Recently several questionable decisions have been made by individuals and bodies that could have a negative influence on our lives have caught my attention.

The first is President Biden’s decision to forgive $10,000 of college loan debt for those eligible that could cost this nation as much as $7 trillion.

Although she changed her mind last week, Last year Speaker Nancy Pelosi told us the President does not have the power to forgive federal loans because only Congress can. The President’s action is unconstitutional but as we all know he is an empty book when it comes to the constitution.

The college loan forgiveness program is a real slap in the face of those individuals who worked, sacrificed and went without to pay off their loans, to those who did not go to college, but went into the workplace or went to technical schools and learned a well-paying trade. It is also a slap in the face of parents who scrimped on retirement savings while putting their children through college.

The real culprits in the student loan mess are of the course the Congress that never misses an opportunity to spend money and keep constituents happy and the institutions of higher learning that got on the gravy train and never got off.

From the beginning Federal loans were easy to get and institutions of higher learning, not being stupid, quickly recognized this fact and as the money rolled in many colleges and universities went on building and hiring sprees. Dorms were built that were more like hotels than the college dorms of my college years and dining halls that were more like restaurants rather that the cafeteria lines of my day. The new money allowed universities and colleges to hire additional faculty and administrators. Faculties grew with more deans and assistant deans but administration grew as more vice-presidents, assistant vice presidents and directors of this and that proliferated. The money was rolling so why not spend it. If more money was needed just raise, tuition, and fees because no one will complain.

Many colleges have very large endowments the result of the investment of gifts made to the college or university. Harvard has the largest endowment of $42 billion followed by Yale’s of $31billion. Coming on quickly is the University of Texas System at $31.5 billion followed by Stanford University’s endowment of $29 billion. Altogether U.S. public and private institutions have endowments of $691 billion dollars at the end of fiscal year 2020.

With so much money stashed in endowments, it has been suggested that some of these institutions might see it as their patriotic duty to contribute small amounts (a billion dollars in some cases) from their endowments to help defray the loan forgiveness program. Of course, that won’t happen.

Next on my list of bad decisions are wind generators on Lake Erie. The recent decision by the Ohio Supreme Court will allow the placement of wind turbines on the lake off of Cleveland as part of what is called the Icebreaker Wind Project. This is happening in Cleveland but already companies pushing construction of wind generators in our lake waters have contacted people and organizations in Chautauqua County.

Wind generation of electricity is an unproven technology. In five or 10 years it might be found that because wind energy is produced only when the wind blows no economically viable means can be found to store it for periods of peak demand or it might be determined that because our electric grids are so outdated most wind generated electricity cannot be connected to it. Engineers have described our grids as being like road system with too few on ramps.

What would happen if wind power is found to not to be viable? We likely would be left with deteriorating generators leaking lubricants into the lake water killing fish and other wild life and contaminating our drinking water

Remember this is an unproven technology and I only have to point to the silent wind generators at several Thruway exits to make my point. It is new, it may not work as we are told it will so we should be careful.

Next, in a move that defies logic the unelected California Resource Board has decreed that after 2034 no fossil fuel powered vehicles may be sold in that state. As the years go by more drivers will be charging their electric vehicles. This is in a state with perhaps the poorest electrical grid in the nation. California is a state famous for falling electrical wires starting brush fires and for “rolling brownouts” and just plain blackouts because of insufficient electrical generation. Imagine what will happen to the grid as millions of motorists begin charging their electric vehicles.

Finally, I was absolutely shocked by the FBI “raid” on former President Trump’s Mara-a-Lago Florida home. Until then Trump and his staff had cooperated with the National Achieves but in an obvious attempt to eliminate Trump as a candidate in 2024 the raid was undertaken on the orders of Attorney General Merrick Garland. After three weeks no smoking gun or document have emerged and it is readily apparent that the “raid” is just a continuation of the “never Trump” campaign that began in 2016 and shuffled through the Steele Dossier, Russia Gate, that joke called the Mueller investigation, two preposterous impeachments, and the senseless musings of Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff and Liz Cheney.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com