America is Facing a Moral Dilemma
Thanks to the Wuhan Virus, most people are sheltered at home. Many businesses have been closed; our children no longer go to school for an education. Farmers are plowing under food and dairy farmers are spilling milk down the drain—because 30% of their business is from restaurants and schools; all of which are buying very little.
by Stephen Frank
Thanks to the Wuhan Virus, most people are sheltered at home. Many businesses have been closed; our children no longer go to school for an education. Farmers are plowing under food and dairy farmers are spilling milk down the drain—because 30% of their business is from restaurants and schools; all of which are buying very little.
The virus is serious. It is deadly, it Is spread person to person. Social distancing may have stopped the rate of contagion, but per Governor Newsom, at least half of Californians already have it. In a State of 40 million people, just under 1,000 have died from the disease, about equal to a bad year of influenza.
What are the social and health consequences of the “cure” for the virus? From the San Jose Spotlight, “According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bay Area residents as a whole drank alcoholic beverages 42 percent more than usual during the first week of sheltering in place. This comes as no surprise, especially as local online retailer Wine.com has seen spirit sales alone surge 400 percent and restaurants and bars can now sell alcohol to-go.
But this increase in drinking and lack of contact, some medical professionals say, can be especially hard for those coping with addictions to drugs and alcohol. Anecdotes from addicts at Recovery Café detailed how isolation exacerbates substance abuse, and Harvard Medical School recently published resources to maintain recovery efforts while coping with social distancing.
Due to the concern the virus can spread in jails and prisons, in California over 3500 inmates, so far, have been released from prison and over 10,000 criminals have been released from jails around the State. We cannot tell how bad the crime wave has become, because “minor” offenses, like assault, simple robberies, burglaries, are no longer reported since the police arrest very few, and if arrested, the alleged perpetrator is given release with no bail, so they can go back into the shadows.
And for usually-working Americans, research shows unemployment is a risk factor for suicide. Benjamin Miller, chief strategy officer for Well Being Trust, a national foundation committed to advancing mental health issues, said the virus outbreak already is bringing into sharp relief risk factors for poor health such as loneliness and social isolation.
“Add to these social factors the possibility of an economic downturn, which may include job loss, and we are looking at a perfect storm of problems that will only exacerbate the depths of despair that our nation still has not addressed," Miller said.” All this while criminals are freed to continue their career paths.
USA Today noted, “Looking at a past disease outbreak like SARS in Hong Kong in 2002 and 2003 gives some indication of what may lie ahead. Social disengagement and stress and anxiety among some older adults resulted in an exceptionally high rate of suicide deaths, according to a 2010 study.
Hong Kong's disrupted economy may have led to increased suicides, noted Eric Caine, co-director of the Center for the Study of Prevention of Suicide at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is concerned the U.S. may see the same. Research shows unemployment is a risk factor for suicide. Benjamin Miller, chief strategy officer for Well Being Trust, a national foundation committed to advancing mental health issues, said the virus outbreak already is bringing into sharp relief risk factors for poor health such as loneliness and social isolation.
Is the cure worse than the disease? That is a moral question we have to face. Yes, politicians will pontificate, give long explanations as they claim the health of the people is more important than jobs and businesses. Yet, the health of the public is at stake. With the virus exponentially increasing the fear of being near others, we face potentially higher rates of suicide, depression, drug use, alcoholism, mental illness, and bankruptcies.
Governor Newsom, Cuomo and others are saying isolation and job losses need to continue until at least May 15, one month from now. The trade off, the moral dilemma, is should government policy “save” lives from the virus, by killing the economy and jobs so no one dies of the virus, or should we open society to save lives from suicide, drug addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence, and the potential of a dismal future?
That is a true discussion for the public. At this point the politicians have made this one sided. It is up to the public to discuss all the ramifications of the current virus policies. What do you think?
Stephen Frank is Senior Contributing Editor of California Political Review. Read California news that is incisive, hard-hitting, and solution-oriented with a free subscription to Steve’s daily emails at http://eepurl.com/UAspv
NOTE: Blogs published on the Judeo-Christian Caucus website are the opinions of their authors and not necessarily those of the Judeo-Christian Caucus.
California Government Makes Recovery More Difficult
On March 26, national unemployment numbers were released. Nationally, in the past week, 3.3 million Americans were unemployed. In California, we contributed over one million to that number. While we are 14% of the nation, we had 33% of the unemployed. Could it be the implementation of AB 5, which was expected to kill hundreds of thousands of jobs, “worked.” No more free-lance journalists, photographers, health care workers, truckers and more.
by Stephen Frank
On March 26, national unemployment numbers were released. Nationally, in the past week, 3.3 million Americans were unemployed. In California, we contributed over one million to that number. While we are 14% of the nation, we had 33% of the unemployed. Could it be the implementation of AB 5, which was expected to kill hundreds of thousands of jobs, “worked.” No more free-lance journalists, photographers, health care workers, truckers and more.
Then you have the price of gas. On March 25, the national average cost of unleaded was $2.06 a gallon. In Dallas the price was $1.61 a gallon—in Simi Valley it was $3.09. The difference between the Dallas cost and California: Sacramento taxes and government regulation of the gas formula.
The City of Hayward, in the Bay Area is rethinking its increase in the minimum wage, due to the virus.
“The move by the three councilmembers comes in the wake of already massive layoffs in the Bay Area related to the COVID-19 outbreak and shelter in place order given last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom,” reports Online journal Eastbay Citizen.
“I’m trying to preserve jobs,” opined Councilwoman Elisa Marquez, in a bid to study the impacts of delaying a July 1 scheduled $1 wage increase. “I’m fearful if we don’t do something to help these businesses, people will be out of work.”
Councilmember Sara Lamnin, who voted for the minimum wage ordinance last month, said Tuesday the wage bump actually foments jobs loss. “Minimum wage increases do eliminate jobs, and in a time like this, we need to preserve them,” she said.
Even those who supported the minimum wage increase when the economy was going good understood it would cost jobs. Now with the Wuhan Virus, the disaster magnifies.
Yet, the State of California is on the way to a mandated $15 minimum wage.
How do you recover when AB 5 makes it too expensive to hire new workers, the minimum wage forces business to pay unqualified people wages and benefits that are not warranted?
Because of the factors noted, and others, this will accelerate the use of technology in California businesses. For instance, the push for driverless cars—already on the roads in San Fran, Oakland and Santa Ana, will be done by the end of 2021—then rider share companies will need much fewer drivers and cars. Oh, the new cars will be electric, making environmentalists happy.
Telecommuting will continue to explode, on a permanent basis. The State could even give tax credits for telecommuting employees. This will alleviate a lot of the gridlock on the roads.
The biggest change will be in urban planning. The Left has been promoting the New York lifestyle. High density communities, pushing people on buses and subways, by the millions, causing close contact and the spreading of disease before the health care industry is aware of the problem. State Senator Scott Weiner, with his SB 50 and current legislation, SB 902, wants us to look and feel like New York. That goes along with the push to get people out of safe cars and into disease carrying, and physically dangerous, government transportation.
After this crisis is over, one way of staying well is to stay out of crowds. No elbow-to-elbow commute on the BART, watch movies that are streamed into your home instead of sitting inches away from strangers with the sniffles at a theater.
Life is going to change when this crisis is over. As part of that is the way we do business. In California, high taxes, bad regulations, dangerous housing policies and more, make it more irresponsible and unhealthier—and maybe it is a necessity that productive and responsible families leave the State.
Even the illegal aliens are going to be a bigger problem. Since the cost of hiring is so high in the former Golden State, the use of people that can be paid under the table makes more economic sense. So, low skilled or inexperienced Californians will not get hired, while cheap illegal labor will get the menial and bottom rung jobs.
The crisis has forced government to reconsider regulations and rules that hold back healthcare innovations, the building of needed masks, ventilators and pushing lifesaving drugs to the patients. The governors of Maine and New Hampshire have suspended the ban on plastic grocery bags, since they knew cotton bags are disease carriers. Hopefully, like housing density, this too will be rethought, and ended.
Do not expect California to become responsible after this crisis ends. Only the financial collapse of the State will accomplish that. Just last week, Kaiser Permanente decided not to build a $900 million facility in Oakland, due to delays, government costs, and regulations. As tech firms leave the State, maybe the politicians will get the message?
Until then I would “short” California as if it was a stock. We are in trouble and those in charge are short-term thinkers. Long term, they still believe in making us the Socialist Paradise.
Can California recover? Not with current policies and leadership.
Stephen Frank is Senior Contributing Editor of California Political Review. Read California news that is incisive, hard-hitting, and solution-oriented with a free subscription to Steve’s daily emails at http://eepurl.com/UAspv
NOTE: Blogs published on the Judeo-Christian Caucus website are the opinions of their authors and not necessarily those of the Judeo-Christian Caucus.
Is the California Electorate Changing? Bonds/Taxes Defeated
If you read the headlines, the March 3 ballot proved that California is a Socialist State. Sen. Bernie Sanders easily won the lion share of votes for the Democratic Party presidential primary votes in California.
by Stephen Frank
If you read the headlines, the March 3 ballot proved that California is a Socialist State. Sen. Bernie Sanders easily won the lion share of votes for the Democratic Party presidential primary votes in California.
No one doubts that Gov. Newsom and the Sacramento Democrats prefer higher taxes. Newsom in his budget this year wants to create a single-payer healthcare system and take over the sale of drugs in the State. He wants the State, not your city council, to determine housing, zoning and building permits. Last year, he signed a bill to allow government to start and own banks—putting private banks out of business. California is a Socialist State.
Yet, on March 3, while voters continued to nominate Socialists for legislative office, the same voters made it clear they no longer trust government with their money. In a normal election, 95% or so tax increases, parcel taxes, and bonds pass. Last Tuesday was much different.
Of the 227 local tax and bond measures on ballots across California, voters:
Rejected 122
Approved 58
The other 57 are too close to call.
Plus, the granddaddy of them all Prop. 13 has failed. The proponents spent north of $4 million to pass the bond. The opponents, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, spent $250,000 on radio ads. The Democrat Party supported it. The California Republican Party did not take a stand on the measure. The defeat is from the guts of the people.
They found out it was not a $15 billion bond, but a $26 billion bond when you include the interest charges. While this was an “education” bond, special interests like developers used it to promote new projects. If passed, the developers would not need permission from local government to build affordable and low-cost housing within half a mile of a bus stop.
Then you have this, even if the city goes bankrupt, the voters say NO to more taxes. “Lemon Grove is in trouble: Voters decisively rejected a sales tax increase city leaders said was vital for keeping the city an independent municipality (and to keep it from dipping dangerously into reserves).”
I should note that two years ago, Lemon Grove had a similar tax increase on the ballot, and it was defeated. The city said at that time if not passed, they would go bankrupt. Looks like they lied and the citizens were not going to be fooled a second time.
Moorpark voters said NO to a school bond—the School district REFUSED to admit to the $83 million interest charges on the $96 million bond.
It looks like all of the school bonds in Placer, Orange and San Diego County were defeated.
In 2019, LAUSD had a $500 million bond that was soundly defeated.
Though Prop. 13 was defeated, the Democrats in Sacramento are planning to come back with another school bond—for less money and less obvious abuses of the public.
Why the defeat of tax increases and school bonds? I think there are two reasons.
First, after years of being lied to, the people are fed up. In 2018, we were told not to repeal the gas tax. The money was to be spent on needed road, bridge and street repairs. That is what Governor Newsom told us. He lied. Instead he redirected gas-tax money to the special interest scam, the choo-choo to nowhere. While there was not a massive outcry, the public understood what he said—the people are so stupid they will give us money for one thing, but we can spend it anyway we want.
The second reason is the families and students of California are tired of being held hostage in failed government schools. Currently, the per-student expenditure in government schools—statewide—to pay for failure, is a little over $20,000. On the other hand, the average cost of the very successful charter schools in a little over $10,000 a year. Californians pay double to give our kids failed education.
At the same time, the schools have become indoctrination centers. Sex education comes from the porn industry more than from the moral and ethical values of the family and community. It is as if government schools want kids to have sex, the earlier the better.
Then you have the unions controlling when, or if, the teachers show up to teach. The teachers unions that have been major donors to the school bonds—not to fix schools, but to move money around for more wages and benefits for teachers.
How bad did the teachers unions lose last Tuesday? Four Bay Areas school districts had bonds on the ballot. No, not for education, but to become developers and speculators. The money was to go to “teacher” housing.” The voters made it clear—first, teach our kids.
Voters gave school districts an “F.” The voters gave government in California an “F.” Maybe our voters have matured and the November results will be even better for freedom.
Stephen Frank is Senior Contributing Editor of California Political Review. Read California news that is incisive, hard-hitting, and solution-oriented with a free subscription to Steve’s daily emails at http://eepurl.com/UAspv
NOTE: Blogs published on the Judeo-Christian Caucus website are the opinions of their authors and not necessarily those of the Judeo-Christian Caucus.