This and That---March 2, 2026

A few random observations, charts and factoids to provide some context on what is going on in the world.

Not Afraid To Be Great

Eight years ago, one year into Donald Trump's first term as President, I wrote this.

I don't know if Donald Trump will be a great President, average, or terrible when history is written.

What I do know is that you cannot be great unless you are not afraid to be great.

I also know that Donald Trump is not afraid to be great.

That has been proven to be even truer in Trump's second term.

Consider just a few examples over the last year.

Proceeding with his tariff strategy despite claims by almost all economists that it would lead to higher inflation and wreck the U.S. economy.

It hasn't.

Launching an audacious bombing mission last year to take out Iran's nuclear facilities.

Using U.S. Special Forces to snatch Venezuelan President Maduro and bring him to the United States for trial while also stopping the flow of oil from that country to Cuba and China.

Of course, the biggest of all bets was Trump partnering with Israel in the last few days to target Iran's military capabilities and its terror-supporting regime.

You could not put down a much bigger bet than that one.

If Trump is successful, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism will be neutralized.

A potential nuclear and strategic threat will be eliminated.

The Middle East might actually find peace.

Israel might find itself secure.

The United States might be able to pull back its significant military presence presence in the region.

China, which has relied on cheap oil from Iran and Venezuela, may have to turn to the United States for oil to power its economy.

The Iranian people will be freed from the brutal theocracy they have had to endure for almost 50 years.

The benefits of Trump's move, as he would say, are HUUUUUGGE!

Of course, huge potential benefits invariably involve significant risks.

What happens if Iran's missiles do significant damage to the US Naval fleet?

Or to American allies such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or the UAE?

What if the world economy starts to teeter with an extended war?

What about the price of oil?

Or a crash in the stock market.

What if Iran retaliates with sleeper cells in the United States?

Any time you undergo military action there are second, third and fourth order effects that can occur.

Of course, great Presidents usually come about by facing great challenges. In many respects, the times make the man. It was certainly true with Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt.

Greatness does not follow when taking the easy road. It only graces those who are not afraid of the challenge on the hard road.

Success is never assured. Trump may fail bigly. However, he is not afraid to be great. 

That in itself is a rare commodity.

China Imports

Before Donald Trump was elected President, China was accounting for over 22% of all of the imports entering the United States.

Trump was determined that the United States would not continue to be that dependent on any one country, especially one that was not an ally.

 

That dependence had resulted in the loss of American manufacturing jobs in addition to it being harmful to the security of the United States.

China's share of imports into the United States has fallen to 7.5%---about where it was in the year 2000.

It really does matter who is elected President.

Where Did All The Day Traders Go?

Do you remember a few years ago when all the rage was around day trading?

You don't hear much about it these days.

I wonder where they all went?

Perhaps they can be found at the casino.

Unwed Mothers

In the United States, 40% of children are born out of wedlock.

However, that number is nearly 70% for Black children compared to 28% for White children.

There are also significant differences in this metric by country.

For example, 87% of children in Colombia are born out of wedlock compared to only 2.4% in Japan.

Can New York City Be More Like Tokyo?

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants to transform the city.

Most of what he wants to do would cost billions of dollars.

If he wants a model on how to make the city better he might want to look at Tokyo.

The Tokyo metropolis has twice the population and its annual budget is half of New York City's.

As an aside, New York City employs 364,000 government workers of which only 31% are White.

However, the budget of Mamdani contains these line items.

Is the objective to increase the number of Whites to increase diversity or to take the number to 0%?

I am guessing that Tokyo is not spending any money on DEI.

Business Start-Ups

Interested in starting a business?

The percent that you will be successful based on type of business.

Yes, there is a reason that there are a large number of self-storage businesses besides the fact that we have too much stuff.

I have to think there is also a lot of synergy in owning both a mobile home park and a laundromat in close proximity.