Year End Review 2017

I’ve learned from experience not to make predictions or resolutions at New Year’s. But there is no harm in looking back over the past year and trying to assess whether it was a good year or not. In my opinion I rate 2017 as a good to very good year. Here are some reasons.

The World did not come to an End.

There are still real problems facing the world today but 2017 turned out to be a pretty good year despite dire predictions following the Trump victory. War still goes on in the Middle East but tensions in the Ukraine did not boil over. The North Korean nuclear threat is still there but 2017 did not see one of their missiles hit anyone.

The United States did not go down the Drain.

Predictions of doom did not materialize after Donald Trump was sworn in as President. Somehow, the nation has survived his first year as President. Despite unprecedented and vitriolic hatred on the part of his enemies, President Trump and his administration have chalked up a number of achievements. I said at the beginning of the year that it would be wise to see what Trump does as President rather than obsess over his words and tweets.

The Stock Market hit an all-time high with the Dow Jones Industrial average up 25%. Most global markets also hit record highs. At the same time, unemployment dropped to almost record lows. Interest rates remained relatively low. President Trump cannot be given all the credit for this economic boom but his election did not cause the economy to collapse.

In foreign affairs President Trump and the U.S. military must be given credit for the defeat of ISIS in Iraq, Syria, and the Philippines. The numbers of this terrorist organization have dropped from a high of 40000 in the Obama years to less than 1000 today.

Despite unanimous Democrat opposition, the Republican Congress passed a Tax Reform Bill.  Although it is still too early to tell, it would appear that the bill will benefit low income workers more than the well to do. With the increased standard deduction those living at or below the poverty level will pay little or no income tax. The so-called deductions for state and local income taxes (SALT) were cut back but that will largely hurt only high income taxpayers.

After some initial turmoil, President Trump seems to have put together a skilled and experienced set of advisors at the Cabinet level and on down. It appears as if adults and not ideologues are now in vital government offices. No one can seriously doubt that Judge Neil Gorsuch was fit to serve on the Supreme Court. Even a handful of Democrats were able to break the Schumer chains and vote for him.

Sexual Predators were exposed in 2017. The nation was “shocked, shocked” at the revelations and accusations especially when some of the accused turned out to be noted liberal supporters of women’s rights. Why were we surprised to discover that those in the entertainment industry who made movies filled with sexual abuse actually had “hands on” knowledge of abuse?

The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl and the Houston Astros won the World Series. Both teams are remarkable success stories that no one else seems willing or capable of emulating. In particular, the Astros managed to become a contender after being mired in last place only three years ago. Interestingly, while most major league scouts will not even look at a player less than six feet tall, the Astro’s second baseman, Jose Altuve became the league’s MVP at only 5’ 6”.

All in all, 2017 was not bad.  Just compare it to 1917 when Communist revolutionaries took over Russia. Last year there were celebrations of this history making event in certain parts of the world and on our own college campuses. However historians are still counting, and it would appear that over 100 Million lives were sacrificed on the altar of Communism.

I know a lot of bad things happened in 2017 and that things could get worse in 2018, but personally I will be very happy with another 2017. At the close of the year I even discovered a charming commercial with Goldilocks as spokesperson for the Purple mattress. Click on this link or see the video below.

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