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What Is Important? Part 2
This is part two continuing from yesterday. To me today, the
most important and urgent work we need to do is to ensure the integrity of our
democracy. But looming in the background is an overriding concern that if left
untended to may become the most important concern by far – climate change.
3) Climate Change
There is little doubt that climate change is real and the
effects will be huge. Unfortunately, with our current electoral situation,
those with money are in the driver’s seat. Generally those folks are in a
position to stall serious climate change policy. Thus, we slowly drift year
after year into what some predict will be catastrophic events. We seem to be
experiencing some of the early effects already with truly catastrophic events
perhaps less than 40 years out.
The ramifications are scary. Any young person, people with
children or grandchildren should be up in arms over this, yet the political
outcry has been muted because of the power of our corporate media, issue #4.
4) Corporate media and concentrated media ownership
It is hard to act on issues if those in our system simply
refuse to report on them or report only partial stories or misleading (lies)
stories. A functioning democracy demands that the electorate be informed. Yet
we see in poll after poll that the American people are very poorly informed on
issues.
The base reason for this is that media ownership is
concentrated in few corporate hands and news gathering is in even fewer hands.
Issues are often presented with a slant that is seldom challenged. Wrenching
control of the media from the few hands that control it will be a fight for the
ages, but is essential for democracy to survive, else we continue on the path
to corporatocracy.
The previous issues are more of the cloud type issues – more
long term and affecting everything. The next group is what many term the
“kitchen table” issues. These used to be what Democrats ran on and won with.
But since media has convinced Americans that tax cuts for the rich helps all,
they have not been as reliable. Yet, I believe they should still be the
backbone of the Democratic Party.
1) Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!!
Real jobs with decent wages. Since FDR,
this has been the rallying cry of Democrats. Yes, government does create jobs.
And there is plenty of work that needs to be done. We can start with
infrastructure repair and move in to research and development of renewable
energy systems.
And
while we are at it, if American companies are avoiding hiring Americans because
they think American wages are too high, let’s put a little fee on the products
they bring in here to sell from the low wage companies.
Practical experience has shown that
Republicans have absolutely no plan nor desire to create jobs. All they do is
funnel money from you and I to the rich. Then they hope maybe the rich may give
us a job or two. At a low wage of course.
Back tomorrow with
the rest of my inventory.
E-mail Dave here
Dave Bradley is a self-described
retired observer of American politics “trying to figure out how we got
so screwed up.” An
Iowa City native currently living in West Liberty, Dave and his wife
Carol have two grown children who “sadly had to leave the state to find
decent paying jobs.“
Blog For Iowa 