SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
September 5, 2019
Sullivan’s Salvos 9/10/19
In this edition:
*Abolish the Electoral College!
*Childcare Solutions
*Hunger, Inequality, Climate Change – Solved!
*Generations
*Did You Know?
*Abolish the Electoral College!
I have long believed that the existence of the Electoral College is bad public policy and that it should be eliminated.
The Electoral College is a vestige of slavery, when people of color were counted as 3/5 of a person. It still impacts Asian American, African American, and Latinx voters in a disproportionate manner. Like other remnants of slavery, it should be eliminated.
The Electoral College flies in the face of one of our most cherished beliefs – “One person, one vote.” This is because it gives inordinate power to voters in less populous states, at the expense of voters in more popular states.
We can change. US Senators used to be elected by State Legislators. They are now directly elected. Would anyone really prefer to return to the old way?
Here are my response to a couple of common pro-Electoral College arguments:
A change would devalue rural voters.No, it would ACCURATELY value rural voters. Less populated states ALREADY hold a huge electoral advantage – it is called the US Senate!
Candidates would not campaign in rural areas.Even when candidates do come to a state, they rarely hit rural areas. As political scientist Robert Speel writes: Presidential candidates don’t campaign in rural areas no matter what system is used, simply because there are not a lot of votes to be gained in those areas. In Pennsylvania, for example, 72 percent of PA campaign visits by Clinton and Trump in the final two months of their campaigns were to the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas. In Michigan, all 8 campaign visits by Clinton and Trump in the final two months of their campaigns were to the Detroit and Grand Rapids areas, with neither candidate visiting the rural parts of the state.
Plus, campaigns already ignore 35 or more states!
Iowa might get less attention. This is possible. But how can I possibly think that outweighs one person, one vote? Isn’t democracy for 330 million more important than extra attention for 3 million?
Bottom line: the loser of popular vote simply should not end up as President. Americans deserve a system of one person, one vote. We have it for every other office; why not the highest office in the land?
*Childcare Solutions
Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, Iowa City Area Development, Johnson County Social Services and Iowa Women’s Foundation are sponsoring two events to bring together child care entrepreneurs, business leaders, non-profits, school districts, government organizations and community members to address the availability of and access to high quality, affordable child care in Johnson County. The Iowa Women’s Foundation will facilitate both of these free events as part of their statewide initiative, Building Community Child Care Solutions.
A Child Care Providers Discussion will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, at MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City. This event will be an opportunity for local child care providers to share their experiences, concerns and potential solutions to address child care issues in Johnson County.
The Child Care Solutions Summit will take place from 8 to 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, at MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City. This work session for business and community leaders will examine potential solutions that would help bring new members to the workforce, engage our current workforce and prepare future workers.
In Johnson County, 76 percent of households with children under the age of six have all parents working outside of the home. In the last five years, Johnson County lost 26 percent of child care businesses. There are 22,168 children ages 0-12 in Johnson County, but only 12,901 childcare spaces, equating to only one space for every 2.3 children.
Child care is not just a family issue—it encompasses business success and community growth. Child care is an essential and under-emphasized tool for our community to develop, grow and sustain a reliable workforce and increase worker retention. Parents miss an average of two weeks of work per year due to child care issues and 65 percent of parents indicate that they are late to work or leave early because of child care issues. Sixty-three percent of parents say that child care costs influence their careers.
Anyone interested in participating in these events can get additional information and RSVP at https://iowacityiacoc.wliinc21.com/events/Child-Care-Solutions-Summit-4490/details or by contacting Jennifer Banta at the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce at jennifer@iowacityarea.com.
*Hunger, Inequality, Climate Change – Solved!
Very special guest Raj Patel will be speaking at The Englert Theatre Wed. Oct. 2 on solutions to climate change, inequality and hunger. You can see his TedMed talk here.He will be showing rough cuts of his new documentary with footage from Malawi as well as Iowa. There will be either a discussion or Q and A at the end, and a book signing by Prairie Lights.
The next day Raj will be on the U of I campusmeeting with students. David Gould, David Cwiertny, a number of student groups and others are organizing that schedule.
The Englert event is free thanks to support from the City of Iowa City Office of Sustainability and the Donald C. Brace Foundation - but RSVPs get the best seats!
*Generations
I was thinking about generations the other day. You know what I am talking about – a social construct that goes something like this:
Gen Z or Centennials: Born 1996 – TBD
Millennials or Gen Y: Born 1977 – 1995
Generation X: Born 1965 – 1976
Baby Boomers: Born 1946 – 1964
Silent Generation: Born 1928 - 1945
Greatest Generation: Born 1900-1928
Lots of folks debate the years attached here. Frankly, I’m not certain there is a single correct answer. Perhaps more importantly, I’m not sure it matters.
While I find this interesting, I do not believe that it means much. I have always felt that there was little benefit to grouping tens of millions of people based solely on the year of their birth.
That said, I do think it is important to recognize that shifts are taking place. The youngest people in the Silent Generation are now 75. And over half of the Baby Boomers are older than 65. Meanwhile, Millennials are the largest generation in history, and even the youngest Millennials are now in the workplace.
*DID YOU KNOW? There have been 5 occasions where the Electoral College chose someone other than the candidate who got the most popular votes: In the multi-candidate race of 1824, Andrew Jackson received the most popular votes, but with no man winning a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams to be president. In 1876 Samuel Tilden earned a majority of popular votes, but Rutherford B. Hayes won by a single electoral vote. Twelve years later, Benjamin Harrison defeated incumbent Grover Cleveland handily in the Electoral College although garnering fewer popular votes. In 2000, George W. Bush captured more electoral votes while earning 500,000 fewer popular votes than Al Gore. In 2016, Donald Trump won the electoral vote despite receiving nearly three million fewer votes than his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
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 @ 2:47 PM
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