SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
January 13, 2022
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/18/22
In this edition:
*RIP Al Axeen
*MLK
*Reconsidering Build Back Better
*Tough Questions From Ras Smith
*Did You Know?
*RIP Al Axeen
I was very sorry to hear of the passing of Al Axeen of Coralville. Al was a former Coralville City Councilor and Mayor, and a really good guy.
I got to know Al a couple of different ways. He was a dedicated Democrat, who always put in a lot of work for the party. Second, Al worked at the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) where he oversaw a wide array of services including Head Start, weatherization, LiHeap, and transitional housing. I served on his Board for several years, and I was always impressed with the work he did. RIP, Al!
*MLK
Monday, January 17 marks the federal holiday celebrating the birthday of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior. I am so pleased that our country has chosen to honor this great man, and I hope you enjoy the holiday in his name. As usual, the Board of Supervisors did a proclamation in his honor.
We would like to think America has come a long way since the 60s. After the 2016 and 2020 elections, I’m not certain I feel that way any longer. Race was a HUGE issue in the 2016 election, and the team the racists supported won. In 2020 and since, overt racists have felt emboldened to do and say almost anything.
Look at America today. Black Lives Matter is a response to the epidemic of black men being killed by police. The US Supreme Court killed much of the Voting Rights Act, and they are likely to kill Affirmative Action. Black women die in childbirth at ridiculous rates. Black men are more likely to go to prison than college. The list goes on and on. Our society still has a deep racial divide.
We also need to recognize that King was a radical. America grudgingly accepted racial reforms because they were less dangerous to the status quo than the other issues King championed – namely economic justice. King took seriously the Biblical teachings that the love of money is a sin, and that rich men will not be welcomed into Heaven. (King was a Democratic Socialist!) He proposed seismic changes to the political and social structures that exist in America. In addition, King was adamantly anti-war. He was NOT beloved by all in his day; he was jailed 29 times! To the status quo, he was the most dangerous man in the world.
Take some time this week to read some of the great books that are out there on Dr. King. More importantly, take some time to read the things he wrote himself.
And if you are so inclined, there are several worthwhile local celebrations. The University of Iowa has several events. You can see the complete schedule at: https://mlk.uiowa.edu. The annual community MLK celebration is being held, but I was unable to secure details at the time of publication.
We have SO much work to do. We cannot forget that. But we also need to take the time to celebrate our successes. Happy MLK Day!
*Reconsidering Build Back Better
Like many of you, I had high hopes for President Biden’s Build Back Better program. There is no question that BBB is the direction our country should be heading. Unfortunately, it looks as though we are not going to get there.
So what now? I have an idea, but it may not work, either. I think there have been three problems with Build Back Better. First, all the focus has been on the cost. Secondly, there has been little discussion of who bears that cost. It is NOT the average person! Thirdly, the components are so numerous and ever-changing that it is hard to keep track of what is in the bill.
My solution? A simple suggestion: Free universal childcare, paid for by the wealthiest. Available to every single American family. We treat 0-4 the same way we treat 5-18.
Does the money work? God yes! A one cent wealth tax on the richest 1% of Americans would generate about $180 billion per year. Estimates for universal childcare come in somewhere around $70 billion per year. We would have almost three times the revenue necessary to provide childcare for every child who needs it.
Think of the life-changing impacts this would have! No more children left alone, or left in substandard care. Women able to enter the workforce. Women free to take whatever job they desire versus what works with daycare. Families saving somewhere around $1000 per month per child. Increasing the salaries and benefits for millions of childcare workers. This would be a game-changer, folks!
I can see a huge problem here, though, with our two usual suspects. Joe Manchin will not vote for anything unless it is “paid for.” In other words, it cannot add to the debt. Fine. The “pay for” here is easy – the top one percent richest individuals and wealthy corporations can easily fund it. Easily. So the program is paid for.
But now you run into Kirsten Sinema. She refuses to tax the rich. If you do not tax the rich, you cannot pay for the program. If you cannot pay for the program, Manchin is a “no”. It is the classic Catch-22.
Perhaps one or both of them could adjust their thinking if we were talking about something so clear, easy, and popular. There would not be a bunch of smaller programs to criticize. Just one, simple, life-changing bill. I hope the Senate can pull off something like this.
*Tough Questions From Ras Smith
In light of MLK Day, we should spend some time talking about State Representative Ras Smith of Waterloo, who recently suspended his campaign for Iowa Governor. Why has he suspended it? Smith spoke about it to the Gazette’s Todd Dorman:
“The Chair of the Party said Ras Smith is the future of the Democratic Party. There’s a narrative among Democrats that we can’t be competitive, without seeing what dollars are on hand, I’d put up my legislative resume’ against anybody’s, from Nate Boulton’s to Todd Prichard’s to Fred Hubbell. The only difference is I’m not wealthy enough to self-fund my race. […]
“I’ve been struggling,” Smith said. “And I believe in being transparent and authentic in the work that I do. I’ve been struggling to have sit-down conversations about my campaign with institutional donors to this party historically. I’ve been struggling to get them to answer a phone call and have a meeting with me. And I wonder why? I wonder what I’ve done to make these folks not want to entertain a Ras Smith candidacy?
“I wonder along the way what misstep did I make? Did I not shake a hand at the right event? Did I not pass the right policy to not show up? I’ve got a case full of plaques that they said I was doing a dang good job. But when it comes to the fact that I call to have a conversation, I don’t even get a return phone call back. No answer back,” Smith said.
Smith is right. His record is damn near perfect. He is young (but not too young), whip smart, with a perfect background story. He deserves better. More importantly, the fact remains that in Iowa, about 100 wealthy people essentially get to choose our nominee for Governor. Those 100 people have a piss-poor track record. We need to find a way to seize the power from these people.
*DID YOU KNOW? King was such a gifted student that he skipped grades nine and 12 before enrolling in 1944 at age 15 at Morehouse College, the alma mater of his father and maternal grandfather. Although he was the son, grandson and great-grandson of Baptist ministers, King did not intend to follow the family vocation until Morehouse president Benjamin E. Mays, a noted theologian, convinced him otherwise. King was ordained before graduating college with a degree in sociology.
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 1:13 PM
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