What matters, Massachusetts!

Here is a basic list of what I believe matters in the political arena:

Environmental or Human Health – halting pollution – is my top concern. Of course, extracurricular activities, diet, and socialization play a role in our health, but pollutants can have devastating consequences beyond anyone’s control.

Stronger protections need to exist not just for manufacturing, but for consumer products including pharmaceuticals. Opioids are one example of why. Measures also need to be in place to discourage or prevent digital addiction, especially in youth.

The findings of the Chicago Tribune, Dr. Marc Arazi, and others that cellphones often far exceed guidelines when in body contact ought to have led to public health warnings and advice by now. After all, the United States Toxicological Program Study, which was designed to see whether 2G and 3G exposure below FCC guidelines had effect, found resulting heart damage, DNA damage, and cancer.

Technology may both cause and help prevent pollution, including effects of climate change. Regulations and laws with sticks and carrots must exist to insure safe use.

Ecological Health is on par with environmental or human health. Our bees are in free fall, and we ought to take this as seriously as we take public health.

The Precautionary Principle is the idea that even where science is uncertain, when great risks exist, then society has the right to stop product sales, marketing, etc., of a product or action, until safety can be assured. This needs to be a Massachusetts law. Right now, the burden of proof for proving harm is too high for many random chemicals. Companies need to have the burden of proving safety. Consumers should not have to become sick or die before a company is forced to remove a product from market – as was the case with opioids.

Community Rights and Representation must be strengthened. All representatives need to be accountable and conflicts of interest and work transparent. Efforts must be made to prevent dark money and ensuing favors, and hold the executive and legislative branch accountable. Insuring community rights and real representation is of great importance: health, safety, lives, and quality of life may be on the line if community rights are ignored.

Appointees also need to held to a high standard, but this is not the case. Executive appointments in the last several years have included upper-level industry management and lobbyists to manage utilities as well as charter school proponents and EdTech-investors to education boards. For utilities, this is likely why the Department of Utilities attempted to shift private utility costs wrongly onto ratepayers, reduce solar incentives, and allowed a popularly-opposed pipeline even when New York said no. Agencies must be held accountable to providing honest and quality work to benefit the people, rather than providing favors to any business or individual at the expense of community rights.

Our legal system is clearly not equitable. Very few can afford a lawyer or stand against a corporation – not even towns or cities. Many corporations now require an agreement with individuals to negotiate outside of court, to prevent class actions. Individual settlements can prevent transparency about potential threats, as seen with automobile companies who settled sudden acceleration suits outside of court but did not inform consumers or fix the problem. Our legal system also depends on the Constitution and state laws for guidance – these laws can be strengthened to support communities.

All of these systems need to be changed for accountability and transparency to insure justice is blind and representation effective.

Safe, Wisely-Designed Infrastructure & other Basics are necessary to life.

Many towns across Massachusetts are struggling to maintain infrastructure in part since the state has reduced local aid. Towns across Massachusetts need funds to update outdated sewer systems to insure safe, clean water. Transportation must work so people have access to services, jobs, and income – reducing sprawl is one way to reduce road demands.

Towns, the state, and businesses have benefited when the state has coordinated expert advice and programs to help change direction. Recycling Works is one example. Programs like this should be supported and enhanced so that new infrastructure and zoning development is wisely designed, and accounts for climate change, ecology, and resource protection.

Massachusetts also needs to recognize reputable research that wireless causes cancer and ill health, and take steps to improve the safety and security of our communications system.

A Fair Playing Field is a myth upon which our country was built, which needs to become reality. We are a nation that fought against the notion of divine rights of kings, and that argued merit should be awarded – we seem to be forgetting this shared history in devotion to wealth and accumulation of power.

Some seniors struggle to pay property taxes or rental prices, pitting seniors against youth in overrides for better schools. This is unfair to everyone, but there are many different solutions, from increased state aid to progressive taxation. In Massachusetts, everyone pays the same rate, which means the burden of taxes is higher on those who make less. Basically, we need a tax system that does not unfairly burden the lower class or the poor, and which supports local communities. Of course, waste should be removed from the budget, but that alone cannot help a tax system that is hardest on those with lower incomes.

I support the Millionaire’s Tax. I believe that the real wealth of our nation is its promise of independence and freedom, coupled with capacity to provide opportunities, but that gross inequality threatens that promise.

Wealth and any other power must be kept in line and corruption rooted out of our government. Systems which allow conflicts of interest in our state government must be replaced with better.

Protecting human rights, including privacy, is necessary to allow our democracy to exist. For example, blackmail may ruin our country if privacy is not protected. Technology may infringe on our rights. Rights for all, not a few, need protection.

Creating good, worthwhile jobs, not just creating jobs. We can encourage flexible schedules and support better working conditions. For example, by fixing problems in education, we can make Massachusetts public school teaching posts more worthwhile.

I believe in supporting jobs and regulations which level the hierarchy and reduce the gap between rich and poor. For example, I believe small businesses where employees have an ownership share are far better than monopolies such as Amazon. The capabilities of Amazon are amazing, and yet the wealth generated is limited to a very few. As a monopoly Amazon is able to dictate terms to many other businesses which increase Amazon’s profits at the substantial expense of other businesses. Many tech giants and monopolies such as Amazon need to be regulated sharply to prevent the demise of competitors or abuses such as of privacy.

I also believe that we need to insure that technology does not lead to gross inequality or harm, such as by replacing human workers or engineering terrible working conditions. As an update, on the 26th of April I heard a terrible story on the radio of how Amazon warehouse workers are commonly being injured in attempts to keep up with a pace set by technology. An Amazon whistleblower, a manager, who said he feared ordering from Amazon might lead to someone else’s death, and the story included a sad story of the death of one man which could have been prevented with simple safety measures.

I believe in “good” business, not business as usual. I am against taking advantage of employees, regulations, loopholes, taxpayers, or the powerless. I’m against nepotism, which is a sign that good jobs are hard to get. Government often subsidizes or supports business, and FDR demonstrated that government support for jobs could be a powerful social safety net. Yet, I believe that business has to be watched sharply and earn the right for support, rather than be handed wads of cash. I don’t believe a rising tide lifts all boats, but I do believe that a good investment can reap rewards for the people.

Charity and caring I believe are not just morally right, but nourish our community. Across the board, I support using tax money and laws to improve conditions and opportunities for everyone, whether shared infrastructure, support for public health, education, retirement support, or other examples.

For example, I support the work of Holyoke’s excellent employment center, which is funded by the state and does an excellent job of connecting workers and employers.

Some people complain about providing welfare. Where welfare abuse exists, I agree that should be halted. However, I think welfare serves a legitimate charitable purpose. I think fewer people would use welfare if need was absent, i.e. not single parents, poorly paid, and/or disabled and if, simultaneously, jobs were more flexible or safe. I believe helping in these areas would do more to reduce rolls than all the misplaced anger and accusations. Just as the state encourages employers and workers to connect, so to can the state encourage employers to increase job flexibility.

Our health care system needs an overhaul. Imagine, saving up all your life with dreams of security in retirement and losing all of that as result of an accident or ill health. Just as social security exists, we need to have greater medical security for all, and stop requiring the draining of all financial resources in an instant. The state has the ability to control costs for patients, and should. Presently, only the exceptionally poor have access to state-subsidized insurance. A state-wide subsidized insurance plan available to all could substantially cut costs for patients.

Of course, costs for the state must be taken into consideration.

Security is also an issue with pharmaceuticals – much of our pharmaceuticals are manufactured abroad and this needs to change.

Addressing Prejudice is vital. Some talk about immigrants or different types of people or identities as if that alone were a problem. I do not want to know or care about stranger’s sexual habits, except if to halt abuse or predators. I do not want to hear slanders based on nothing. In childhood I grew up with friends and respected acquaintances from all backgrounds. I grew up believing that none are gods to judge any other, and that respect is due until deservedly lost. However, I’ve seen the fact that even if I lack as much prejudice as some in these areas, this means nothing due to existing trauma and fears.

I recognized that prejudice isn’t only against skin color, ethnicity, culture, but also exists in many versions against different religions, political beliefs, identity, disability, poverty, gender, humble appearance, etc.

No one person can manage the prejudice and intolerance that exists in our country. Beyond existing efforts to reduce prejudice, the basic steps I can encourage to ameliorate this problem are as follows:

Listen and learn.
Reduce the sense or reality of economic insecurity associated with the advancement of others.
Recognize that the lower class or poor, on the basis of lack of power, constitute a minority class as well and that, within any community the poor often suffer most and so need to be heard and helped.
Encourage diverse integration and interaction in our daily lives.
Recognize that no one person represents an entire community’s point of view.
Encourage representation of diverse voices.

Public Education is suffering, in my opinion, from excessive, misplaced accountability alongside top-down demands.

Testing appears designed to fault and take over control of schools, instead of to provide the extra attention and help students need. If a student cannot read or calculate well, then that student needs to be brought to grade level. Schools face barriers to providing such instruction. Strangely, schools taken over by the state or by the state education board have greater flexibility than those with local district control.

If students and public schools are to succeed, then opportunities need to exist.

Without further burdening teachers, public schools ought to have more flexibility in curriculum, discipline, etc. The motto for charter schools appears to be: “I can do everything regular public schools can’t, and leave them with reduced budgets and all the expensive special education students.” The situation is unfair, especially since regular public schools are where the local community has input, but has been left with fewer options.

I also believe suspension has a place, when other avenues fail. Because schools are held at fault for “high” suspension rates, accountability has meant that fewer dangerous or disruptive situations are being handled with suspensions when appropriate. This allows certain students to run wild and spoil classrooms or schools. Technically, schools can suspend students if providing tutoring services, but financially this is too much for school districts to pay.

There are so many factors that could improve public education, but in short most of our “accountability” appears to be designed to hinder our schools.

College Education Costs must be Cut to a reasonable level. I’m not sure why the cost of a college education has skyrocketed, only sure that costs are ridiculous. Whether employers must chip in to cover the costs of training, whether administrative or other fat exists, whether the state needs to provide greater funding support – these are all questions that I have.

Of course, more can be done to support alternatives to conventional college paths, including support for trade schools, vocational study, community colleges, and alternative training avenues.

Budgeting Against Bankruptcy is also vital. If a state cannot pay its bills, then it may become beholden to others who make demands at odds with democracy. Countries have struggled with demands for cuts of social programs, i.e. austerity, after receiving loans. Other countries are presently struggling to import necessary goods, such as food, due to lack of funds.

Of course, money can be borrowed if helpful. However, sometimes there may be a need to cut or replace programs or services to make ends meet. I believe those decisions need to be made for the benefit of everyone, avoiding special favors. Funds need to be put where most needed and where the effect will be maximized.