We saw the musical "The Greatest Showman" based on one of the greatest showman of 19th century P.T. Barnum. I love musicals (who won't especially folks who grew up seeing bollywood movies - 99 out of 100 movies are musicals). After seeing Hugh Jackman singing in Les Miserables, this was must watch for us. I would recommend both movies if you love musicals. Finally Hugh Jackman is done with his Wolverine claws and exploring other genres (Hugh - there is an idea "Wolverine the Musical"). Now coming to PT Barnum - he was one of the most famous personalities of 19th century. He tried his hands in many fields from entrepreneurship to politics. Along the way he got famous (and infamous) for many of his quotes like:
- There's a sucker born every minute
- Without promotion, something terrible happens... nothing!
- We have got something for everyone
- The noblest art is that of making others happy
PT Barnum is also associated with "Barnum Effect". It is a common psychological phenomenon whereby individuals give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically to them but that are, in fact, vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people. To some extent modern medicine trials including placebo (random double-blind) are based on psychological effects associated with Barnum effect. So Barnum's influence on American society continues well into 21st century in many fields he may not have even imagined.
Who is today's Greatest Showman? I am sure you know the answer. He has all the ingredients of what made Barnum The Greatest Showman. Many of the Barnum quotes could be directly attributed o him. You guessed it right. Today's Greatest Showman is undoubtedly President Trump. He knows how to promote himself and he knows that in his latest tax bill, he got something for everyone (more for his rich friends than common man). Everyone got surprised at the speed Tax Reform Bill was passed by congress and signed by President. He did not even wait for big celebratory function to sign the bill. He really wanted to get those tax-cuts effective on new year's day. He kept his campaign promise. Many folks may not like him but he is keeping his campaign promises like "declaring Jerusalem Israel's capital" without the consequences. After all he was elected based on those promises!
What should President Trump do: Embrace the "TIIH"
- Taxes - done!
- Immigration - He had given time-bound ultimatum to congress to act on DACA before these kids are forced to leave US. By taking on making DACA into law, he would score another major policy victory. Democrats would be fully supportive of this
- Infrastructure - Its time for America to invest in infrastructure (and avoid train accidents near Seattle). There are so many opportunities to bring America's infrastructure to 21st century. This initiative would also get support from democrats and boost economy to 3% plus which Tax bill is counting on.
- Healthcare - Trump tried and failed to repeal Obamacare. Trump and GOP are trying their best to kill it slowly by removing individual mandate in tax bill without providing any alternative. It's time for them to work with democrats to fix remaining parts of Obamacare (and call it Trumpcare if that's what he wants).
If President Trump can get these 4 initiatives done and be more inclusive and less abusive on Twitter, it would be good for him (for his re-election campaign) and America.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
/Shyam
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