Monarch population rebounds

The World Wildlife Fund, which monitors Monarch Butterfly migration, announced that this year’s migration covered about 10 acres in Mexico, about three times larger than last year.

One reason is that the area of milkweeds, on which Monarchs depend, increased by about 250,000 acres last year.  To put that in perspective, however, we had lost over 7 million acres, mostly because of Roundup Ready crops produced by Monsanto.  

Nonetheless, the increase is impressive.  People seem to be getting the message about milkweeds.  Let them grow.  Let them flourish.  And we must continue to help the milkweeds.  It’s not as though the Monarchs are back to where they were–at one time they covered about 45 acres in Mexico.

By the way, isn’t Leap Day a fun thing?  It’s like getting a bonus day in our lives, although I pretty much wasted mine.  (The day, not the life.)

Stick shift

This past January two guys in Pittsburgh tapped on a driver’s window with a gun.  They ordered the man out of his car and demanded money.  When he told them he didn’t have any, they demanded his cars keys.  

When the driver told them the car had a manual transmission, they ran away, evidently too dumb to drive a stick shift.  Another victory for old-fashioned values.

Be an American voter

My friend Sue and I have been working on a brochure to hand out when we do voter registration drives.  We have learned a few psychological tricks on persuading people to vote, and I thought I would run the first page of the brochure by you and see what you think.  (It’s directed at people in Carbon County who are not registered to vote.)

Here it is:

Be an American voter.

It’s a two-step process:

1.  Registration is easy.

You can pick up a form at the DMV or call the Registrar’s office at 570-325-4801.

You can also register by email at <register.votesPA.com>.

2.  Voting is easy.

Carbon County has 51 separate voting districts.  (For example, Jim Thorpe has five.)  Each district has a polling place open on ElectionDay from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.  Poll workers are there to assist you.

You can also vote by “absentee ballot” if you are out of town or if you have a physical disability.  People who vote absentee mail in their ballots.

The witty and erudite Scalia

I am so tired of reading how smart and friendly Justice Scalia was.  He was a nasty and smug man who hated gays, set back civil rights, and failed to understand either the 200 year old Constitution or 21st century America.

I want to quote Jeffrey Toobin of the Feb. 29 issue of the New Yorker, who got it absolutely correct: 

“Antonin Scalia, who died this month, after nearly three decades on the Supreme Court, devoted his professional life to making the United States a less fair, less tolerant, and less admirable democracy.  Fortunately, he mostly failed.  Belligerent with his colleagues, dismissive of his critics, nostalgic for a world where outsiders knew their place and stayed there, Scalia represents a perfect model for everything that President Obama should avoid in a successor.”

Amen.

My Answer to Sen. Yudichak, Part II

Last night I posted the first half of a letter I sent to Sen. John Yudichak, replying to his letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that praised the proposed PennEast/UGI pipeline.  Tonight I am posting the remainder of my letter.  As I noted yesterday, this is a very long post, but I think it is important.  To refresh your memory, I was explaining the downsides of the pipeline.

• Environmental destruction

The environmental problems created by the pipeline are significant.  Again, speaking only for Carbon County, the line will cause forest fragmentation, steam silting, and erosion.  It will cross wetlands.  It will cross sensitive areas where both endangered plants and animals make their homes.  In other areas where pipelines were built, they become corridors for invasive species.

• The compressor station

A compressor station is slated for construction in Kidder Township.  The station will be noisy and emit toxic gases, including methane, benzine, and formaldehyde.  The company isn’t even following recommended best practices, which include building electrical compressor stations that would significantly reduce emissions.

• The human cost

The pipeline will cross approximately 125 properties in Carbon County.  Some of these properties are one acre lots with sand mounds and wells, that will be rendered uninhabitable.  Some are properties in which parents hoped to have their children and grandchildren inherit.  

Where the pipeline crosses fields, the heat from the line will melt the snow above it.  Soils will be disturbed, which means lower crop yields.

Note that the pipeline company does not compensate for reduced property values, nor does it pay taxes on the pipeline as it does in New Jersey.  

• Eminent domain for private profit

I have personal experience with eminent domain takings.  The 460 acre Christman farm was reduced to 29 acres by the Army Corps’ Beltzville project.  That farm is now part of Beltzville State Park, enjoyed by thousands of visitors every year.  The benefit is for the public.

The eminent domain rights granted to interstate pipeline companies are for private profit to an already wealthy company.  I know that Donald Trump defends eminent domain for private profit, and the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld it, but that does not justify it on moral grounds.

• Employment

The employment benefits of the pipeline are overrated.  I am aware that almost all construction jobs are short-lived, but most construction projects result in some long-term employment or public benefit.  This pipeline will not do that.  In addition, if the fracking fields are any guide, many if not most of the jobs will go to out of state workers.

Finally, Carbon County depends heavily on tourism.  This pipeline will hurt the tourism industry in the County for years.

• Gas price reductions

Ironically, one reason natural gas prices are fairly low in PA is because the gas isn’t shipped overseas.  Has the company guaranteed that prices will drop once this pipeline is built?  If not, why not?

• The arrogance of PennEast/UGI

When the land agent for the company came to our house to negotiate an easement, he told us we might as well sign since we would not get a better offer.  He did not tell us that the contract gave the company the right to install a second pipeline next to the first line with no additional compensation.  The contract gave the company the right to come on our land with no warning.  

Throughout this entire process, the company “open houses,” the FERC hearing, and the company’s dealing with the public has been high-handed and arrogant.  The attitude seems to be, since they expect to use eminent domain rights, they don’t have to be concerned about the public or the environment.

• Long term effects

When the pipeline is completed, it will leave a 100-foot treeless right-of-way.  In addition, pipelines do leak.  Although the pipeline companies downplay this, they do occasionally explode.  If the U.S., under pressure for global climate change, does move to renewable energy, will the pipe be removed?  

Finally, I have read Governor Wolf’s draft Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force report.  That report contained over 100 recommendations relating to pipeline construction, some opposed by the gas companies, but all of them reasonable and thoughtful.  At this stage they are simply recommendations.  I look forward to the time when the Pennsylvania legislature begins to rein an arrogant industry interested in one thing only, and that is to make money.

Sincerely,

Roy Christman, Ph.D.

An answer to Sen. Yudichak's letter to FERC

Seldom have I been so disappointed in a legislator’s action as I was with Sen. John Yudichak’s letter to FERC endorsing the PennEast/UGI pipeline.  My original intent was to post my entire reply to Sen. Yudichak, but even when I cut it in half, it will still my be longest two posts ever.  Nonetheless, I think it is important to get this out into the public.  So here is the first portion of what I wrote to the Senator.  I will post the remaining part tomorrow night.

It was with great disappointment that I read your letter to Secretary Kimberly Bose of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regarding the proposed PennEast/UGI pipeline.  

You gave the pipeline your unconditional blessing, stating that Pennsylvania had “yet to fully leverage our extensive energy reserves for short and long-term economic development.”  You went on to say that “[N]ew pipelines delivering Pennsylvania’s gas to Pennsylvania communities and beyond will be beneficial in so many ways.”

You wrote that “[s]afety and environmental protection are primary concerns of mine.”  You also stated that the pipeline would create “thousands of good-paying jobs.”

You quoted an estimate of almost a billion dollars of savings for electric and natural gas users in Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey had the PennEast/UGI pipeline been in operation in 2013-2014.

First, let me say that I served for a number of years as field representative for California State Senator Jerry Smith (Silicon Valley), and I am fully aware of the conflicting demands of constituents.  I can understand why you might take a position favoring the PennEast/UGI pipeline. 

Certainly the natural gas industry and the fracking industry favor the pipeline, as do a number of construction unions.  What I wish you had done is talk to some of your constituents and local officials who oppose the pipeline or have grave reservations about the process under which it is being built.  Goodness knows we have made enough noise in opposition.

All four Carbon County townships directly affected by the pipeline have adopted resolutions opposing the impacts of the pipeline.  The Carbon County Commissioners have adopted a similar resolution and have spoken out against the pipeline, and the County Planner has publicly detailed why the pipeline is not in keeping with the County’s general plan.  None of these people are wild-eyed radicals, and all had good reasons for their opposition.

Many of your constituents believe that the PennEast/UGI pipeline is poorly routed, has deleterious effects on the tourism industry so vital to Carbon County, fails to use best practices, is incredibly harmful to the environment, does not remotely follow the recommendations in the Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force Report, uses eminent domain for private profit, will deliver gas to only one customer (admittedly important politically) along the route, will provide almost no long term jobs, and is being rammed down the throats of landowners along the route by an arrogant and unfeeling company.  

I taught state and local government at San Jose State University for many years, and I advised my students in contact with a legislator to cover only one subject and write no more than one page.  In this case I am ignoring my own advice.  There is no way that I can say what needs saying in one page. 

• Siting

The existing Transco Pipeline actually runs parallel to the proposed PennEast/UGI pipeline for a number of miles and ends almost at the same place.  Co-location would be natural, but it hasn’t happened.

In Carbon County alone the PennEast/UGI pipeline would run through Hickory Run and Beltzville State Parks, cross high quality trout streams, cut through Bethlehem Municipal Water Authority lands, cross two preserved farms, and scar the Blue Mountain on both sides of the Appalachian Trail.  The siting shows a complete disregard for the land and its people.

to be continued.

STEM v. French literature

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 15 states offer some type of bonus for certain high-demand college degrees.  STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

A typical view is that expressed by Matt Bevin, the new Republican governor of Kentucky, who said, “There will be more incentives to electrical engineers than French literature majors, there just will.”

Liberal arts degrees (political science is one) are seen as a waste of taxpayers’ money.  Rubio has said we need more welders and fewer philosophers.

I suppose I’m a poster child for the waste of tax dollars.  I had an assistantship the entire time I was in Penn State grad school  An assistantship means you do some sort of work, like being a teaching assistant, but it could be argued that giving me one resulted in denying some poor engineering student.

What I think the Republicans are really concerned about is that sociologists, political scientists, anthologists, and yes, French lit majors, tend to be liberals.  Engineers tend to be Republicans.  I think I know why.

We also learn to credit our sources.  The Bevin quote was found in Patricia Cohen’s “A Rising Call to Foster STEM Fields, and Decrease Liberal Arts Funding,” New York Times, Feb. 22, 2016, p. B-1.

Voting against Hillary

A friend of mine just sent me an email explaining that he would not vote for Hillary.  He is an activist who has campaigned for Democratic candidates, including Obama.  Now he feels that the Party is not giving Bernie a fair shot at the nomination, and he is angry.  

     I replied with the following message:

     

     I did that.  In 1968 I was so mad that McCarthy and McGovern were aced out by Hubert Humphrey that I voted for Dick Gregory in the General.  So did thousands and thousands of other people—they sat on their hands or voted 3rd party.  And guess what people like me managed to do.  We got Richard Nixon, prolonged the war another six years, pretty much ended the Civil Rights movement, and set America on a downward spiral.  As you might guess, I am really really proud of my youthful idealism.

     So go for it.  if you can’t vote for Hillary in the general, it won’t be your loss.  You’ll do ok.  It will be a loss for global climate change, immigrants, a woman’s right to choose, prisoners, poor people, people without health care, and students.  It will be a gain for the 1%, military contractors, a reactionary Supreme Court, and the Koch Brothers.  I guess that is worth throwing a little tantrum.

     Roy

Goodbye to Jeb Bush

Months ago I posted a snarky comment about how I couldn’t bear the thought of another Clinton-Bush race.  

Be careful what you wish for.  Of all the Republican candidates, Jeb Bush was the most reasonable and the most moderate, and that includes Kasich.  He probably would have made, if not an exciting or transformative President, a reasonable President.  If you compare him to Trump or Cruz or Rubio, he was the adult among rather silly teenage boys.

Unfortunately, he was an inept campaigner, and that’s being kind.  In presidential politics, the most qualified candidate is sometimes not the nominee.  The Republican race this year certainly proves that.  I for one will miss Jeb Bush.

McGinty, Fetterman, and Sestak

At the Progressive Summit in Harrisburg last night Linda and I attended a “debate” of the three candidates running against Toomey for the U.S. Senate.  I put debate in quotes because what John Fetterman, Joe Sestak, and Katy McGinty did was answer questions from a moderator and the audience.  They never attacked each other or criticized each other.

All three are amazingly good.  In some elections it hard to determine whom to vote for because the candidates are all so bad.  I assume Republicans are experiencing this dilemma right now with regard to the presidential race.  

In the case of the Democratic Senate candidates, all three are so far above the anti-choice, hedge fund managing, let’s-not-pick-a-Supreme-Court-judge, let’s-not-raise-the minimum-wage, anti-healthcare, one percenter Toomey that I am having a tough time choosing.  

The straw poll among the attendees put Sestak first, Fetterman second, and McGinty third.  My preference was Fetterman first, McGinty second, and Sestak third.  

I can tell you this.  Whomever wins the Democratic primary will have my vote in November.

The system is broken, but it is already fixed

Why do some people who support Trump say that they could also support Sanders?  What do the Occupy Wall Street people have in common with the Oregon yahoos who seized public lands?  They all believe that the government does not respond to ordinary citizens.  

According to Nicholas Kristof, they are correct.  I will now quote at length from a column of his published in January:

Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin I. Page of Northwestern University found that in policy-making, views of ordinary citizens essentially don’t matter.  They examined 1,779 policy issues and found that attitudes of wealthy people and of business groups mattered a great deal to the final outcome–but that preferences of average citizens were almost irrelevant.

“In the United States, our findings indicate, the majority does not rule,” they concluded.  “Majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts.”

Tomorrow I will be attending the Progressive Summit in Harrisburg, listening to speakers on how to change that.  Unfortunately, living in a country in which 158 families and the companies they control donated approximately half of the money for the early stages of the presidential campaign, I don’t have much hope.

I will not be blogging tomorrow night.  I’ll probably be attending some of the many parties connected with the Summit and won’t be in any condition to post anything.  I’ll report back on Saturday.

U.S. no longer believed

When you hear Republican candidates, a constant theme is that the U.S. is no longer respected by the rest of the world.  Eduardo Porter in the Business Section of today’s New York Times echoes this complaint, although I don’t think Republicans would be pleased with his column.

Because of the political activities of the Congress coupled with the Supreme Court’s 5-4 vote overturning the President’s regulations on emissions, the rest of the world no longer feels it can trust the American commitment to reduce greenhouse gases.  And why should it?

This issue will not come up in the Republican debates.

Voting for a woman

Is it moral to vote for Hillary Clinton because she is a woman?  Should that even enter into one’s voting decision?  I’m going to say yes.

After all, only 19 percent of Congress, 24 percent of state legislators, and 12 percent of governors are female.  In addition 0 percent of presidents and major party presidential nominees have thus far been women.  

Here’s another statistic.  Eight percent of people say they would never vote for a woman for president.  That is roughly one in 12 voters.  So we have people already voting by gender, but they are voting against women.  One in 12 is a heck of a large number in a close election.

I am still mulling my presidential choice, but right now I’m leaning in the direction of Clinton.  I have other reasons than gender, of course, but I must say that is a factor, and I don’t see why it should not be.  Let’s say I’m balancing out the 8 percent.

Honoring Justice Scalia

Justice Scalia’s judicial philosophy was based on “originalism,” or what he thought the Founding Fathers intended when they wrote the Constitution.  

I think he often misinterpreted, but that is what he believed.

Now there is a movement among Republican Senators to delay the appointment of a new justice until after the next presidential election.  I went to the Constitution to see if this is what the Founding Fathers intended.

The relevant section is in Article II, Section 2.  In the second paragraph of that Section, the President has the power, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to nominate Judges of the Supreme Court.  

I read that whole Article, and there is nothing in there about “except during the last year of the President’s term in office.”  Where are the Republicans like Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell getting their ideas?  Certainly not from the Founding Fathers.  I’m pretty sure Scalia would have been appalled.

The presidential candidate who cried "wolf"

For years Donald Trump has been publicly doubting that President Obama was born in the U.S.  He demanded to see his birth certificate and then questioned its authenticity when he did see it.

Now Trump is trying to make the case that Ted Cruz, born in Canada, is not qualified to be president.  Unfortunately for Trump, a poll released last September found that Republicans were more likely to believe that Obama was born abroad than believed that Ted Cruz was.  

Ding Dong

Supreme Court Justice Scalia is dead.  If American democracy falls apart, and future historians look for culprits, one of the obvious choices is Justice Scalia.  A hypocrite of towering proportions, he claimed to be following the original intent of the Founding Fathers, interpreting their intent to aid the Republican Party and its ideology.  From the Bush v. Gore decision to gay rights to voting rights to environmental issues to health care to women’s rights to Citizens United, Scalia was always on the side of reaction, bending his legal opinions to fit his right-wing ideology.

If we lived in a normal world, President Obama would appoint a replacement and the Senate, after hearings, would approve.  We don’t live in a normal world.  Senate Republicans will not do their duty.  

Duty and Senate Republicans are opposing concepts.  They will try to stall for a full year to ensure that a newly elected Trump or Cruz will be in office to nominate a new justice.  That’s the bad news.  

The good news is that just about any justice of the peace from rural Arkansas would make a better Justice than Scalia.

The Country-of-Origin labeling law

Last year the Congress passed and the courts approved a country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law that told consumers from what country their meat was imported.  This did not sit well with huge meat packers like Tyson, which then went to a tribunal run the the World Trade Organization.

Last year this court, which I had never heard of, ruled that the COOL law was a “technical barrier” to free trade, so the U.S. either had to repeal the law or face billions of dollars in trade sanctions.

Last December Congress and President Obama repealed the law.

I have two thoughts about this.  First, why did I have to read about this in the Hightower Lowdown?  Why wasn’t this covered on the news, or in the Morning Call or Times News.  Why aren’t the presidential candidates discussing this issue instead of attacking Muslims and throwing out insults?

Second, we buy our meats from Mrs. Haydt’s butcher shop on Beltzville Drive in Polk Township.  We know where our beef and pork and chicken come from, no matter what the World Trade Organization says.

42% unemployment rate

After his victory in New Hampshire, Donald Trump questioned the unemployment figure of 4.9%.  He said he thought it was probably 28 or 29%, adding he heard it was as high as 42%. 

In the Times today Neil Irwin explained how statisticians arrive at the unemployment rate.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics actually has six unemployment rates.  The one usually used is U-3, the number of people who told a survey that they don’t have a job and want one, and have actively sought a job in the last four weeks.  In January that number was 7.8 million people.  The total labor force is the number of people who have jobs or are looking, which comes out to 158 million.

Mr. Irwin then explained that you can manipulate the figures almost any way you want, and the actual unemployment rate could be 53%.  Of course that includes all those lazy children, all those retired lay-abouts, all those college students, all those high school and grade school students, prisoners, people in asylums, people on disability, and every parent who stays at home voluntarily to care for children.  

Maybe Trump was including some of those in his 42%.  

The Supreme Court legislates

Remember when the Republicans complained about judicial interference?  When they demanded that the Supreme Court interpret laws, not make them?

Those days are long gone.  Now the Tea Party Five on the Supreme Court are acting as the judicial arm of the Republican Party.  Yesterday they blocked the Obama administration’s efforts to combat global warming by regulating coal-fired power plant emissions.

The vote was 5-4.  The ruling may affect the Paris Climate Change agreement of last December, since reduction of coal-fired plant emissions was a key feature.  So not only are the Tea Party Five making legislation, they are making foreign policy.  

Justice Scalia is always talking about original intent.  I really don’t believe this is what the Founding Fathers had in mind.

A check from Ted Cruz

A letter came today from U.S. Senator Ted Cruz with a plastic window showing what looked like a check.  The outside of the envelope carried the message “Check enclosed.”

Of course it was a lie.  The “check,” made out to “Cruz for President” said “This check is a facsimile not redeemable or negotiable and has no cash value.”  If it is facsimile, it’s not really a check.

The whole thing was a plea for campaign funds.  It called for abolishing the IRS, getting rid of Obamacare, destroying ISIS, balancing the budget, protecting the unborn, and declared our rights were “enshrined in the Constitution, but they are granted by God and must not be violated by politicians.”

Evidently one thing that God does not worry about is Ted Cruz lying.  He did it in Iowa with regard to Carson dropping out, he did it in mailers implying voters who did not come to the Iowa caucuses were breaking the law, and he is doing it again with these fundraising letters.

He is a facsimile, just like his check.  He is an evil man masquerading as an upright moral candidate.  I wish he’d go back to Canada.

The United Nations Prayer of Sorrow

In June 1990 the UN held an Environmental Sabbath Service.  A “prayer of sorrow” was part of that service, and Linda’s pastor, the Rev. Margie Good, used the prayer in a service in January.  I thought the night before the New Hampshire Primary would be a good time to post it.

We have forgotten who we are.

We have alienated ourselves from the unfolding of the cosmos.

We have become estranged from the movements of the earth.

We have turned our backs on the cycles of life.

We have forgotten who we are.

We have sought only our own security.

We have exploited simply for our own ends.

We have distorted our knowledge.

We have abused our power.

We have forgotten who we are.

Now the land is barren,

And the waters are poisoned,

And the air is polluted.

We have forgotten who we are.

Now the forests are dying,

And the creatures are disappearing,

And the humans are despairing.

We have forgotten who we are.

We ask for forgiveness.

We ask for the gift of remembering.

We ask for the strength to change.

We have forgotten who we are.

Silence.

Roger Goodell and Ken Stabler

In 1970 I moved to Alameda, an island just west of Oakland.  Naturally I became an Oakland Raiders fan.  For most of the 70s the quarterback for the Raiders was Ken Stabler,r known as “the Snake “  He was an amazing player, now in the Hall of Fame.  

Stabler died this past July of colon cancer, but his family also noted that he was “not himself.”  After his death the family donated his brain for analysis.  He suffered from C.T.E., the brain disease afflicting hundreds of former NFL players.

Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, was asked about C.T.E. at the pre-Superbowl press conference.  Goodell rather glibly suggested that all of life is a risk, and that you could be in danger just sitting on your couch.

Today the New York Times magazine ran an article on just how wealthy the NFL owners are.  All of them have franchises worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars.  Surely they can use some of that money to make the game safer.

I like football.  I am amazed at the skill of the players, and I often find the games tense and exciting.  Nevertheless, I did not watch the Superbowl.  I can’t watch a hard tackle without thinking about the long term damage to the players.  I don’t enjoy the game any more.

Franklin Ave. canvass

Today Carol and I canvassed Franklin Avenue in Palmerton.  We were collecting signatures on nominating petitions for Democratic candidates for both federal and state office.  

Canvassing is one of the political activities I enjoy the most.  You never know what you will encounter.  For example, one guy who was sitting on his porch smoking said he didn’t get involved in politics, but then he thanked us for what we were doing.

One woman opened the door slightly, then closed it in our faces.  Maybe she thought we were religious proselytizers.

A Bernie Sanders supporter chatted with us at length, and bemoaned the fact that so many of her neighbors were conservative.

Three people invited us in while they signed the petitions.  It was a cold morning, and I wasn’t wearing gloves.  Bless those people.

Most of the people were polite, signed the petitions, and wished us well.  I think one of the reasons I like to canvass is that it reaffirms my faith in democracy.  

Playboy covers up

Playboy Magazine no longer contains pictures of barenaked ladies.  Or, if they are nude, the photos are done in a such a way as to hide the naughty parts.  The March issue centerfold is Ernest Hemingway’s great-granddaughter, but she’s photographed artfully in a pose that probably wouldn’t embarrass old Ernest.

None of this really matters to me.  I always bought it for the articles.

Marco Rubio

In the strange analyses that often follow the Iowa caucuses, Marco Rubio, third place finisher, is considered to have won a great victory.  The received knowledge is that Cruz is too mean, Trump’s support is too shallow, but Rubio, attractive younger generation Latino, is poised to be the Republican nominee.

OK, first of all, Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans together, make up less than 1/2 of one percent of all the registered voters in the U.S.  Most of them are white and Protestant.

But let’s talk about Rubio.  I have heard a number of Democrats express some positive statements about young Marco.  In the interests of dampening their enthusiasm, let me tell you a few things:

Rubio is anti-choice, even for victims of rape or incest.

Rubio, at one time “a committed union activist,” now opposes raising the minimum wage and wants to eliminate “rules that empower unions.”

Rubio would not only like to reduce the capital gains tax, he would like to eliminate it.  This, of course, is popular with the kind of PACs that support him.  I hope it isn’t popular with working people who will have to make up the difference.

Rubio in 2013 pushed for immigration reform.  As part of the”Gang of Eight,” he pushed for a path to citizenship. In 2016 he says he hates “amnesty.”

Rubio is a panderer on religious issues.  In one of his ads, he talked about “the free gift of salvation offered to us by Jesus Christ.”  He is so religious that sometimes he attends a Baptist service on Saturday nights and a Catholic Mass on Sunday.  

His personal finances are a mess, but luckily, he received an $800,000 advance for his memoir, and he has a billionaire benefactor who helped him find jobs for him and his wife to pay off loans.

In short, he makes Jeb Bush look like a real statesman.  Let’s hope the voters of New Hampshire see through his bullcrap.

I am indebted to columnist Gail Collins for much of this information on Rubio, although I must admit I have detested him for years.

Fighting Poverty

The other day a friend of mine said, “Why can’t our leaders sit down and just work on solving our problems?”

Today Eduardo Porter, an economic columnist for the Times, reported on just such an effort.  After meeting together for months, economic advisors to both Republicans and Democrats issued a statement in December calling for an increase in the minimum wage along with a job requirement attached to the food stamp program.

These liberals and conservatives also recommended increasing the earned-income tax credit for adults without children.  They agreed on more federal investment in early childhood education and in community colleges.  They supported the “common core.”

Where would the money come from?  Cutting corporate tax breaks and individual tax deductions that benefit mostly the wealthy, like farm subsidies and mortgage interest tax deductions would be a start.

Divisions are deep.  Conservatives and liberals don’t even agree on what causes poverty.  Liberals generally see the cause as larger than individuals.  Globalization, poor education, lack of parental resources, discrimination, and the judicial system cause poverty.

Conservatives see the cause as a lack of personal responsibility and government programs which increase dependence.  

I’m more on the liberal side (surprise, surprise), but what impresses me is that the two sides were able to agree on as much as they did.  Now if we could get Congress to sit down and work on these issues.  Unfortunately, given the polarization in this country, don’t hold your breath.

The Importance of Iowa

Here’s how important Iowa is.  In 2012 the winner of the Iowa caucus was Rickie Santorum.  Remember him?  That’s right.  He beat Romney.  

On the other hand, the demise of Trump has begun.  People have been predicting it for months, and here it is.  Already he’s being talked about in the past tense.

And Cruz?  Do you think Cruz will be the Republican nominee because he won about 1/4 of the the caucus vote in a small state that we fly over on the way from the east coast to the west coast?  You really think that?

Five Great Inventions

According to Robert J. Gordon, author of The Rise and Fall of American Growth:  The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War, there were five Great Inventions that powered U.S. economic growth between 1870 and 1970.  

Are you ready?  They were electricity, urban sanitation, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, the internal combustion engine, and modern communication.  (I would have missed urban sanitation completely.)

Gordon argues that the advances in info technology in the last few decades did not change our lives in significant ways as did the Five.  He notes that we could walk into a 1940s apartment with its indoor plumbing, gas stove, electric lights, refrigerator, and telephone and not be disgusted, although we’d miss the television and the Internet.  

On the other hand, if a 1940s person walked into an 1870s apartment, with its outdoor toilet, lanterns, water carried in from the pump, no phone, and an ice box in the corner, she would be horrified.

Gordon’s book is available from Princeton University Press.