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In this season of discontent, I have spent time listening and reading about how changes in business operations have disadvantaged those with no extra income and no liquid assets. I have also been listening to YouTube videos by John Oliver, plus TED talks. I must admit the information I have gained stunned me. I understand one crucial reason for the MAGA movement. There are too many people in this country who have no power against laws that allow others to take advantage of them. Individuals and businesses with wealth have gained the advantage. While we continue to have the structure of a democratic government, incremental government laws and administrative rules have eroded the promise of progress in the mid-twentieth century.
Criticizing the government is required in a democracy and can be considered a sport in social settings. We can dismiss them as isolated instances requiring reprimand. However, inadequate laws ensure businesses face no penalty for inflicting harm. Too often, mistakes and the employee making them go uncorrected. Even worse, underfunding, administrative direction, or both mean a government office does not meet expectations.
Americans can be proud of our collective streek of inventiveness and entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, a good idea can be unexpectedly harmful. Even excluding those who intentionally execute a con, innovators downplay the victim’s harm or significance. Victims who belong to a noticeable group are dismissed.
There are myriad reasons our justice, legislative, and administrative systems at every level exhibit inadequate attention to fairness for all our citizens. People with naturally pale complexions are no longer an overwhelming majority and are forecast to become a minority. Caucasians may rationalize that their disadvantaged situation receives
less attention than other minorities. Men traditionally qualified for a job can resent the added competition of qualified women.
MAGA appears to be a collection of disadvantaged people and leaders who promise they will change all of it. They are sure that a government reduced to a few influential, responsive leaders will solve everything. Every dictator in history has promised the same thing. They begin to accomplish it by pushing aside (often imprisoning, exiling, or murdering) those who oppose their actions.
Capitalism, which easily accompanies democracy, has lost its moral compass. Government must draft fair laws. It must have the resources to enforce them. The government has accepted a mantra of “what’s good for (a giant) business or investment guru is good for America. Lawmakers have forgotten that they create a business entity with legislation that establishes stability within the capitalist economic system. That stability should extend to employees and investors alike.
The trucking industry is allowed to take advantage of workers needing employment by making them independent contractors with no income security or benefits. The trucking company is profitable, but goods move slowly. A resentful workforce living with uncertain expenses on wages they can’t predict results in high turnover.
Giant rental and property management companies are examples of businesses that are well financed and privileged enough to push rental prices beyond a fair profit. These companies legally benefit from the economy of scale but abuse their edge by inflating rental prices. They set the market rate by evicting tenants, creating more demand, and raising rents.
MAGA is also correct in lamenting the loss of religious influence on society. However, using the force of arms is not the way of the faithful.
We need to emphasize the golden rule and the requirement for servant leadership. The prayer of St. Francis, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me,” should be our own.
Governments at the state and federal levels are derelict. Political parties jockey around any issue that will bring in voter and financial support. We require governance that constantly audits itself. Are its laws fair? Are they still required? Do they need to be amended to address current circumstances? We, the people, have the answers, but we must collaborate to push for fair-minded change.
Brugger
Linda Brugger, retired from the Air Force Reserve and a leaning Democrat and community activist, can be reached at IdahoAuthor@outlook.com.
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Opinion: Garden City pathologist Ryan Cole burst onto the national scene as a leading Covid-19 vaccination denier and purveyor of unproven cures in July of 2021. Speaking at a meeting of America’s Frontline Doctors (AFD), a group of Covid-19 anti-vaccination activists, Cole falsely described the life-saving vaccines as “fake,” a “clot shot” and “needle rape.” He falsely claimed that thousands had died from the vaccine.
Opinion: In 2018, the Democratic nominee for Idaho attorney general was Bruce Bistline, running to unseat Republican incumbent Attorney General Lawrence Wasden. Sort of. He was really a placeholder candidate for the Democratic Party, filed in case Wasden had lost his primary to someone else.
Opinion: Having knocked on thousands of doors across the State of Idaho, I thought I had seen it all until a couple of weeks ago.
Opinion: A week before the House of Representatives approved a ban on “assault weapons,” a federal judge in Denver explained why such laws are unlikely to pass constitutional muster. House Democrats either were not paying attention or did not care because they view the Second Amendment as an outmoded provision that imposes no meaningful limits on gun control.
Even as Idahoans are reeling from pain at the pump, shock in the grocery aisles and continued erosion of their paychecks, Democrats continue to advocate for using partisan budget tools to raise taxes and increase spending.
For the last 35 years I’ve been covering what we call the “salmon wars” in the Pacific Northwest, writing so many stories about salmon heading toward extinction that I’ve lost count.
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Commentary: Too many people no longer see religion as essential to their understanding of living a good life.
Idahoans work very hard. Some work well beyond a typical retirement age. Having the retirement savings necessary to enable Idahoans to choose whether to work, rather than needing to work, in senior years can better ensure a secure and enjoyable retirement.
Brugger
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