SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
June 30, 2016
Sullivan’s
Salvos 7/5/16
In this edition:
*RIP Francine Jacobs
*Brexit – Here and Abroad
*Calling Out the Corridor Business Journal
*Bernie Sanders
*Did You Know?
*RIP Francine Jacobs
Johnson
County lost a labor leader recently with the passing of Francine Jacobs.
You
heard that right! Most folks knew Francine as a great mother, grandmother,
aunt, and an all-around wonderful person. She was a caregiver to many, and
should be remembered as such.
But
while many folks know Francine’s husband Tom Jacobs for his decades of service
to organized labor and the Democratic Party, many of those same folks do not
realize the important roles Francine filled in AFSCME, local labor
organizations, and the local Democratic Party. She was a true blue activist and
leader!
It
would be difficult to find a kinder, gentler, more caring, more giving, more selfless
couple than Tom and Francine Jacobs. RIP, Francine!
*Brexit – Here and Abroad
There was a very
disturbing vote across the Atlantic – Great Britain voted to leave the European
Union.
The website Vox put
this forward: A comment on the Financial Times website from a commenter named
“Nicholas” said the following:
“A quick note on the first
three tragedies. Firstly, it was the working classes who voted for us to leave
because they were economically disregarded, and it is they who will suffer the
most in the short term. They have merely swapped one distant and unreachable
elite for another.
Secondly, the younger
generation has lost the right to live and work in 27 other countries. We will
never know the full extent of the lost opportunities, friendships, marriages
and experiences we will be denied. Freedom of movement was taken away by our parents,
uncles, and grandparents in a parting blow to a generation that was already
drowning in the debts of our predecessors.
Thirdly and perhaps most
significantly, we now live in a post-factual democracy. When the facts met the
myths they were as useless as bullets bouncing off the bodies of aliens in a HG
Wells novel. When Michael Gove said, ‘The British people are sick of experts,’
he was right. But can anybody tell me the last time a prevailing culture of
anti-intellectualism has led to anything other than bigotry?”
First,
what an amazing piece of writing, especially for someone just commenting on a
news site!
Secondly, I feel so sad for our British brothers and sisters. Fear
and hate won out in a national election; I can think of few things sadder.
Finally, Americans should be afraid – very afraid. What just
happened in Great Britain can DEFINITELY happen here! When people feel
disaffected, they go one of three routes: they drop out, they vote Bernie, or
they vote Trump. Our challenge is to convince the dropouts and the Bernies that
we MUST not elect President Trump! The problem is, they got to this point
because politics has not worked for them. We have a job in front of us!
*Calling Out the Corridor Business
Journal
There
is a small local newspaper in Coralville called the Corridor Business Journal
(CBJ). Don’t feel bad if you have not heard of it – Salvos has almost as many
subscribers. The CBJ loves to take shots at the Johnson County Board of
Supervisors. The main reason for their dislike of the Sups is that the CBJ
believes politicians are too timid on the minimum wage.
Confused?
Didn’t Johnson County take bold action to raise the minimum wage? We certainly
did. You see, the CBJ feels politicians should be pushing to ABOLISH the
minimum wage! (If you do not believe me, check out the editorial their June
27-July 3 issue.)
You
heard me correctly – the CBJ believes businesses are weighed down by
unnecessary regulations, including the minimum wage, and they want politicians
to boldly call for its repeal.
Are
local conservative politicians too timid? Yeah, I think we would agree on that.
Too many conservatives masquerade as Democrats in the hopes of getting elected
in Johnson County. I’d rather they stayed proud conservatives; I think it would
be better for both parties.
To
his credit, CBJ Publisher John Lohman ran for office once. He finished 6th
out of 8 candidates in the 1997 At-Large Iowa City Council Primary. So he put
his ideas out there. The public apparently didn’t care for Mr. Lohman’s ideas,
as he only received 8% of the vote, almost twenty percentage points behind the
fifth place finisher. (The top four advanced to the General Election.)
But
back to the issue of the minimum wage…The CBJ trots out the same tired
arguments FDR heard when the first Federal minimum wage was passed in 1938. I
find it comical that the CBJ thinks their discredited ideas amount to good
economic policy when they have been so thoroughly rejected by mainstream
economists.
So,
CBJ – here is a challenge: I hereby challenge CBJ Publisher John Lohman to a
debate on the local economics of the minimum wage. Time and place are
negotiable, but the debate must be recorded and unedited. (I called Mr. Lohman
and discussed this challenge.)
So,
John… are you going to continue to sit behind your computer and call names, or
are you willing to show some of the courage you claim elected officials are
lacking?
*Bernie Sanders
As
you know, I was a Bernie guy. I’m proud of that – there are lots of problems
out there that require progressive solutions. I am VERY proud to have been on
the side of progressive solutions. I have fought for progressive policies my
whole life; I’m not going to stop now.
And
in some ways, our side won! I have recently heard two candidates for federal
office speak. Both talked about an increased minimum wage; more affordable college;
and Wall Street reforms. The Sanders agenda has become the Democratic Party
agenda! And it should! We can argue over details, but we are now fighting for the right things.
That said, in my opinion, it is time for Bernie to call it quits.
It was a great run, but it is time to begin working on behalf of our nominee. I
was relieved to see Bernie endorse Secretary Clinton. I hope he goes even
further in expressing his support for her, and urges his followers to do the
same. Then he can get back to work pushing our politics toward the needs of the
people.
*DID YOU KNOW?
Despite a minimum wage of $9.15/hour, Johnson County has the lowest
unemployment rate in the region at 2.5%. That is a figure many economists refer
to as “full employment”.
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 6:01 PM
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