SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
January 11, 2018
Sullivan’s
Salvos 1/16/18
In this edition:
*Hoover Got One Right!
*Number and Length of Meetings
*Marriage Under Age 18
*Legislative Priorities
*Did You Know?
*Hoover Got One Right!
Despite
his nearby roots, I am no big fan of former President Herbert Hoover. Our
political philosophies are quite different. But Hoover did something important
for the country I wish we could replicate today!
Hoover
served as Commerce Secretary in the 1920s, when electricity was beginning to
sweep the nation. Because there were no standards, there were many difficulties
making appliances work, and many fires started as a result. To address this,
Hoover created standards we still have today. Electrical outlets and cords are
pretty much universal.
To
paraphrase Archie and Edith Bunker, “We sure could use a man like Herbert
Hoover today!” Specifically – why can’t we create universal standards for cell
phone chargers? Just look around at any family event – every young person is
trying to find a cord that will work with her/his phone. Why can’t we simply
standardize this? It is frequently a safety issue.
Of
course, I can answer my own question – the phone makers will simply say “no”,
so the will of the people matters not a whit. Isn’t it scary to think that we
long for the good old days of Hoover?
*Number and Length of Meetings
I
recently learned that the number of meetings Johnson County held went up a bit in
2017. In addition, the length of meetings increased fairly significantly in
2017. What are we to make of this?
On
one hand, one could argue that this is an improvement. Perhaps there is more
work getting done. Perhaps more items are getting a public airing. Perhaps
things are being done with greater thought more discussion, and greater public
input.
On
the other hand, one could argue that this is the sign of problems. Perhaps the
Board is making decisions it should delegate. Perhaps there is too much
micromanaging. Perhaps there is too much infighting. Perhaps people ramble on
too long.
Either
situation could be the case. Both situations could be the case. I have my
opinions, but really, you should form your own. Listen in to part or all of a
few meetings. Recordings of every meeting are available on our website. Check
it out, and see what you think. Then let us know – positive, negative, or a bit
of both – what you think. We don’t get much feedback on this sort of thing; I’d
like to know your opinion.
*Marriage Under Age 18
The
sordid story of Roy Moore has me thinking about the way we Americans treat female
children under the law. More specifically, why do we allow children under the
age of 18 to get married?
If
you think about it, children under 18 may not vote, serve in the military,
serve on a jury, own land, buy tobacco, buy fireworks, get a tattoo, or play
the lottery. In an even more relevant example, children under 18 are not
allowed to enter into contracts. Given all the things we do choose to restrict,
why do we allow children under 18 to marry?
My
guess is that this stems from the longstanding Christian desire to see everyone
remain chaste until marriage. Many Christian denominations are overly concerned
about young women having sex before marriage, when they should be concerned
about the fact that the same young women may be victims of rape, statutory or
otherwise.
One
of the questions at the crux of the matter is whether parents should be able to
legally approve of their daughter’s underage marriage. There are definitely
cases of parents doing this. I think it sets up a terrible situation, ripe for
human trafficking. I simply do not believe parents should be able to “waive”
this protection for their children. Let’s take all financial and other
incentives away from child marriage.
Obviously,
children under 18 do maintain some rights. Children have rights to safety and
education, for example. If parents do not provide those things, parental rights
can be terminated.
Children under 18 also enjoy certain Constitutional rights, like a
right to due process and a right to equal protection. But what about healthcare?
In 1944, parents who were Jehovah’s Witnesses refused a blood transfusion that
would have saved their son’s life. In Prince v Massachusetts the US Supreme Court determined
that “parents may not make martyrs of their children.” Similarly, I do not think parents
should be able to “marry off” their underage children.
Are children under 18 going to continue to have sex? Yes. They
always have, and they always will. But who are we helping when we codify it
through marriage?
26
states (including Iowa) allow some type of marriage under the age of 18. I
think it makes perfect sense to change state and federal laws to require children
under 18 to wait until that age to get married. How about you?
*Legislative Priorities
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors
has released its 2018 Local Legislative Priorities, giving residents of Johnson
County an overview of the initiatives that the Board will pursue with state and
federal lawmakers in the coming year. The Board recently met with local
legislators, including Senators Joe Bolkcom, Robert Dvorsky and Kevin Kinney,
and Representatives Dave Jacoby and Mary Mascher, to discuss their priorities.
The Board’s top 2018 legislative
priorities and issues include 1) securing funding for local crisis intervention
training and facilities; 2) fully funding the backfill of commercial and
residential tax cuts; 3) increasing the minimum wage; and 4) funding Johnson
County courthouse security, maintenance and improvements.
Additional priorities and issues
affecting Johnson County include Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs);
county home rule, spending, and local governance; election modernization;
decategorization programs; disclosure of sales prices of real estate included
in the sale of LLCs; Early Childhood Iowa; retroactive Medicaid; emergency
medical services (EMS) as an essential service; independent boards operating
under county authority; Local Public Health Services Grant (LPHSG); marijuana
reform; medical examiner; mental health funding; recreation and conservation;
renewable energy; veterans; and collective bargaining rights.
A complete overview of
the Board’s 2018 legislative priorities and issues is available on the Johnson
County website at http://www.johnson-county.com/dept_supervisors.aspx?id=10736.
*DID YOU KNOW?
The per-enrollee cost growth in Medicaid (6.1 percent) is lower than the
per-enrollee cost growth in comparable coverage under Medicare (6.9), private
health insurance (10.6), and monthly premiums for employer-sponsored insurance
(12.6). (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation.)
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"Sullivan’s
Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a
brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
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come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the
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feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to
serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 12:47 PM
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