Watching our current Presidential administration approach the problems caused by the supply chain issues, which are the major factor behind the inflation we are now experiencing, has given me confidence that these are the people who need to be in charge as our country goes through the post-pandemic economic adjustments it is experiencing. Republicans, with their laissez-faire approach to economics, would not lift a finger to do anything about supply issues. Can you imagine Trump taking the time to search around the world for baby formula? Or negotiating with the railroads to avoid a major strike?
What We Know About Crime and Law Enforcement
It's not possible to reconcile support for the GOP as the party of law and order when they do nothing but justify the Trump Insurrection, which was not only an attack on our democracy, and on the Constitution and the rule of law, but also a direct attack on the Capitol and Washington police departments who were deliberately left short-handed there by the instigator of the insurrection. If the Trump administration were really concerned about law and order, and about the crime rate, which started heading to where it is now during his administration, their budget commitments would have reflected this desire. Depending on how you categorize the expenses, the Biden Administration spends 35% more on first responders, police and fire fighters, than Trump's administration, which ran up the biggest deficit in the nation's history on tax cuts, did.
Supporting Republicans on law and order reducing the crime rate is the proverbial fox in the henhouse. Crime rates are higher in red states where Republicans control legislatures and governor's mansions than they are in states where Democrats are in charge, and the cities and counties where the crime rates are highest are not the big, "blue" cities where Democrats control municipal and county governments. And those cities and counties, and states for that matter, where Democrats are in charge, pay their first responders a lot more, provide a lot more in the way of health insurance and retirement benefits and spend more on their equipment and training.
Nor is there anything in the prosecution of criminals through the channels of the justice system to indicate Republicans are tougher on criminals. High profile cases always get a lot of attention, but the fact of the matter is that punishment and rehabilitation for criminals is no more lenient in blue states or blue counties than it is in red states and red counties. In fact, there is evidence to show that in many rural areas, criminals are treated more leniently. And we still have a huge inequity in the way white people are prosecuted, and the time they serve, as opposed to African Americans and Latinos.
The crime rate has little to do with who's in the White House, or what party controls Congress. Historical data about the nationwide crime rate shows no pattern based on who is in office or which party is in control, and since the latter quarter of the 20th century, it has slowly increased under every presidency, except for a sharp bump upward during Dubya's administration which correlates directly to his budget cuts to give tax breaks to the wealthy. Yes it did go up, you can look it up.
Would I Rather Have Low Inflation or Give Up Democracy?
Economists have been telling us for a long time we were overdue for inflation. But this round has some clear causes that have nothing to do with government budget policy at all, and we know that because it is happening around the world, worse for those in countries that are not taking the steps that the Biden administration has made here. That's a fact, there's no arguing against it and taking it out on the Biden Administration is cannonading at gnats.
The pandemic disrupted employment, displaced workers, caused early retirements and produced supply chain problems and product shortages. In a capitalist economy, supply and demand drives prices of consumer goods. And, of course, many of the major corporations, those who have the capital to weather the storm, want to reclaim "lost profits" due to the downturn in business resulting from the pandemic so they are charging higher prices now. It's starting to balance out, because people aren't buying the goods at the high prices.
But we have a White House that is taking an active role in doing everything it can to resolve supply chain issues. The administration used its resources to locate, and transport to the United States, literally millions of gallons of baby formula when the means of production was affected by the pandemic. Would a Republican administration have done that? Don't answer that, I'll do it myself, based on what we've seen from Republican administrations in the past, including the most recent one, no they would not have done that. Not on their best day.
Rails are running because of the President's negotiating work to prevent a railroad strike, and because they are opening up the use of rolling stock to transport commercial goods. The President has also been releasing millions of barrels of oil from the national reserves, much to the chagrin of OPEC, and oil companies who have been profiteering off alleged "shortages". If profit margins were back at pre-pandemic levels, we'd now be paying about $2.50 a gallon for gasoline. Supply stocks of gasoline almost everywhere are near the top of the tanks, because demand is down and the Biden administration has opened up domestic drilling permits as wide as ever, to the point where oil companies simply don't have the resources to work them all.
So the conclusion is that we are being gouged at the pump, as a comparison of the price of a barrel of oil two years ago with the current pump price will show. A windfall profits tax is in order, words that are for the people, but never come from Republican mouths.
Our Immigration Policy is Just Fine With Me
I'm in a location where I have first hand knowledge of, and even some contact with, refugees being housed in the area after being transported from Texas. Chicago is a sanctuary city, and is welcoming the busloads of Latinos, Venezuelans mostly, who are being sent here by the illegal policy of Texas Governor Abbott. But that's OK. They're welcome here.
These are not refugees, or "illegals." They are human beings, with families, dreams and hopes that have been dashed by political violence in their own country, and were willing to make a very risky and dangerous trip to the United States because, in this hemisphere, the United States of America is still a refuge, and is still a place where both opportunity and freedom can be found in abundance.
Some local churches, mostly those with predominantly Latino membership, are helping provide basic supplies. It's a privilege to help. These are people who, not that long ago, had a home, family, career and life, but because their country has become a political battleground of instability and insecurity, not only had their life disrupted, but would likely not be alive if they had stayed. Many of them are Christians, when dropping off supplies, a worship service was taking place in one of the banquet rooms at the hotel where some of them are staying. The job market here is good, and some of them are already supporting themselves and their families.
The wait on asylum applications will very likely be a long one. But they're safe now, and in this, the most prosperous of the world's countries, can we also not afford to be generous with all that we have been given? For those of us who are Christians, this is a biblical calling,
"I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me in... Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it unto me." Matthew 25:31-40
But this is also who we are. Why would someone facing political oppression and torment, and possibly the loss of their life or that of a family member, in Venezuela, or Brazil or Colombia or Nicaragua for that matter, think about getting to the United States in their need, rather than Argentina or Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica or Mexico? And no, crime rates don't go up when the immigrant count increases.
The Biden administration is doing exactly what I would expect them to do with the immigration that is headed our way. We are a haven, a refuge for the oppressed, the hope of the world and the most prosperous country in it, with resources that go well beyond our ability to care for any individual who manages to reach our border. Our policy should be to listen to them and their story, offer them food, drink and shelter and ask how we can help.
Stay the Course
I registered to vote right after I turned 18, and that was in plenty of time to vote in the 1976 Presidential election. I cast my ballot for Jimmy Carter, and never regretted it. Carter was doomed by circumstances beyond his control, but history has vindicated his Presidency. It is interesting that his successor, Reagan, turned to indebtedness and government spending to bail himself out of economic woes that, under Carter, had been turning around prior to the election. But it was the influence of a foreign power, the capture of hostages by the Iranian revolutionaries, that led to Carter's demise.
The Biden Administration is obviously moving in the right direction. Patience is a virtue and it is something in short supply these days. But economic issues don't turn around immediately. If there's a political price for it, it is because people are ignorant of how the government and the economy work. Sorry, but that's a fact. So what that means is, not always knowing everything there is to know, we stay the course. What is the opposition offering? Nothing. So there's your choice.
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