Important Issues Today And For The 2016 Election Campaigns

There are a lot of issues and policy goals each political party has: many influenced by lobbyists or electoral groups. The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal, Net Neutrality, Solvency of Social Security are a few and there are many more. There are dozens. Here are a few broad areas which will likely be discussed in the 2016 election campaigns, particularly at the presidential level.

Economy

-- A Rising Tide That Doesn't Lift All Boats: Poverty and Wealth Disparity --

On several recent occasions in recent months there have been Republicans speaking about Poverty and how to be rid of it. Rep. Paul Ryan (Republican candidate for Vice President in 2012) and JEB Bush (son of former President George H. W. Bush, brother of former President George W. Bush, former governor of Florida and possibly the Republican party's candidate for President in 2016) are examples. They have yet to directly addressed the economics ideas which have led to the problem of wealth disparity and the fact the profit from all new growth is going to a very few people in America. The product of American labor is not being shared by everyone. The tide is rising and many people are simply drowning and the Republicans have yet to publicly recognize that fact, much less propose policies to address it.

What is Paul Ryan's suggested new tax reform? Tax cuts for a few people -- greater wealth disparity.

What was JEB Bush's comment on the topic of poverty in today's discussion? That we need much better education for people. Well, President Obama suggested a program to give free education at the community college level to anyone who can keep their grades up, but Republicans oppose it.

If we can't find a way to better share the product of our labours, then how can we say the government is upholding the Constitutional decree that "We the People" are in charge in America and that America is supposed to be for the benefit of everyone living here?

-- Education, Unemployment, Foreign Trade and Unions --

What is the proper role of the American corporation today? How do all the stakeholders have their say and have a significant impact on their world? What is the proper role of the union today, and in particular unions of government employees?

Energy

We are living in a transitional era, post-agricultural post-slavery and with new kinds of energy and mechanization to serve us. But, our fuels: coal, oil and natural gas are available in only finite quantities. We have to prepare for a future without those. The only other major energy source we use is nuclear and that's not currently acceptable for automobile and truck and aircraft transportation (except to power batteries). It's also unacceptable for many other purposes. Ridding ourselves of the waste and preventing dangerous people from committing acts of great vilence are great challenges. We need to develop safer nuclear energy or renewables or some other new sources. We need to do that rapidly. Even if someone discounts climate change as irrelevant it is inevitable fossil fuels will disappear and we have to have alternatives.

The Republicans have been involved with the oil industry a very long time. Especially Texan oil men have supported Republicans and the Bush family in particular. It's no surprise we've had two Bush presidents and now a third is running for the office. This doesn't mean we should allow their money to buy an election rather than having a better vision for the future.

Foreign Policy

Today, JEB Bush did something quite similar to Ronald Reagan -- he didn't entirely disagree with Pres. Obama's policies, but simply expressed the view that the president didn't have a policy or strategy or any effectiveness. By dismissing the president's foreign policy in one go he opens the way to express anything he likes and to describe it as new and wonderful. Of course, that's not the truth of the matter. At this point his circle of advisers are familiar faces from previous Republican administrations.

Democrats have the public interest at heart and not just some ideological drive to "free the world". We can easily claim to be upholding the Constitution more than the Republicans who have argued we must spread Democracy and free people. That isn't in the Constitution. Defending America, an isolationist view, is what the Founders wanted. They preferred to do commerce and leave warring to the Europeans of those days. Since those days, especially since America has grown stronger (during the 20th century) we have become more evangelical and not only protected people from disaster, but we've tried to convince them to join our economic system and to do business with us and to adopt our other political Values. Pres. George W. Bush even referred to promoting Democracy as one of the ideas behind the invasion of Iraq. The public doesn't much favor that today and our government's large debt argues against it too.

This could be a significant issue in the presidential campaign, but it would likely be a difficult one for any candidate to win. Foreign Policy tends to be a slippery issue where successes and failures may be confused for decades. Still, the Democratic candidate needs to argue for our positions and stake out any new direction they want to go. It might be true that 'direction' is more important in Foreign Policy than any specifics.

Values & Civil Rights

For some years, since the death of Jerry Falwell and the decline of Pat Robertson and some other religious leaders, the Christian Right hasn't been very vocal. I suppose they still vote regularly, but most of their policy positions haven't been given much attention. I wouldn't be surprised if the Republican campaign strategists try to cobble together a coalition which pushes various policies to gain stronger support. In 2012 their candidate Mitt Romney got very strong support among men and whites and still lost. I would expect the Republicans to seek a broader coalition, though they have failed to convince their base to accept Latinos and their acceptance among any people of color or non-Christian beliefs isn't very strong.

Democrats can discuss Values because we support the Equal Rights (sometimes referred narrowly to Civil Rights) provisions of the Constitution and fight to enforce them in reality. We fight for voting rights, fair jail sentencing, fair treatment by police on the streets, fair educational opportunities and equal chance to succeed in any realm of life. Democrats' support for women, gays and other major groups in America can be a valuable electoral support. When Libertarians argue for greater Liberty the Democrats can reply that they've been fighting for that a very long time.

The Role of Government

There are some who look at the Constitution and see little purpose. There are some who see abstract phrases which can encompass many things. There is a significant belief on the Right today that there is less and less purpose in a federal government -- at least when a Democrat is president. They consider shutting down (all but essential services) government as not a big decision. They complain endlessly about an abusive IRS or an over-reaching NSA or all-powerful EPA or wasteful Education Dept. or the incredibly complex Dodd-Frank law and the opaque Federal Reserve and argue these should be eliminated. This comes mainly from the more Libertarian-leaning Republicans, but even more traditional Republicans have a history of resenting many government rules and regulations. There is also a strong business contingent which lobbies for less regulation and taxation.

Simply making the case for the federal government, and in particular the many regulatory functions and social programs, could be a significant part of the campaign. It depends in part on who the Republican candidate would be.

Any Democratic candidate for President should be prepared to argue for policies and paint a clear picture of the damage alternatives the Republicans might suggest could do and have done.

Congressional Corruption

The corruption of an individual member of Congress isn't either common or rare and it's sad to hear. Usually the party of that person suffers a bit and they are jettisoned quickly, with little concern for their personal lives. But, when an entire party or (indeed) all the political class is seen as bought & paid for it damages all of America. The image of a party leader handing out money to members of the House to ensure passage of a bill is pretty disgusting. There is also the idea that the rich can simply buy the legislation they want. It corrupts individuals, a party and everything.

https://www.facebook.com/dailykos/posts/10153118864109255

This alone is a good reason to prevent the Keystone XL pipeline from ever being built.

Crazy Day Update

Indeed it has been a crazy day here. This evening, about 8pm I suppose, one of the workmen came to the door and said my gas had been off and that he was going to turn off my meter and I should wait at the garage door for someone to come and restart it. I asked him what had happened and he said something about the water and gas lines being crossed one over the other and that in the digging large holes were made (probably like a silver dollar around) in the lines. Naturally, this meant they had to dig out the hole to about 6 feet square and 4 feet down and turn off the water & gas to fix the lines. It took a very long time.

Their man came along and restarted my furnace and water heater. After that they began packing up and moving out. Apparently the houses along my side of the street were affected, but nobody else. I'm glad they got it fixed before night. It's been extremely cold here.

Oh, I mentioned earlier the spray of water had frozen onto the overhead power/phone lines and made icicles, but I didn't know until later this evening it had also frozen onto power poles and equipment. A line had fallen down and was sparking on the guys working in the hole with water. Zoweeie! That's not good. They got the electric company to fix that problem, but there's still ice all over the power pole and equipment at the top.

We need some warm weather to melt the ice.

The one thing which will remain obvious for some time is that the hole they dug is covered with gravel and they clearly won't be able to re-pave it until warm spring weather comes along.

Yes, it's been a crazy day in front of my house. I hope it's warm where you are.

More Excitement On My Street

Today I was on the phone and just then I started hearing jackhammering. It looked out the window and there were two guys who had marked out a space on the asphalt street just across the alley from my house. A little while later there was a backhoe with a jackhammer on the end (never seen that before) and they were digging a hole where they had marked it earlier. After a while it got quiet, so I looked out again. One of the men was down in the hole they had dug about 4 feet deep.

Some time later I heard noise and when I looked out I saw several trucks, a bunch of men and a huge spray of water about 50 feet high, mostly aimed at the house across the street.

Woo hoo!

Some time later I went out to exercise at the gym and they had the street blocked off with trucks and men everywhere and the water spray was still going.

When I came back I came in from the other end of the street and parked in front of my house (behind some trucks from the water company). I saw a guy who looked happy to talk and asked him what was going on (all innocent like). He explained they had hit the water line and maybe the gas line and both might be off. Hmmm, I just checked and my water is running. Maybe it's from the water tank, but there's pressure you don't usually get unless the main line coming into the house is going. They're still out there making noise, so there must be something yet to fix.

I looked up to see if the water was still going and saw ice hanging from the power or phone lines overhead. It was surreal. Where the men had dug the hole there appeared to be snow and we don't have snow on the ground (haven't for days).

I may have to update this article later, but for now it's a mess with the road blocked and noise and who knows what.

This is excitement in my part of the world.  :-)

Can Technology Save Us?

In some places there is effort wasted on silly things:

Fatwa Prohibits Building Snowmen in Saudi Arabia


Yes, in America too...

Judge Takes Away Minimum Wage from Home Care Workers


Then, there is technology development which may improve all our lives:

Offshore Wind Jobs and Energy

Electrified Truck Power-Train to Cut Fuel Use in Half

Solar Panels Made with Perovskite Mineral are Cheaper and More Efficient Than Ever Before

Mutated Gene Receptor and Stem-Cell Technology Could Lead to an HIV Cure


China may be leading the world in some "green" energy areas!

China to Create a Cap & Trade Market

Wealth Inequality and Revenue Sharing -- When the Music Plays You Dance

Recently the topic of wealth inequality has come to the fore. The economy in the 1990s was doing very well and the incomes of the middle-class went up, so everyone was pretty happy. Still, the gap between the 1% or even the 0.1% and the rest of us grew larger and larger. Today we have realized that since the most recent recession began the wealthiest among us has gotten every single new dollar of growth from the economy. There's something very strange about that. Worker productivity has gone up and they get nothing?

The root of the problem lies in our past as we began to see the wealth disparity beginning about 1980. In an article for the Prospect magazine there is an explanation of some economic ideas which may have been the root of this. It's an excellent article for describing this issue, it's beginnings and even current trends.

When Shareholder-Capitalism Came to Town

We need to study this and ways to roll back its worst effects!