss of his own children. On the foreign policy front, Biden again ignored the global existential threat of Iran building a nuclear bomb and calling for Israel’s destruction. He did not mention Houthis murdering American soldiers. Biden’s stubborn refusal to mention radical Islam reflects his 9/10 mentality. Domestically, Biden did not mention the price of eggs, beef or gasoline. He did not mention social media companies engaging in mass censorship.
His factually false statements were easy to spot. He claimed that former President Donald Trump added more to the national debt than any other American president. Former President Barack Obama holds that record. Biden spoke about corporations paying zero taxes. This is false. Inflation is a devastating tax that affects corporations and consumers alike. Also, corporations risk their own money investing billions of dollars in research and development.
Biden’s claim that billionaires pay a lower tax rate than teachers is also false. He conflates lower capital gains rates with higher ordinary income rates. His proposed solution to raise capital gains rates would disincentivize investment. Lowering ordinary income rates would help the struggling middle and working classes. Biden’s talking point that Republicans want to eliminate Social Security and Medicare was debunked in 1995. That would be political suicide, and no political party wants to self-immolate. Biden’s implication that Republicans want to deny black suffrage has been untrue since the GOP passed the 15th Amendment in 1869.
Biden’s talk of hiring more border workers is contradicted by his own presidential actions. He fired border workers and other professionals for being unvaccinated, accelerating the supply chain breakdown. He claimed that America stood up to Putin when Russia invaded Ukraine. In reality, we dragged our feet and offered too little,e too late as the war rages on with no end in sight. Biden claimed to have stood up to Chinese aggression. In actuality, China’s government steals our intellectual property, floods our nation with drugs including Fentanyl, and spies on us with few if any noticeable consequences.
Biden’s most insulting falsehood was when he claimed that America has never fully lived up to her ideals. Americans shed the blood of thousands of our citizens to free slaves and defeat Nazism, Communism and fascism. We feed, clothe, protect and defend the world. We get the biggest things right, Biden’s slander of America’s character notwithstanding.
Biden’s most egregious falsehood was his vow to restore our freedoms. His entire government has been dedicated to restricting individual freedoms he disagrees with. He has used executive and regulatory power to restrict guns, oil, sugary beverages, red meat, and older but more efficient household appliances.
Biden’s partially true statements lacked proper context. He bragged that inflation dropped from 9% to 3%. While this metric is better than last year, inflation is still worse than three years ago when Biden took office.
Biden’s highly questionable policy ideas were numerous.
Price caps on prescription drugs reflect a lack of understanding of how companies work and what they do. Companies lose money on every failed product. They use the profits from their winners to offset their losers. Price controls were tried in the 1970s and failed.
Free pre-school is a budget-busting counter-productive boondoggle. Unilaterally canceling student loans is a financial time bomb for taxpayers that has been ruled unconstitutional and might be illegal. His two-state solution would gut Israel and reward those who murdered Jews including Americans on October 7th, 2023.
Banning assault weapons is demagogic. There is no such thing as an assault weapon. The 1994 ban was useless since criminals disobey laws. The book “More guns, less crime” is one of many detailed studies that show concealed carry laws reduce crime while strict gun control laws increase crime.
His speech was a useful reminder that for America to get back on track, the 2025 State of the Union address must be delivered by Trump and not Biden.
Eric Golub is a comedian, author and retired stockbrokerage and oil professional living in Los Angeles. His interests include football, politics, Judaism, the stock market, and Angela Lansbury’s “Murder, She Wrote.”
Time, Time, Time, is on Israel’s side…yes it is
Wednesday, February 21st, 2024In praise of Warren Buffett
Thursday, February 15th, 2024“I Don’t Believe In Imposing My Views on 370,000 Employees And A Million Shareholders. I’m Not Their Nanny.”
— Warren Buffett
Politically, Mr. Buffett happens to be a Democrat. He believes taxes are too low and has pushed for higher taxes. I disagree with him. Yet what matters is that he keeps his personal politics out of his investing.
There is nobody on this earth better at picking a stock than Buffett. He believes in real companies with real products and services that produce real earnings.
He refused to take part in the internet tech boom of the 1990s. He was vindicated when the boom went bust in the brutal bear market of 2000-2002.
Mr. Buffett refuses to put money into Bitcoin. In his words, cryptocurrency “doesn’t do anything.” There’s nothing there.
Yes, Buffett has missed out on some spectacular gains. Yet he is an investor, not a speculator or gambler. He likes value stocks. He invests in solid companies with strong management that are undervalued and have long term growth potential.
Many companies have been letting politics interfere with investing goals. Some companies have even mandated that politics be considered a key investing goal. This has several names, from “Woke investing” to “socially responsible investing.”
Buffett absolutely believes in social responsibility in his personal life. He has vowed to donate the vast majority of his wealth to charity before and after his death. He has even cajoled many other billionaires into signing a pledge to do the same.
Yet Buffett separates his personal life from his job as a CEO. The evidence is overwhelming that his approach has succeeded. Berkshire Hathaway stock just hit an all time high.
What Buffett does with his personal fortune is none of my business. As a shareholder in his company, what he does with company money is absolutely my business. He is a great CEO because he understands this.
The greatest investor in the history of investing believes all politics should be removed from businesses. He is 100% right.
The Oracle of Omaha gets it. Long Live Warren Buffett.
eric
52 happy memories upon turning 52
Tuesday, January 9th, 2024My birthday: 52 happy memories upon turning 52
I entered this world 51 years ago today on January 9, 1972. On my 49th birthday, here are 49 happy memories.
1.) Every moment I ever spent with my grandparents. They are gone now, but I had all four of them when I graduated college and three of them when I turned 30. I am blessed.
2.) January 9, 1977 — The Oakland Raiders won the Super Bowl on my fifth birthday. I saw the logo and became a Raider for life.
3.) August 15, 1980 — Smokey and the Bandit II came out. I saw the original and the sequel and became a lifelong fan of the Bandit and the Snowman.
4.) January 22, 1984 — The Raiders won their third Super Bowl. I still remember telling the kids at school the next day one simple message. “Just win baby!”
5.) January 21, 1985 — I had my Bar Mitzvah, the Jewish passage into manhood. My Orthodox Rabbi grandfather led the ceremony.
6.) July 13, 1990 — I watched Bill Murray in “Quick Change” for the first of over 100 times. This movie is true New York, and Murray remains a national hero.
7.) August 26, 1990 — I flew from New York to Los Angeles for college. I immediately fell in love with this city and never left.
8.) September 26, 1990 — I joined the campus radio station and developed my lifelong love of radio.
9.) May 10, 1992 — I wrote my first song. 70 more would follow.
10.) January 9, 1994 — The Raiders won a playoff game over arch rival Denver on my 22nd birthday. We all had a big party to celebrate afterward at 1950s Cafe Ed Debevic’s.
11.) June 14, 1994 — The New York Rangers won the NHL Stanley Cup and ended the 54 year curse.
12.) September 13, 1994 — I passed the Series 7 stockbroker’s exam. At that moment I was now a professional.
13.) June 1, 1997 — I saw my friend doing something on a computer that seemed different. He was in a chat room. It was my first time using the Internet.
14.) July 4, 1999 — My friends and I crashed an Independence Day party on the beach and escaped moments before police busted up the party.
15.) September 23, 1999 — I finally got my driver’s license. I never needed one before.
16.) December 31, 1999 — Ringing in the Millennium in Las Vegas.
17.) March 1, 2000 — I flew from Los Angeles to New Orleans for Mardi Gras 2000. I still have my Calvin and Hobbes t-shirt, “Life is short. Party naked. Mardi Gras 2000.”
18.) February 13, 2003 — I watched the movie “Old School.” I will forever thank Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell and “The Godfather” Luke Wilson for inspiring me at age 31 to finally start going to Florida for Spring Break. Years of South Beach, Miami revelry ensued at the Clevelander and Ocean’s 10.
19.) March 14, 2003 — I flew to Singapore and Thailand and got to experience five days of beauty in each country. I met the Jewish communities of both nations.
20.) November 4, 2003 — NFL Network was born. Finally, a television channel worth watching existed.
21.) November 2, 2004 — Enjoying the 2004 election with my closest friends.
22.) February 12, 2006 — I flew from Los Angeles to Hawaii. I met the Jewish community of Honolulu and attended my first NFL Pro Bowl. I met ESPN’s Chris Berman.
23.) April 28, 2006 — I flew from Los Angeles to New York and went to Radio City Music Hall. For the first time, I got to attend the NFL Draft and meet a bunch of great football heroes.
24.) August 4, 2006 — I flew from Los Angeles to Ohio and drove to Canton. I visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame, saw the induction ceremony featuring John Madden, and attended the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.
25.) March 11, 2007 — I Started a blog called the Tygrrrr Express. That column somehow turned into five books and a national speaking career.
26.) September 11, 2007 — On the sixth anniversary of the attacks, I flew from Los Angeles to New York and then drove to Great Adventure in New Jersey. I attended Sean Hannity’s Freedom Concert and saw New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani light up the crowd.
27.) October 17, 2007 — I joined Facebook. Between that and Twitter, I have met many good people, increased book sales, and built my business.
28.) February 2, 2008 — I flew from Los Angeles to Phoenix and attended my first Super Bowl. The New York Giants shocked the previously unbeaten New England Patriots.
29.) March 30, 2008 — My friend adopted a child from Guatemala. On this day “the boy” turned one. Being “Unca Eric” is the best job in the world.
30.) May 13, 2008 — I flew from Los Angeles to Washington, DC. I attended the Republican Jewish Coalition Leadership Conference and met Dr. Charles Krauthammer.
31.) August 6, 2008 — I flew from Los Angeles to Israel and spent a week in the Holy Land.
32.) August 30, 2008 — I flew from Los Angeles to Minneapolis for my first Republican Convention. For a week, friends and I slept in a sports bar. It was like being Norm Peterson from “Cheers.”
33.) April 5, 2009 — My first book “Ideological Bigotry” was published.
34.) September 1, 2009 — I left Wall Street after 15 years and began my career as a full-time professional speaker.
35.) November 11, 2009 — I flew from Los Angeles to Galveston and spoke at the Texas Federation of Republican Women Convention. I made TFRW and other lifelong friends in the Lone Star State.
36.) March 11, 2010 — I flew from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City to speak at the National Federation of Republican Women Spring Conference. That launched me nationally since the NFRW run the world.
37.) May 1, 2011 — In Aiken, South Carolina, I saw the news that Osama bin Laden was killed. That night I told my very best political joke. “Osama bin Laden is now burning underground with 72 Helen Thomases.” It was the bookend to my very first political joke. “Never rely on a Palestinian GPS tracker. I took one wrong turn, ended up at a cemetery, and a sinister voice said, ‘You have reached your final destination!’ I got so angry I threw the thing out the window, which was good because 5 seconds later it exploded.”
38.) February 9, 2013 — I met Vice President Dick Cheney and spoke in front of him at a dinner.
39.) September 25, 2013 — I spoke to a Tea Party group in Hays, Kansas. At that moment, I had officially spoken in all 50 states.
40.) November 4, 2014 — I spoke at an election night party in New Jersey.
41.) March 20, 2015 — After writing four political comedy books, I finished my first religious comedy book “Jewish Lunacy.” This allowed me to move beyond political speaking into religious speaking.
42.) May 12, 2015 — I met President George W. Bush and shook his hand.
43.) November 8, 2016 — Enjoyed a raucous election night party in Raleigh, North Carolina.
44.) Any woman whoever let me play with her yummy bouncies or at least was nice enough to send me pictures of them.
45.) January 9, 2018 — On my 46th birthday, the return of Chucky as Jon Gruden returns to the Black Hole to rejoin the Raiders. Like me, Gruden has unfinished business.
46.) November 9, 2018 — I met Angela Lansbury in Beverly Hills and got my picture taken with her. She remains one of the most talented people in the history of entertainment.
47.) 2019 was the year I branch out beyond books and into t-shirts. I started with 2 or 3 designs in 2017 and 2018. By the end of 2019 I had 49 mostly original t-shirt designs. Now I have over 250 mostly original designs. My best seller remains “Stop judging women by their tops. #BackSidesMatter!”
48.) 2020 was a brutal year for so many people because of a global pandemic. Yet thank God I was healthy and in better financial condition than previous years. On January 9, 2021, I watched the NFL Wildcard playoffs with friends. Normally there would be 2 games as has been the case for the last 30 years. Yet for the first time, there were 3 games, with 3 more to occur on January 10th. I watched football all day and had a great day with people who matter to me. I was besieged with well-wishes from hundreds of people by text, phone call and social media. My birthday evening capped with a special someone. I am blessed as can be to have had such a great birthday.
49.) August 9, 2021 — Rabbi Yaakov Perman of Chabad Leawood, Kansas helped me put on Tefillin. At that moment, I had finally put on Tefillin in all 50 states.
50.) On February 14, 2022, I achieved the American dream that I thought was forever beyond my reached. I finally bought a home. I own a condo in North Miami, Florida.
51.) On August 14, 2022, I achieved another dream that I thought would never happen. After a life of bachelorhood, I got married. She is a Republican Jewish brunette.
52.) On April 7, 2023, I purchased my second home, a condo in Aventura, 4 miles from the first home in North Miami in South Florida.
I would like to thank my parents for raising me right and Angela Lansbury’s JB Fletcher of “Murder, She Wrote” for catching murderers and making the world safer.
Anything I could possibly wish for has already been granted. Between my parents, my wife, and the best friends a guy could possibly ask for, I am truly blessed.
eric @ Tygrrrr Express
FINALLY: Claudine Gay Lesbian Bi Trans Queer is out
Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024FINALLY! The completely unqualified token hire Claudine Gay is stepping down.
Ivy league academia just became 1/1000th less racist, sexist, antisemitic and ideologically bigoted.
Harvard is now eagerly searching for another totally unqualified black female leftist who can pretend to be against genocide.
No word on whether Harvard is pleading with Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Gay.
Just to be clear. Claudine Gay is not being criticized because of her race or gender. She’s being criticized because she sucked.
Ms. Gay is not qualified to do anything, so she is most likely to remain in academia. Hamas University may need new professors soon. Otherwise, she can become CNN or MSNBC’s ethics consultant.
No word on whether Claudine Gay will change her name to Claudine LGBTQ.
As for the white male leftists who run Harvard’s Board of Trustees, they may pretend to be true believer socialists, but they become capitalists in a heartbeat when their own financial bottom lines are affected.
If Harvard wants to truly fix the damage, make the next President a conservative Republican. That way there is a better chance they will have done real work.
Sally Kornbluth at MIT needs to join Gay and UPenn’s Liz Magill on the unemployment line.
Lastly, Claudine Gay is a tiny part of the problem. DEI must DIE.
eric TYGRRRR EXPRESS
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New Years Eve 2023 with Lil Jon and Senator Schatz
Sunday, December 31st, 2023December 31, 2023:
LOS ANGELES: New Year’s Eve is a truly magical night. On this one night, many of Earth’s seven billion inhabitants temporarily cast aside religion, politics, and even sports rivalries.
Peace on Earth briefly breaks out. We bid farewell to a tough year and in this case. We pray that the incoming new year will be better, perhaps even peaceful.
We pray for peace, love, and a better world.
After almost three years of parties being canceled, the parties in 2023 are back on like Donkey Kong!
On January 15, America will honor the late Martin Luther King Jr. We will vow to honor his legacy of peaceful non-violent civic activism. MLK is universally beloved because he believed in fighting for change peacefully.
New politicians will take office on Wednesday, January 3.
Yet the hours leading into January 1 are not about the Republican Party or the Democrat Party.
It is about house parties, club parties, rooftop parties, and the party for the sake of partying parties.
This is before getting to the after-party.
We eat and drink to excess, dance badly, and upload pictures to social media that should never be uploaded.
For one night, much of the entire civilized world is a happy, peaceful, global family united in sheer joy and revelry.
In Gotham City, 2024 commences, and peaceful behavior erodes.
All hell breaks loose with the dropping of the ball in Times Square. People kiss, sing, and then try to escape the freezing weather they have been standing in for the last ten hours.
Of all the global celebrations welcoming the end of 2023, nothing says New Year’s Eve like the convergence of a rap star and an unknown politico.
The rapper is a long-haired, gold-toothed entrepreneur and former Trump Celebrity Apprentice semi-finalist Lil Jon. Dave Chapelle lampooned him as the guy who only says “what” and “ok.”
Lil Jon brought the world one of the greatest party songs, “Shots.”
A celebration of alcohol and fun, plenty of shots will be consumed as 2023 ticks down.
While Lil Jon’s celebrity is established, the senior United States Senator from Hawaii is still barely known on the mainland.
The Senator’s name is spelled “Schatz,” although his last name is pronounced “shots.”
The U.S. Senate has long been about partying, alcohol, and law-breaking in between occasional bouts of governing.
Therefore, the upper chamber of Congress should treat Schatz as a celebrity.
Let Lil Jon do the swearing-in ceremony as the Republican Party and the Democrat Party continue to spend like drunken sailors
at a never-ending New Year’s Eve Party.
Happy New Year Schatzie! Party time!
“When I arrive on the Hill, all eyes on me.
Congressional bender, all drinks are free.
We’re drunken spenders, we’re so far gone.
It’s free money time, so come on down!
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz Schatz,
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz,
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz,
Schatz, everybody!
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz,
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz Schatz,
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz,
Schatz, everybody!
The ladies love us, when we give free stuff,
We spend your money, on needless fluff,
We’re drunk on power, how ‘bout you?
Bottoms up, let’s go round two!
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz,
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz Schatz,
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz,
Schatz, everybody!
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz,
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz Schatz,
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz,
Schatz, everybody!
If you ain’t drunk on power, get out of Congress now!
If you ain’t drunk on power, get out of the White House now!
If you ain’t drunk on power, get out of government now!
Now where are my spendaholics? Printing presses go!
Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz, Schatz,
Schatz, everybody!”
Party hearty, Senator Schatz! Greece, California, and Detroit are only a few trillion wasted dollars away!
To everyone else, may 2024 be a year of peace, love, and most importantly for revelers, fun!
Also, in honor of the junior Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono, do not hit on strangers after getting drunk. Friends don’t let friends beer-goggle. This is the Hirono rule, when a guy wakes up the next day, realizes what he has done, and yells, “Her? Oh, no!”
Let’s party! What??????
Happy 2024! Ok!!!!!!!!
eric
The Top 10 Powerful Bald White Guys (PBWGs) of 2023
Friday, December 29th, 2023Top 10 Powerful Bald White Guys of 2023
This list is dedicated to the late radio host Austin Hill. He was a great guy who left us far too soon. He loved this list and gave it more attention than it ever deserved. May he never be forgotten.
This list was inspired by Dann Florek, who played Police Captain Donald Cragen on the “Law & Order” franchises for a couple decades.
A lot of people did not make the list. Joe Biden is ineligible until he admits his baldness and stops hiding behind hair plugs. Vladimir Putin is ineligible because he is a ruthless killer and I do not wish to die. If he asks, I think he has lovely hair.
Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world, but he is no longer the CEO of Amazon. Being rich is not the same as being powerful. Bring powerful requires doing things. He seems either bored or retired. Rupert Murdoch seems to be retired as well.
Virginia Congressman Bob Good will almost certainly make the list in 2024. He is the incoming Chair of the House Freedom Caucus. He does not take over until after the New Year begins, rendering him ineligible for 2023.
With that, here are the 2023 Austin Hill Awards dedicated to the Top 10 PBWGs of 2023.
10.) Chip Roy: This Congressman from Texas is a member of the House Freedom Caucus. He says what he means and vice versa. He has spent the year dragging other politicians kicking and screaming into fiscal restraint. He would rank higher on the list except that he has had few successes on this front. It is tough to govern when you barely hold one of three branches of government. If and only if Republicans increase their majorities in 2024, expect Congressman Roy to have significantly more influence.
9.) John Stanley: The CEO of A T & T is on the front lines of the newest tranche of the digital revolution. While this company has a reputation for nickeling and timing their customers, that also makes a terrible company a great stock over the long term. After destroying DirecTV, Mr. Stanley came in and spun it off. Mr. Stanley according to surveys of various companies ranks near the bottom in likability, with less than 5% of his employees approving of his job performance. To be fair, employees have gotten terribly worse, especially among young people. Mr. Stanley would rank higher, but A T& T is one of the most mind-numbingly boring companies in America. If they somehow catch the AI wave, his standing on this list might improve.
8.) Kevin O’Leary: Shark Tank’s “Mr. Wonderful” is one of the sharpest investors around. He speaks plainly and with common sense. He actually ran to be the leader of Canada’s Conservative Party in 2017. He should have been on this list for years but 2023 was his breakout year in terms of exposure. He went from being almost everywhere to everywhere. His insights are valuable. He would rank higher except sometimes it is hard to figure out exactly what it is he does.
7.) Dave Calhoun: The CEO of Boeing is more influential than ever. Just when it looked like Russia and Ukraine were headed toward stalemate and possible ceasefire, Islamists in Gaza waged war on Israel. World War III may be bad for society, but it is great for defense contractors. with the Middle East on the verge of exploding into flames, Mr. Calhoun will make sure to crank out the necessary weapons. More importantly, he seems to be a very competent CEO. Boeing stock recently hit an annual high.
6.) Warren Buffett: On a personal level, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO suffered the loss of his Vice Chairman Charles Minger at age 99. By contrast, the Oracle of Omaha is a spry 93. Buffett is the epitome of a value investor. He avoided the dot com boom and bust a couple decades ago. Now he is warning anyone who will listen that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are a scam. Buffett is also against woke investing despite being a lifelong Democrat. He refuses to bring his personal politics into his investing, which is why people across the spectrum trust him. He is often wrong in calling for higher taxes, but after all these decades, there is still nobody more respected when it comes to picking a stock.
5.) Bob Casey Jr.: Like his father, Senator Casey the younger is that rarest of creatures, a pro-life Democrat. A staunch Catholic, Casey is an accurate representation of the heavily Catholic, blue collar Pennsylvania voters. Normally a reliable Democrat vote, Casey often confounds his own party. He has a brutally tough 2024 race against conservative David McCormack. If Casey can survive that race, his influence will grow if Democrats hold the Senate.
4.) Jared Polis: The Colorado Governor is more than just the leader of one of the first states to allow recreational marijuana. Now he oversees the first state to suspend the rule of law and ban a major party presidential candidate from running for office. While it was the Colorado Supreme Court that made the decision to ban Trump based on an insurrection he was never charged with, Polis gets to have it both ways. He can pretend to be above the fray while privately maneuvering to be the 2024 Democrat nominee if President Biden resigns. Polis is not known for ever taking a brave stand, so his rise or fall on this list will be determined by how he navigates this Constitutional time bomb. Polis benefits if the U.S. Supreme Court renders the issue moot.
3.) Gary Gensler: The Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission is a political activist with a thirst for regulating everything in sight. With the stock market hitting all time highs, he is expected to throw cold water on the party. Gensler is fine with woke DEI at the expense of corporate profits but heaven forbid a good CEO not have enough diversity. With calls to regulate cryptocurrencies, Gensler will have even more power. He is a former Goldman Sachs guy, which propelled his access to power. Republicans are trying to have him fired, but Goldman Sachs power brokers are usually above the law.
2.) John Fetterman: This rich white leftist spent his entire life doing hard drugs and leeching off of his parents. Like most failures, he became a hardcore leftist virtue-signaler. Despite suffering a stroke during the campaign, he still got elected as a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. He was expected to vote leftist down the line. Then he shocked the political world by offering startlingly lucid thoughts that broke from leftist Orthodoxy. He came out as a staunch supporter of Israel in a party with an increasingly influential and militant anti-Israel left wing. He also called for more border security. He even declared that he was not a progressive. When he was verbally accosted by an angry leftist who accused him of betrayal, he showed a surprising sense of humor. He pointed out his recent stroke and claimed that this left him unable to understand what the angry protester was saying. Senator Fetterman is less than one year into his term, and he has already angered people across the political spectrum. He has at least five more years to confound people without consequences. That is power. Yet for the second year in a row, Fetterman comes up one spot short.
1.) David Solomon — Normally the Head Sled at Golden Sachs is the top PBWG because Goldman Sachs runs the world. Goldman Sachs has a history of flitting in between corporate power and government power. Jon Corzine, Hank Paulson, and Lloyd Blankfein are all former Goldman Sachs PBWG top dogs. Solomon has missed out on the top spot in recent years due to tough economic times, war raging across the world, and an anti-Wall Street climate. Yet in 2023, happy days are here again. The stock market hit an all time high. Goldman Sachs now has its usual level of undue influence over the government. The company that is too big to fail with executives who are too big to jail escaped scrutiny during financial meltdowns. They are not going to lose power when Wall Street is making money hand over fist.
For being the most powerful guy at the most powerful company, David Solomon is the Top Powerful Bald White Guy of 2023.