Modernizing government might not sound sexy as a political agenda item, and definitely doesn’t carry the interest of MSM headlines, however it’s actually a key tenet to reducing the size, scope and expense of government.  The utilization of modern technology to downsize government is a policy initiative.

The Trump administration is quietly putting private sector operational efficiencies into place within the federal government, as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross outlines:

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USTR Robert Lighthizer delivered testimony to congress today including an outline of dates, objectives and policy initiatives the Trump administration trade team plan to act upon in the next several months.

Important Discussion.

The current U.S. “America First” economic and trade team is entirely deconstructing the globalist efforts formerly pushed by multinational interests, multinational corporations, multinational banks and Wall Street.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and USTR Robert Lighthizer are positioned to shred and reverse decades of trade manipulation that have punished the middle-class and manufacturing base.   The best part of the committee discussion begins at 10:00 of the video with Lighthizer’s opening statement (prompted).

https://youtu.be/98sgAnjJ-CQ?t=10m

Congress is apoplectic about being stuck between their Wall Street corporate benefactors and a Trump trade team that is only looking out for America’s best interests.  The level of lobbyist angst amid the Big Club is palpable.

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Before explaining I must state this is written with a servant’s heart.  It is not my intention to debate the arguments or merit of legislation, only to point out the logical pathway if people hang tough, support President Trump and stay out of the traps laid by special interests (and their special-interest paid troll army).

There’s a parallel, comparative and representative example of what President Trump’s smart policy team is trying to do with healthcare; it lies within another set of economic policy objectives.  However, it takes elevation in thinking to understand the approach.

The comparative example is within the banking and finance industry.

For those who have read all the statements, watched the hearings, listened intently to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, you might have already noted their approach to working around the ridiculously burdensome Dodd Frank regulations within the banking and finance sector. – OUTLINED HERE –

Essentially, instead of trying to untangle all the complexities of decades long DC constructs enmeshing and enlarging the bureaucracy around banking, Trump’s team is constructing a parallel system.  Cliff Noted for Brevity: (more…)

Making America Great Again continues to run up against the reality of DC UniParty roadblocks.  Both Democrats and Republicans are procrastinating while hoping for any excuse not to participate in America-First policy advancement.

The election result in Georgia’s sixth district is yet another example of Trump supporters removing excuses the DC UniParty puts forth; yet the DC apparatus is so entrenched in their opposition to President Trump’s policy agenda, they sit idle spinning various congressional hearings-to-nowhere in an increasingly transparent effort to avoid action.

Anyone who believes Democrats own exclusive opposition to Donald Trump are completely ignoring the deliberate construct of the 2015/2016 republican primary. There are just as many -if not more- natural enemies within the Republican apparatus as there are within the Democrat group. “America-First” is antithetical to the UniParty.

Again, prior to Donald Trump there was one party in Washington DC, “The UniParty”. President Donald Trump represented a second party; an independent approach toward legislative and economic priority.  Trump was not a third party choice, Trump was the opportunity to finally get a second party in DC.

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In a speech Friday at a Miami theater associated with Cuban exiles, Trump claimed his executive order would cancel the Obama administration’s “one-sided deal with Cuba.”

President Trump cancelled President Obama’s Cuba Policy and ordered tighter restrictions on traveling to Cuba and a clampdown on U.S. business dealings with the island’s military, saying “with God’s help a free Cuba is what we will soon achieve.”

As Trump laid out his new Cuba policy in a speech in Miami, the White House announced plans to roll back or eliminate much of former President Barack Obama’s 2014 deal between the U.S. and Cuba.  However, President Trump leaves the U.S. embassy in Havana.

“We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer,” Trump told a cheering crowd in Miami’s Cuban-American enclave of Little Havana, including Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who helped forge the new restrictions on Cuba.

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified yesterday to the House Appropriations Committee discussing the FY 2018 budget, the current state of federal finance and the need to increase the budget ceiling.

Most of Mnuchin’s testimony focused on the bigger and more broad economic issues including: the federal budget, tax reform, spending, the debt ceiling, and the need to focus on GDP growth.

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Secretary Mnuchin also describes the current state of the trade team’s conversations with multiple international partners and how they are responding positively to the engagements of Mnuchin, Secretary Ross (Commerce) and U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer.

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On February 3rd 2017 President Trump signed Executive Order #13772 calling for a system of reviews, first due in 120 days, of the U.S. financial, investment and banking system for possible reform. Today Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin released the first in a series of reports (full pdf below) outlining the U.S. Financial System.

Given the breadth of the financial system and the unique regulatory regime governing each segment, Treasury will divide its review of the financial system into a series of reports:

• The depository system, covering banks, savings associations, and credit unions of all sizes, types and regulatory charters;
• Capital markets: debt, equity, commodities and derivatives markets, central clearing and other operational functions;
• The asset management and insurance industries, and retail and institutional investment products and vehicles; and
• Non-bank financial institutions, financial technology, and financial innovation.

Today’s report covers the depository system.

The full report is below and it is rather extensive.  Here’s my initial review of the content with the report embedded at the bottom.

Back in July 2010 when Dodd-Frank banking regulation was passed into law, there were approximately 12 to 17 banks who fell under the definition of “too big to fail”.

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Commerce Secretary Wilbur “Wilburine” Ross sits down for a big picture conversation to discuss the upcoming NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) trade renegotiation.

This interview is well worth the time to understand the dynamics and objectives of the Trump administration.

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We are incredibly blessed to have Wilbur Ross, Steven Mnuchin (Treasury) and Robert Lighthizer (U.S. Trade Rep.) as the leading edge of the new America-First economic revitalization.

These U.S. policy titans of trade, finance and commerce are the most comprehensively well-skilled people we have had assembled in our lifetime.

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Commerce Secretary Wilbur “Wilburine” Ross deconstructs the progressive talking points surrounding the insufferable Paris Climate Treaty and explains how President Trump’s withdrawal benefits the U.S. economic interests.

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Commerce Secretary Ross, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are empowered and positioned to create dynamic U.S. economic growth.

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AP is reporting the leaders of France (Macron), Germany (Merkel), and Italy (Genteloni) have released a joint statement saying the Paris Climate Treaty is irreversible and cannot be renegotiated. Effectively shutting down the only option President Trump left on the table for them:

Pay attention to the last sentence in the AP joint statement snippet:

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni said in a joint statement Thursday that they take note “with regret” the U.S. decision to pull out of the 2015 agreement.

The three leaders say they regard the accord as “a cornerstone in the cooperation between our countries, for effectively and timely tackling climate change.”

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