The Real State of the Union

Lincoln’s great formula for successful government requires the participation of us all.  You can’t have government of the people, and for the people unless there is a healthy contribution by the people.  Too often, we want government of the people, for the people, but we want to skip over the by the people clause. 

I am an optimist and a liberal (which is the same thing, in a way) and so I believe that the American people have the final say about our country’s public policy.  For example, the people spoke and Social Security was not privatized during the Bush administration.  The people spoke against the government shutdown and the GOP voted this year a clean bill to raise the debt limit.  The people spoke and the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized in 2006 and there is bipartisan support for restoring Section IV of the VRA in Congress today.  The people spoke and the crack-powder disparity in criminal sentencing has been ameliorated to some degree.  The people are speaking and marriage equality is becoming the law of the land.  One of America’s great virtues is that when the people’s voices are loud and clear, elected officials respond.   

Elected officials respond to donations, but they also respond to polling results. 

Suppose –

1.     The Census Bureau reported recently that 30.4 percent of people over age 25 nationally hold at least a bachelor’s degree, and 10.9 percent hold a graduate degree, up from 26.2 percent and 8.7 percent 10 years ago. While that's the highest college graduation level ever for American workers, it shows that almost 70% of the workforce doesn't have a degree beyond high school.

Suppose we decided that every high school graduate who wanted further study and was capable of doing the work could receive a public university degree tuition free.  Suppose the lottery scholarships were need-based instead of merit-based only.  Suppose any college grad could discharge his/her student loans by doing national service. 

2.    The health care and social assistance sector is projected to grow at an annual rate of 2.6 percent, adding 5.0 million jobs between 2012 and 2022. This accounts for nearly one-third of the total projected increase in jobs. The growth reflects, in part, the demand for healthcare workers to address the needs of an aging population.   

According to the Census Bureau, five of the top ten best paying jobs that require an associate degree, rather than a four year college degree, are in the allied health sciences.  Web developer, electrician, skincare specialist and plumber, automobile body repairer, bookkeeper, communications equipment mechanic, electrician, glazier, tower technician, air traffic controller all pay better than a living wage, without the requirement of a four-year degree. 

Suppose we invested in the education or training of any child who wants to study a health related profession, or learn skills associated with health care delivery.  Suppose that anyone who wants to study health sciences or learn a skilled trade  in the U.S. could get a tuition free associate degree?  We could increase the number of health providers, increase wages for lots of workers, improve access to health care for millions of new patients under the affordable care act; remove one objection to the affordable care act. That investment will pay for itself in a decade and lay a solid foundation for economic growth for decades to come.  It will also alleviate poverty, address income inequality with jobs that are not easily outsourced.  

3.    Suppose Georgia and the other GOP states agreed to expand Medicaid to cover the working poor?  57% of Georgians think we should do it.  69% of metro Atlantans think we should.  71% of those earning less than 50k think we should expand Medicaid.  62%of those between 18 and 39 think we should.  

4.    Suppose there was an infrastructure bank making low-interest long-term loans to cities and other areas for infrastructure improvements like commuter rail and a dedicated municipal gas tax to pay for it like Sacramento’s? 

5.    Suppose Atlanta and other densely populated areas had robust regional transportation systems.  During the storm three weeks ago, I received a FB post from a woman who detailed how Alpharetta looked like a skating rink but a Marta driver got her to the train station and the rest of her commute went “without a hitch.” 

6.    Suppose homeowners whose homes are under water, or who lost their homes due to a provable hardship like illness, death of a spouse or loss of a job, could get a portion of the lost equity in their homes from the fines being paid by banks, or the loans restructured to reflect the current value of the homes.  Had we done this years ago, we might have avoided the mass foreclosures, blight and declining tax revenues they caused. 

7.    Charlie Rose interviewed U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew Thursday night.  He said China needs more consumer demand and a stronger safety net to keep the economy healthy.  What’s good for China is good for the U.S.  Suppose we finally abandoned the myth of trickle-down economics and embraced demand side economics.  The less money you make, the more likely you are to put most of it back into the economy, demanding cars, refrigerators, houses and tuition. 

8.    Suppose we considered high quality education and health care as elements of U.S. citizenship instead of privileges.   

9.    Suppose there was a national increase in the minimum wage so that anyone who worked full time could support themselves and not live in poverty.   

10.                    Suppose we decided to enact national service so that the military was not a place for youngsters with fewer options or family traditions of military service, but a responsibility shared by all families regardless of income and connections.  Suppose instead of hiring private contractors like Halliburton and Fluor Daniel, all young people had to serve two years in national service as part of being Americans.   Perhaps we would value peace more and romanticize military action less.

11.                    Suppose there was an active and persistent national conversation about budget priorities.  We have ended the War in Iraq and we are winding down the war in Afghanistan.  Suppose we insisted on a peace dividend, with real cuts to military spending, as opposed to merely slowing down the growth of the military industrial complex. 

But good government is not merely a matter of good jobs and sound economic policies.  Economic stability is built on a foundation of shared values and respect for individual liberties. 

12.                     Jimmy Carter once said that he could not monitor U.S. elections in the same way he monitors elections around the world because the U.S. has no central election authority and no uniform national election standards.   

Suppose instead of cutting back polling places and cutting back on early voting we encouraged everyone to vote; made it part of our national responsibility; established same day onsite registration nationally; taught the voting rights movement in civics and history classes using documentaries like the one on Mississippi’s sovereignty commission that aired on PBS the other night. 

13.                      The single biggest threat to one person/one vote in the U.S. is Citizens United.  But polls suggest that 80 percent of the American people oppose Citizens United, including 65 percent who "strongly" oppose it. If citizens are prepared to make this a "make or break" issue for politicians of both political parties, then adoption of a constitutional amendment seems at least plausible.

But what should such a constitutional amendment say? Superficial slogans like "money is not speech" or "corporations are not people" will not suffice. Can the government forbid you from using money to buy books? Can it prohibit the New York Times (a corporation) from publishing? Slogans may be good rallying cries, but they do not make good law.  

If I were to propose a constitutional amendment, here's what I would suggest:

"In order to ensure a fair and well-functioning electoral process, Congress and the States shall have the authority reasonably to regulate political expenditures and contributions. 

14.                     "In 2005, the United Nations recommended to the United States that it “strengthen its efforts to combat racial profiling at the federal and state levels.”  In 2013, the U.S. State Department finally responded in part by saying, “…the United States recognizes that racial and ethnic disparities continue to exist…Statistics indicate the need …for continued vigilance …in pursuing the goal of equality.”   

Suppose racial profiling was illegal in all 50 states and we kept statistics on who gets stopped and why, to make sure the rules against profiling were not being circumvented.  Police would have a disincentive for making race-based traffic stops, leaving more people with clean records and easier employment options. 

15.                    Suppose in every state, you could vote if you are no longer on probation or parole and after five years of crime-free unsupervised living, your criminal history was wiped clean automatically for purposes of credit and unemployment?  Suppose we permitted teenagers to pre-register to vote while still in high school without the distractions of college or jobs?  FL does and NC did, until the GOP takeover. 

16.                    Suppose the Congress adopted the recommendations in WAND’s letter   supporting ongoing diplomatic efforts between world powers and Iran over Iran’s nuclear program.

17.                    Suppose the U.S. left Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan and joined the world majority of 140 nations including the entire European Union, Turkey, Armenia, Honduras, Iceland and South Africa other nations in outlawing the death penalty.  What signal would it send to young Americans about patriotism? 

Part of being a liberal is a point of view that there is something we can do.  Whatever your political philosophy - whether you believe in Paul’s faith, hope and love; or you prefer Oliver Wendell Holmes’ admonition that the life of the law has not been logic – that the law is more about the felt necessities of the times, or you believe in Dr. King’s moral arc of the universe, what is required for a more just, verdant and peaceful world is action.  Faith without work is dead.  We must make our necessities felt.  The moral arc leans toward justice when people of good conscience bend it to their will. 

 

Racial Disparity in Administration of Georgia Death Penalty

April 22 marked the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in McCleskey v. Kemp in which the Court rejected (5-4) a claim of racial bias based on a sophisticated statistical study of the death penalty in Georgia. Warren McCleskey, an African-American death row inmate convicted of killing a white police officer, presented the Court with analysis showing that defendants charged with killing white victims had odds of receiving a death sentence that were 4.3 times higher than defendants charged with killing black victims. McCleskey argued that his death sentence was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court held, however, that the defendant had to show he was personally discriminated against in the course of the prosecution, and merely showing a disturbing pattern of racial disparities in Georgia over a long period of time was not sufficient to prove racial bias in his case. McCleskey also argued that when race is a factor in selecting who will die, the death penalty is unconstitutional under the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment, but the Court decided the study offered was insufficient to prove that the death penalty was being applied in an arbitrary manner

See Troy Davis aftermath video - Abolition of the Death Penalty
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Ga.-Death-Penalty-Opponents-Discuss-Tactics--20110922-pm-pk?CMP=201109_emailshare

Death Penalty Abolition

Ga. Death Penalty Opponents Discuss Tactics
Updated: Thursday, 22 Sep 2011, 11:32 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 22 Sep 2011, 10:21 PM EDT
•
George
Franco
Video by George Franco/MyFoxAtlanta
Supporters of Troy Davis insist the case will only strengthen their argument to abolish the death penalty, but death penalty advocates say the right man was put to death.
With the world watching, tensions flared and emotions went from elation to deep disappointment as protestors first thought Troy Davis’ life had been spared but later learned the Supreme Court did not halt his execution. His death pushed supporters to try to abolish the death penalty.
Davis was executed by lethal injection Wednesday for the 1988 murder of an off-duty Savannah police officer. In his final statement, Davis maintained his innocence.
“We intend for Troy’s name to stand for, in history, the beginning of the end of the death penalty,” said Janice Mathis of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition
The activist group rainbow push coalition met Thursday to devise a plan to do just that. They say doubt in the Troy Davis case, witnesses who recanted and questionable ballistics evidence will help convince more people that the death penalty is wrong.
“We're hoping ultimately, that the state of Georgia legislatures. as well as the federal legislature lawmakers review the death penalty and ultimately abolish it completely,” said Richard Holmes of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition
Jeff Wiggs, president of the Dekalb Fraternal Order of Police says only defense attorneys were going public with their doubts about details in the Davis case involving the murder of Savannah police officer Mark McPhail.
He says when more all information comes out, he believes most Americans will stand behind the death penalty decision.
“I think the majority of the people if they really took themselves away from all the atmosphere and all the hype and all the media coverage of this and really sat down and thought about it, most people, they want justice,” Wiggs said.
Members of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition say they are working with state lawmakers to try to convince members of the legislature to take a second look at the death penalty in Georgia.
Some of the roughly two dozen people at the meeting said they needed to register to vote new supporters who joined their cause over the Davis case. Joe Beasley of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition says members of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles should be ousted because they did not commute Davis' sentence.

Peachtree Street Project
Herndon Plaza
100 Auburn Avenue
Suite 101
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: 404-525-5663 or 5668
Fax: 404-525-5233

ATLANTA RAINBOW PUSH COALITION AND ALLIES DEVELOP PLAN TO SUPPORT ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY

(Atlanta, GA – September 22, 2011) In the wake of the Troy Davis execution, the Southeast Region Rainbow PUSH Coalition urges members and supporters in Georgia to work to abolish the death penalty in Georgia and across the nation. On Tuesday, Rainbow PUSH convened a Town Hall Meeting to begin plans for a grassroots abolition effort. The meeting was chaired by Janice L. Mathis, Esq. with participation from Dr. Richard Cobble, President of Concerned Black Clergy, Joe Beasley Foundation and Helen Butler, Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda,
1. Voter registration and education specifically aimed at young people on the issue of the death penalty, including Internet and text
2. Enlist support of celebrity spokespersons
3. Web and Internet presence aimed at attracting young supporters
4. Build strong ties and coordinate efforts among advocacy groups, including Amnesty International and Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
5. Unify and activate members of the clergy
6. Support state and federal legislation to outlaw the death penalty
7. Maintain regular contact with elected officials and provide a tool to voters to evaluate legislative voting records
8. Present suggestions for reform to the Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Council
9. Support legislation and regulation to provide more public access to Pardons and Parole deliberations
10. Participate as NGO’s in international forums, such as the United Nations, to highlight US death penalty issues
11. Encourage the legislature to study the use of the death penalty and eyewitness testimony in Georgia and adopt a moratorium on death penalty executions and prosecutions until the study is completed. Adopt the ABA recommendations, at a minimum.
12. Educate the public about the race and class-based history of the death penalty
According to Janice L. Mathis, regional VP of Rainbow PUSH indicated, “Existing safeguards are inadequate. The only way to assure that innocent people are not executed is to abolish executions. Our system cannot achieve the moral certainty required to assure fair and accurate imposition of the death penalty. Existing legal standards of proof and evidence are insufficient and unlikely to change.”
While we build a coalition for abolition, we will support reform measures like Congressman Hank Johnson’s Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act. Johnson, along with Congressman Bobby Scott of Virginia and John Conyers of Michigan urged the Georgia Pardons and Parole Board to grant clemency to Davis. In 2006, the American Bar Association assessed the death penalty in Georgia and recommended a moratorium. To view the report, including problems with the Georgia death penalty and recommendations for reform, visit http://sentencing.nj.gov/downloads/pdf/articles/death2.pdf

The discussions and action will continue at weekly meetings of the GCPA, CBC and monthly Rainbow PUSH Coalition meetings. To get involved, call Richard Holmes, chair of the RPC criminal justice committee at 404 525 5663, or visit rainbowpushatlanta.org.