Fair and Impartial or An Eye for an Eye

There is a foundational philosophy of our governmental and justice system that underpins the rationale for our laws and our public relationships with other citizens. Most of these came from philosophers who were active during the period of “the enlightenment.” One of the things that I have questioned at this time is allowing victims or the relatives of victims to testify at trials when guilt or innocence is yet to be determined. It seems to me that this would interject an item of emotional content into a process that depends on the rule of reason and logic rather than emotion. After all, we are at that time deciding the fate of another human being and we owe it to that defendant to take all steps to avoid a wrong decision. In a larger sense we owe it to our country and ourselves since we allow our peers to decide our fates as well.

There are some who reject the notion of the “Social Contract” the terms of which govern our relationships with our fellow citizens. One of the precepts is that we give up certain prerogatives in order to enjoy the benefits of an orderly society. One of those prerogatives is that of revenge. By the terms of the Social Contract crimes against any citizen are considered to be crimes against all the other adherents of that contract. This is why we have prosecutors to act on our behalves rather than just going out and taking an eye for an eye.

If that is true then we have an obligation to be as fair and impartial as possible when meting out justice. It must not be from emotional stressors or it will no longer be fair and impartial but will seek an eye for an eye. It is my reasoning that brings me to the question of whether or not we should allow victims or relatives to testify to their personal suffering. At the same time it is permissible to allow those who were present to testify of such if it can help determine the accused's state of mind.

On the other hand, at the sentencing phase such testimony may be allowed in order to help gain an understanding of the impact of the crime. This may help a judge or jury assess penalty withing the boundaries set by law.

It is often said and the United States is renowned world wide for being a nation of laws, not of men and women. This is to ensure the equitable application of justice. Sometimes it does not work exactly right.

Tweedledee or Tweedledum

I don't believe I have ever seen a gubernatorial race with as many people running and no one saying anything about what he wants to do. If you listen you may hear that they are not going to put up with Obama's policies and are going to undo KyNect and Obamacare. Someone ought to tell them that President Obama is not running for governor of Kentucky and is unlikely to having endured 8 years of the most obstinate and unrelenting abuse that any human should be required to tolerate. Perhaps they also should take into account the hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians who have gained insurance coverage for the first time. Of course, they may believe that the voters either are too ignorant to come to this realization or that they won't vote anyway.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum

They are still going on about the war on coal. I would like to think that those candidates are not stupid people and if that is true then they know that the coal industry in Eastern Kentucky is not coming back. Not because of something that EPA or Obama did but because natural gas is cheaper and all the easy coal in Eastern Kentucky is gone. Well, there might be some on Black Mountain but folks are pretty intent on keeping it there. This is no secret. The writing has been on the wall about the demise of the coal industry for decades. Western Kentucky coal and Wyoming coal are just cheaper to get to. The candidates are the ones that go on about allowing free enterprise to work and this is the result of it working. If any of the candidates really want to talk about something then they should really talk about how our leaders have lied to Kentuckians for over 30 years just to keep the money flowing from the coal barons.

To a man they all deny global warming. Nine of the hottest years on record have come in the past ten years. California is running out of water. Farmers on the Great Plains are depleting the Ogalalla aquifer at an alarming rate. Drought in Texas has forced the thinning of beef herds and that's just here in the United States. They will tell you that they really can't say since they aren't scientists and then proceed to go on and say. Well, if they aren't scientists then maybe they ought to listen to scientists who can say. Authoritatively.

They aren't going to raise taxes. At least one of them says there is still enough waste in Frankfort to fund government as long as we do it leaner. Everyone that has been paying attention knows that state government has been cut to the bone and then had a few bones removed. If you want to know why the state worker's pension fund is so short funded then look no further. Those pension contributions meant to fund the retirements of thousands of workers have been diverted to make it look like our government was making do with less when it was just making do with those folks retirement money. They used to think that it was a pretty good deal to get someone to work cheaply as long as we gave them a decent retirement. Now that those people are retiring some think that may not have been such a good idea after all.

As a matter of fact, they are going to lower taxes. Yes, they are going to balance the budget on less money. I suggest they take a look at Kansas and how Sam Brownback has done with that. As I said, I give these guys credit for not being stupid and if that is the truth then they are just lying. Given the choice of being a liar or being stupid I'm not sure which way I would prefer. That old supply side economics chestnut keeps coming around and it was voodoo economics the first time around. But it usually gets votes because people just don't like paying taxes and they still haven't made the connection between taxes and things like teachers and fire departments.

The thing of it is that these positions of misdirection that have nothing to do with what it will take to move Kentucky aheard (I'm speaking of economically and not basketball). However, they may be enough to win the day. On the Democratic side the field was left open for Jack Conway but for some token opposition from soneone no one can remember. However, with Conway's previous record of pulling defeat from the jaws of victory in his loss to Rand Paul for the Senate seat he now holds does not bode well for Kentucky democrats. In that race I watched Jack Conway run perhaps the worst political campaign that I have ever seen and the result was that Kentucky now has a candidate for President (and Senate if he can swing both).

Kentucky and Kentuckians deserve better. This is the state that gave the United States people like Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, Alben Barkley and our own Senator John Sherman Cooper. Men who stood tall and stood for things that actually meant something other than just getting a portrait on a wall somewhere. Kentucky is desperate for visionary leadership that looks into the future and sees solutions rather that tired old policies that peer backward into some imagined more fruitful time.

My Take is this. In order for Kentucky to make progress on behalf of its citizens our state will have to come up with a better crop than we have before us. I can't recall when I have ever seen a weaker field with no ideas at all. Hard times are a' knockin' at the door. We can only hope it doesn't mean good night.

Imagine

What would it be like if companies paid their workers as much as they could rather than as little as they can? This is a big step past Capitalism 101 but it is still free market. It just places a higher value on the well-being of the worker than on corporate wealth or some hedge fund manager who contributes nothing. It is also a patriotic position because it values the good of the nation above personal wealth. We tend to think of capitalism as getting the most you can get for as little as you can but there is no rule that mandates that. Valuing the lives and well-being of employees is not socialism in any sense of the word. It is just taking care of your workers in a way that allows them to have meaningful lives free from financial hardship. It is all about your value system. If you think this is crazy then consider this. Dan Price who founded Gravity Systems in Washington recently took a pay cut from $1,000,000 per year to $70,000 per year to help fund a pay raise for his employees that lifted them from about $48,000 per year to $70,000 per year. The boss will be making the same as the employees. Oh, sure. No doubt he has equity in the company and other investments but the gesture he makes is dramatic.

By comparison it is estimated that companies based in the United States are sitting on two trillion dollars in cash that they are desperately holding on to praying for a political climate to emerge that will allow them to keep this money with a lower tax burden. This is money that the free market people tell us is to be used to “create jobs and employ workers.” Right now all it is doing is sitting in money funds that attempt to offset inflation which is very low at this time. If those companies were as patriotic as Mr. Price they could raise the compensation packages for millions of workers who could pay taxes and fund the rebuilding of the infrastructure that buttresses our economy. But that would require thinking more of their workers and the welfare of the United States than the multi-million dollar compensation packages and golden parachutes that have created an oligarchy. An oligarchy that is self perpetuating by its ability to buy elections and lobbyists to direct favorable legislation.

Into this toxic brew comes Dan Price, entrepreneur and millionaire, who shows his appreciation for the workers by putting his money where his mouth is. No claims of being a self made man or libertarian concepts to justify keeping it all. Can anyone argue that it is beneficial to his workers to receive a greater portion of the fruits of their labor? Is there any dispute that the distribution of higher wages will have a stimulative effect on the local economy and help create a secure future for the just recipients of this event? These people talk of starting a family or being able to rent or purchase a place of their own. What they speak of is what we used to call the American Dream, the dream that is dying a slow and painful death.

In truth, these are the things that we speak of when we refer to the greatness of America and the love that people have for their home. So, how can Mr. Dan Price be wrong? Or could we hold him up as a classic example of the good that exists in the hearts of some people? Could he be an example of the selflessness that we so treasure in others but find so rarely in the hearts of the Captains of Finance and Industry? And if we find it so valuable and pleasurable then should we not encourage people to emulate the example for the good of the people and the good of the country? Dan Price could just as easily found a good hedge fund manager that would have used the money to finance arcane instruments that are little more than legalized gambling, making bets on what institution will fail at their endeavor. In the end his money could have been used for no good end or for creation of anything other than more wealth. But it was not used for no good end, it was used for a very excellent end and that was to improve the lives of the people who worked to generate it.

I saw a graphic the other day that showed that there are 80 people, less than 100 people, in the world that control more wealth than the bottom 50% of all humanity on the globe. Pause just a moment to allow that to sink in. That half is about 4 billion people compared to 80. And we now have representatives of those people hard at work to influence legislators to allow them to take more.

I am a capitalist. I believe that allowing people to create and keep the profits from the products of their creation is necessary to motivate economic prosperity. I don't say growth because I don't think that infinite growth is possible. At some point we have to move to sustainability. Capitalism is our economic model but it is far from perfect and that is the role of regulation. Without regulation to benefit the rest of society capitalism is avaricious. There has to be regulation or all of the wealth ends up in the hands of a very few.

I am also a socialist. I firmly believe in the value of social programs such as Medicare, Social Security and, yes, Obamacare. I believe in a tax system that funds the essential services that only government can deliver and make available to all. I believe that here in our country we are all in league together and that means not allowing the least of us to do without.

I imagine that at this time there are millionaires everywhere who are saying, “Oh crap, look what that Dan Price has done. He's going to get everyone stirred up and now they are going to expect us to do be good to our workers and spend our money.”

My Take on this is that we need to put up a monument to this guy. Not only has he shown that private enterprise can have a heart but he showed us where his is. It is also My Take that if we had more Dan Prices that unions would not be necessary.

Water, water, where?

When I was a kid, ten or so, Dad would take Mom to the A&P store about once a month to do the supermarket shopping. The rest of the time we did our shopping at Sandidge's at Eubank but there were just some things at the A&P that Sandidge's didn't carry. I have stopped several times to look at that building, now gone, and have marveled at how much larger it was in the eyes of my memory. It was HUGE and had so much stuff in it. I have always been a boy and now a man that seriously loves to eat. Food is one of my major loves. Seeing all those choices just made my mouth water but what enthralled me the most was lettuce. I love lettuce. Salads are very high on my list. I am probably the only person in the world that can gain weight eating salads. Lettuce at that time was a rarity out of season. In season, which was dreadfully short, one had the black seeded Simpson that could be made into a delectable delight with some green onions and bacon grease. That was before we knew that stuff would make your blood ooze through your arteries rather than flow. Dang it was good!

If the budget allowed it Mom would buy one head of lettuce on our trip to the A&P and I would be ecstatic. I could never persuade her to buy more of it because it just was not practical enough. The same went for Miracle Whip. She would never buy the name brand and always bought the store brand. What it the world was that name? I swore to her that when I grew up there would always be lettuce and Miracle Whip in the fridge and so it has been.

Now, I can make a sandwich without Miracle Whip if I have mustard but without lettuce to give a sandwich that crunch it is just something to fill the hole in one's stomach. With lettuce it becomes something much more exotic. But those were different times and the interstate highway system and interstate commerce are so much more developed that those garden delights that once were only available in season are now available the year around. The presence of those fresh vegetables have become so ubiquitous that we take them for granted. Would you like some spaghetti squash in January? No problem. Cucumbers for Christmas? Just put it on the list. We all know that nothing beats the taste of a garden tomato but in the dark of winter we will be very accepting of one that is tasteless and hard as a brick. Back when I discovered gardening as a joy rather than a chore broccoli was practically unknown in these parts. I'm pretty sure that I was growing it before it ever showed up in the supermarket. Having lived the urbane lifestyle while in Lexington I had discovered it and developed quite a fondness for it. I also found that there were several other delights that it was possible to grow in the home garden and that changed the whole face of gardening for me.

Most people never think about where that stuff comes from or how it gets here but that is about to change. Governor Brown in California just issued restrictions on water usage that is to cut the volume by 25%. That is the water that grows the lettuce and broccoli that graces your table. The Central Valley in California supplies a very large percentage of the fresh vegetables in the produce aisle at Kroger. In California the reservoirs are at a fraction of their volume and the snow pack that provides water all year long is less than 15% of normal. Many farmers have already taken ground out of production to save water for other crops. The almond industry is one of California's largest exporters but it takes 200 gallons of water to produce a pound of almonds. Farmers are pumping water from the aquifers but they have pumped so much that the ground is subsiding. Well drillers are scheduled out weeks and months ahead because they no sooner drill a well than they have to come back and deepen it because the aquifer has receded.

Climatologists say this is the worst drought in at least 150 years, maybe 500 years. Some negative nannies say we are facing a drought in the Southwest not seen for a millennia
or more. I'm sure you've noticed that beef prices are through the roof. My family has cut beef consumption to the point that we now consider it a luxury item and will agonize for hours over how to cook it without messing it up. Remember “Beef, it's what's for dinner?” Well, no it's not. The reason for the price uptick is drought conditions that have forced the large beef ranches to cut the herd to hold down feed costs. This results in a tighter market and the free market says that is what causes prices to rise. But we have coped with not having beef as a common meal. We still have chickens and pigs and I really love vegetables so life is still good. I went to Kroger a couple of days ago and got about $40 worth of fresh produce. But what happens when that $40 becomes $80? There will be hard choices to make.

When I was a kid we always canned green beans and tomatoes. We always stored potatoes in some cool place but it was inevitable that sometime after the New Year they would become wrinkled and rubbery. That is something one can live with but we haven't for a while. We still can a lot of beans and tomatoes but we don't even have a good place to store potatoes.

Times are a-changing. Resources are stretched thinner, people are more abundant and the family farm is nearing extinction. The climate is changing, you can blame whatever you want but your stomach won't care. With water food can be grown, without water it can't. Doesn't it seem like a good idea to seek solutions before need and want set in or will our slavish obedience to the free market allow people to begin starving to decrease demand? We can already reclaim waste water to a drinkable purity. It may seem gross but running out of water is worse. I'm not even going to go on about global warming because the fact is that the associated costs are coming due with it or without it.

My Take is this. If lettuce goes to $3 a head I will have to make a hard decision. I'd rather not do that.