Article in the Nogales International
June 17, 2005
John Michael, Sonoita, Arizona
Commentators tell us constantly that our country is divided between radically opposed political views, a 50:50 nation half Democrat and half Republican. There is an element of truth as the last two Presidential elections showed. In 2000 the current President assumed his office on a technicality and in 2004 had only a narrow majority of the popular vote in a turnout that far exceeded the total votes cast in many years.
The disappearance of reasoned discussion is a result of polarization. Each side is so busy hurling insults at the other that there is little chance to consider issues in any thoughtful or creative way.
The Nogales International is addressing this condition by offering the Santa Cruz County Democratic Party an opportunity to reflect on issues that affect us all. Each month a Santa Cruz Democrat will offer a personal comment on what they think is important to residents of Nogales, Rio Rico, Tubac, Patagonia, Elgin, Sonoita and other communities in the County, the State and the Nation.
The intention is that a series of personal views will offer perspectives that all readers of The International will find useful in considering the issues of the day. This will be particularly important in the run up to the November 2006 election. Then the voters of Arizona will decide if they want to continue to be represented in the Senate by a candidate that is a parrot for the administration - "my President, right or wrong." They also will choose whether or not they want to continue under the leadership of Gov. Janet Napolitano with her commitment to improving the miserable performance of Arizona schools in general and the extension of health care to our neediest citizens.
I am a Democrat because I believe that government should help and support all of the citizens of the United States. There never has been equality of results in our Nation but I believe passionately there should be equality of opportunity. That means among other things:
- Good schools for all students
- Health care for all children
- A sane and humane immigration policy
- A government tax policy that does not favor the very wealthy over the 80% of the population that earns less than $79,000 a year
- A foreign policy that starts with diplomacy and only responds with force to real threats to the Nation such as a nuclear-armed Korea with intermediate range ballistic missiles
During the past 30 years public policy has increasingly favored the wealthy - those individuals fortunate enough to earn more than $80,000 a year. The result is that especially during the past 10 years the growth in real income for more than 80% of us has been flat to the advantage of the very wealthy. That means a large majority of our fellow citizens are in fact unable to rise in security and prosperity through their own efforts and labor.
Another way to see the effect of 30 years of Republican policies is to compare the relative increase in earnings. Between 1950 and 1970 for every extra dollar earned by 90% of the population the wealthiest .01% earned $162. Between 1990 and 2002 for every extra dollar earned by 90% of our citizens the top .01% earned an additional $18,000. Those statistics were reported in The New York Times on Sunday June 5.
The strength of America, economically and politically, resides in a large middle class - the 38% or our population earning currently between $26,000 and $80,000. That middle - after 30 years of Republican policy - is being hollowed out. A result is a polarization between the few "haves" and the rest of us.
We cannot change these conditions quickly as individuals living in Santa Cruz County. As individuals we can carefully consider the effect Republican policies are having on our Nation. And then we can organize ourselves to ensure that our voices are heard. That means working for the policies we support all the time and the candidates that will advance those programs at election time.
