Project Logic Ga

If voting and public policy aren’t your things, you should think again.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease or folks who actually vote decide everything.  Democrats generally advocate for working people but those same people blow off voting. They spent countless hours on cellphone games, sports, T.V. or just chilling but can’t find 15 minutes to vote.

We are at a crossroads with policy in the South.  I personally see a re-segregation of the region voluntarily but if you know southerners, the wealthy will get theirs and everything else.  In rural counties, certain people are moving out of the county seats, homeschooling their kids and envisioning a battle to create a nation where everyone looks and acts like them.

We need a country where all voices are heard at the discussion table and we need 5 hot topics to convince people on my side of the railroad tracks that voting in every local, state and federal election is of vital importance.  Here is the kicker: some of the issues don’t seem to directly involve you but they do.

Weed: The majority of southerners and I have never violated marijuana laws.  We need to have a public discussion and statewide vote on weed laws compared to legal alcohol and prescription opioid drugs.  Firstly, California Governor and former smoker Jerry Brown is right; we shouldn’t have a society in which everyone is high daily….people have things they need to do.  If that was the case, the rest of the world would overtake us in productivity.  However, cannabis seems to have serious medical benefits and is possibly less harmful than liquor.

Some think the alcohol lobby is fighting weed legalization but I think the drug companies don’t want homegrown competition for pain relief.  While hard drugs like heroin and cocaine should never be recreational, the people should be allowed to vote on weed because the criminal commerce of this product is packing prisons.  Let me understand: crack was horrible and destroyed our community (lock them up and toss the key) but opioids are destroying the other side of town and they need treatment.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN will have a special report on pot vs. pills on April 29, 2018, and I look forward to getting better informed. Agriculture is Georgia’s top industry and our research universities might one day develop, as Colorado has, cannabis strains that reduce anxiety and pain without euphoria. The people should be allowed a vote.  Former State House member and current candidate for Secretary of State Dee Dawkins-Haigler broke down the cannabis public policy points in a You Tube video I came across recently. I sincerely appreciate the intelligent progressive dialog.

Schools:  “Make America Great Again” involves changing the structure of school funding.  Taxpayers often complain that the money spent on schools should be higher in their part of the community because their property taxes fund the local portion of schools.  The ultimate objective of the school choice movement is finding a dollar amount for educating each kid and allowing parents the flexibility to leave their children in public schools, move them to private schools or keep the money and teach them at home. Because that amount won’t pay for a private school education, working class families will have fewer options.

Some conservatives argue that the only job of teachers is to teach but modern teachers are role models and surrogate parents.  People learn to be around folks not like them from classmates and teachers—Black, White, Red, Brown, Yellow.  To the Duck Dynasty types, everyone not like them is likely against them.  Teachers and coaches are selected by principals and administrators and those people are selected by elected school board members.  If you don’t vote, your kids won’t have any teachers with their cultural background.  We also know that teaching has been one of the first middle class positions in many Black families.

Military: The Armed Forces and civilian federal government jobs joins teachers as Black mobility opportunities.  As you know, Black G.I.s died for freedom in Europe and southeast Asia when their families weren’t free in Georgia. We must vote to support the troops by electing a President and Congress that will send troops into harm’s way only when a clear and present danger exists and start the mission with a defined exit strategy.  The Pentagon, White House and Congress should be watched on behalf of our brave service members like a hawk because rich kids aren’t on the frontline as much as working class folks are.  A young high school graduate from the poorest family can have a career and a place to live a week after graduation if he or she joins the military….and never see poverty again.  But, a leader like the current President could send him into combat because some other leader looked at him funny.

Healthcare: We need universal basic healthcare coverage for every American.  Currently, the uninsured use the E.R. as a doctor’s office.  An annual checkup could detect an issue early and the cost of treatment would be low.  Actually, we need a tough, preventative healthcare system in which doctor’s warn of the looming consequences of bad habits like obesity and substance abuse.  Some hardcore public policy wonks believe expensive treatment for those who were long ago warned should be withheld.

If you won’t vote for Democrats who support healthcare rather than the far right conservatives who are in bed with the insurance, hospital and drug companies, you shouldn’t be surprised that America will be great again when poor people start dying.

Jobs: America is the land of opportunity and I hope you have had a few.  Ideally, kids would pay attention in school, at church and at home—learning the information and skills needed to train on the man’s job or in college.  In reality with technology and innovation, companies can function more productively with fewer people.  The competition for jobs and career is intense and growing more intense as other parts of the world emerge in the global market place.

In a nutshell, our young adults need to be clean cut, focused, energetic and patient.  The progressive movement is pointing out low wages resulting from corporate greed and as President Trump says, we need to manufacture things in America again.  There is no easy answer but we know that the solution involves a comprehensive plan—everyone at the table.  But, if working people don’t vote, the decision will primarily reflect the interests of rich fat cats.

In summary, we can’t figure out why my side of the community doesn’t vote but we better come up with some hot topics fast.