SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
May 28, 2020
Sullivan’s Salvos 6/2/20
In this edition:
*Vote!
*Sullivan for Supervisor
*Johnson County Partial Reopening June 8
*Joni Ernst Is Being Disingenuous!
*Did You Know?
*Vote!
Tuesday, June 2 is Election Day in Iowa, and both Republicans and Democrats in Johnson County have races to consider. It will be interesting, because we have had a record number of absentee ballots requested and returned. We may end up with a large number of votes cast, yet the smallest Election Day turnout in our history! We shall see!
*Sullivan for Supervisor
Dear readers – if you will do me the honor, I would be proud to serve another term as your Johnson County Supervisor. I would sincerely appreciate your vote on June 2 or before. I am grateful for your past support, and thank you for your future consideration. I promise to never take this position for granted!
*Johnson County Partial Reopening June 8
Johnson County buildings are scheduled for a partial reopening on Monday, June 8, 2020. That is 78 days after things were closed down on March 17.
What does a “partial reopening” mean? Excellent question! The public will be allowed to reenter County buildings, but there will be several additional rules.
We are starting with opening by appointment only. You will need to call or email the office you need and arrange an appointment. Once you arrive, there will be signs asking about a variety of health issues. If the symptoms listed on the signs apply to you, you should not come into the building! Once in the building, you will find plexiglass shields on the countertops. Staff will assist you with what need, and you can be on your way.
People accessing County buildings will be expected to wear a face covering. County staff will have disposable masks available for anyone who needs one.
Staff people are still going to be working remotely when possible. When staff people are coming to work, they will be required to check their temperature every day before leaving home. A variety of personal protective equipment (PPE) will be available for staff to use depending upon their individual job functions.
There will be additional cleaning taking place in each building during the day, in addition to the regular cleaning that occurs each night. On top of that, staff people are responsible for cleaning their own work spaces. Buildings will have markings on the floor indicating proper social distancing. There will only be a single public entry for each building.
We spent quite a while discussing the idea of taking temperatures at the front door, but decided against it. A few of the reasons why:
1. You can be contagious with the virus and not have a fever.
2. In order to have properly trained people taking the temps, we would need to divert paramedics from more urgent tasks.
3. Because of HIPPA, people would need to be screened in a separate room. We simply don’t have the facilities to do this.
4. Lines created in the parking lot for testing would likely be a worse scenario than simply admitting people at their scheduled appointment time.
5. Remote, no-touch temperature screens are notoriously inaccurate.
6. A private business has a bit more leeway in terms of telling people they cannot enter; these buildings are owned by the public.
7. How would we deal with someone who refuses to have her temperature taken? Would we need to keep a deputy at the door at all times? Are we ready to jail folks for issues of noncompliance?
There were simply far too many things making temperature checks an unrealistic option, primarily the fact that many people could still be contagious and walk right in.
So, the actions I described above is the plan. It has the blessings of our Public Health experts and the County Attorney. Now – let’s be completely honest for a moment. There are going to be people who claim that anyone who supported this plan is an evil murderer who doesn’t care about public health. Hyperbole is never in short supply when it comes to the actions of the Board of Supervisors. So if you have questions – ask. Call or email the whole Board. I know personally I’d be happy to talk about the Board’s response to the Covid-19 crisis.
This has been a very challenging period. It continues to be a very challenging period. There are no easy answers in terms of what to do. We will give this a try, and hope things go well. Meanwhile, we would still urge the public to continue to transact business remotely if possible. Your patience is appreciated!
*Joni Ernst Is Being Disingenuous!
Senator Joni Ernst keeps saying something along these lines: “I know Iowans are hurting. That’s why I want to give them a payroll tax cut.” This is like a doctor prescribing sugar to a diabetic! The condition is going to get much, much worse! Let me go into some detail.
There are basically four different taxes that are “payroll taxes”. This means your employer (or you, if self-employed) must remove this money from the pay that is owed, and submit it to the government. So when you get your pay stub, you see an amount of taxes that were withheld.
The four taxes that are withheld are federal income, Social Security, Medicare, and federal unemployment. What would a cut to any of these mean?
Well, in 2017, the Republicans (including Joni Ernst) passed the largest federal income tax cut in history. Almost everything went to the richest people in the world. Meanwhile, as quality jobs disappear, regular Americans have been pushed into public benefits like Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps). So she had her income tax cut. I’m certain she’d love to give rich donors another income tax cut at our expense, but that’s not what she’s talking about here.
She could be talking about foregoing the Social Security tax. And from her perspective, that would make sense. She wants to see Social Security weakened, so that when she comes for it, it is less popular with the public.
She could be talking about foregoing the Medicare tax. And from her perspective, that would make sense. She wants to see Medicare weakened, so that when she comes for it, it is less popular with the public.
She could be talking about foregoing the unemployment tax. And from her perspective, that would make sense. She wants to see unemployment weakened, so that when she comes for it, it is less popular with the public.
There is almost NOTHING Americans need right now more than strong systems of Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment. Don’t let Ernst fool you with her talk of a “tax cut”. This would be devastating to needy Americans!
If you actually care about people, these cuts make no sense. I honestly don’t know if she is stupid or devious. I guess it doesn’t matter. In either case, vote for the Democratic candidate for US Senate this year!
*DID YOU KNOW? The Social Security Administration estimates that 21% of married couples and 44% of single seniors rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income. Those percentages are expected to increase.
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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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 1:27 PM
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