Photo of crab pot buoys on a good paint day.
I Was Thinking….John Doolittle
I Was Thinking…John B. Doolittle
Posted Friday, October 27, 2006 --------- To build a wall is thinking small! The immigration issue is with us and all around us. What to do? Build a wall costing millions of dollars? I don’t think so. Mexican workers will continue to come across the borders as long as there is a demand for their labors and the jobs pay well, by Mexican standards. It is the politics and special interests of two governments that put the Mexican workers at risk.
There are proprietorships, partnerships and corporations in the United States that do not want to pay high labor rates, but would rather keep margins up by driving costs down. This is where the problem lies…not with the workers. As long as the “demand” is high for cheap labor, laborers will come. If this government really wants to stop illegal immigration, “fine” those who find, hire, and pay these illegal laborers…and fine them significantly. Once these companies get tired of paying hefty fines and the demand decreases, workers will stop coming…no work, no pay, no reason to come.
The other part of the problem is the Mexican government. Mexico is prospering by allowing (or turning a blind eye to) illegal workers entering the United States. These workers bring millions of dollars back across the border, and spend it in Mexico; therefore, keeping the national economy going. Mexico could work with the United States to stifle this immigration, but there is no good financial reason to do so. The Mexican government allows the workers to go north, the United States supports these workers once here (education, welfare, etc.), and then the Mexico reaps the economic benefit when the dollars are spent “south of the border.”
The immigration issue is a simple economic “supply and demand” issue. As long as there is a demand and a supply for cheap labor…the movement of workers across our borders will continue.
Want to stop this? Write your Congressperson. Will something happen? Probably not, since most of the contributors to these same congressperson campaigns are the very people who benefit from the cheap labor and would be the ones being “fined”. And why would the Mexican government invest millions in social programs, a decent minimum wage, and education for its youth, when the US can do this for them. It is easier and cheaper to just build a wall…a wall which will be breached, and prove that the Mexican worker can show great ingenuity in getting across our border in search of the means for a better life. In the end, the wall will be a waste of money, life will continue “as is” in the US, and Mexico won’t have to invest a peso in the future of its workers.
Posted Augsut, 2006 --------- During the last two weeks of July, Nora and I joined some friends on their 56 foot Sundeer sailboat. We motored and sailed from Stamford CT up the Hudson River to Catskill, NY, just south of Albany. Over the years, we had been with this couple numerous times. The Captain is very experienced in sailing, navigation, and engine-boat maintenance. He spends countless hours preparing for trips; reviewing charts, marina guides, etc. In emergencies, I’ve seen him take the engine apart while underway and put it back together again. The boat has the latest in navigating software, radar, depth measuring equipment, radios, beacons, etc. Both he and his wife have put tens of thousands of miles on this boat over the last 9 years.
This past trip, I experienced one of those “life” events…one after which you view life a little different. I’m sure it is nothing compared to what our own local fisherman experience every fishing season, but it was significant for me. It gave me a whole new appreciation for Mother Nature and people who make their living on the sea.
It is Friday, July 21st, Port Washington NY. There is haze in the air. It had not rained during the night, but it starts raining at 09:00…big drops…a thunder shower…lightening…significant winds as a front moves through. The rain finally stops at 10:30. The forecast is for more of the same, but nothing “significant”. A local mechanic arrives with a part we had gotten cleaned to fix a minor engine problem. The engine is put back together and we get underway at 12:40, which proves a little late. We proceed west down the channel, Manhattan on our right, Long Island on our left. The channel starts to narrow, as we approach Hells Gate, the narrowest part of the channel before arriving at the south end of Manhattan. The current has tuned so we are now going against it. As we approach the bridge, it gets dark…another front approaches with rain, thunder and lightening. In the already narrow channel, we notice a dredging barge anchored blocking the left half the channel, so we are forced to move over to the right. At the same time another barge being pushed by a tug is coming toward us. Jim contacts the tug Captain on the radio and we manage to avoid each other. As we pass under the Hells Gate Bridge, the rain passes, and we think the worst is behind us. The rain starts coming down hard, the sky darkens, huge bolts of lightening strike all around us. The wind lashes the sails, which are up, so we can be “seen”. We can hardly see the front of the boat through the driving rain. Jim is in the cabin with his eyes glued to the radar and the navigation equipment. I’m at the helm using the automatic pilot (it is much more accurate than trying to steer using the helm). All of a sudden with ships behind us, in front of us and to the side of us, we can’t see anything…a “white out”, blind to everything around us. The boat is heading straight into the wind making little headway against the wind and current. The rain is soaking all of us as it pounds through the canvas dodger. Jim sticks his head up from below and yells, “John, look into my eyes…do exactly as I say”. I give him a nod and we proceed slowly, two degrees right…two degrees left to stay away from the rocky shore and avoid ships, barges, and ferries. I look at my wife of 39 years, with her hair stuck to her forehead, her eyes trying to pierce the darkness and rain. I think life has been good and if this is the time for it to end…that’s OK. I actually feel a calming effect for some reason. Finally after about 10 minutes (it seemed like an hour), the rain moves on, the sky lightens up, we can see, and we move under the Brooklyn Bridge. All the ships and ferries around us held their positions during the passing front. We now have to avoid all the rush-hour ferries moving out of Lower Manhattan. At one point I count six moving toward us and away from us, crossing our bow and our stern. We make slow progress, a “bobbing cork” amid the ferry traffic…getting tossed by all the rolling waves from their wakes. Finally we arrive at Newport Marina NJ at 18:00, ending a day I will never forget.
I salute “they that go down to the sea in ships”.
I was thinking... by John Dolittle
Posted July 21, 2006 -------- Did you see the article in the Press Democrat on July 1st talking about the 13 measures qualifying for the November ballot? The sum of the bond measures being proposed is $43.4B…that’s billions of dollars...assuming they all passed…or a 30% increase in State funding!
How much do you know about the California budget process? The budget is supposed to be balanced with expenditures equaling revenues. If there is a shortfall, the Governor is required by law to recommend sources of additional funding. The California budget is an “incremental” budget, not zero-based…incremental. You take your current level of funding as the base for the coming year, add any new changes or projects, and that is your proposed budget. How will this ever lead to a smaller budget? It won’t. Once a project or department is funded, it continues to be funded. Sure, politicians will tell you they scrutinize how the money is being spent, but the “process” allows for activities/functions which have served their purpose(s) to continue…and continue. It is also true Departments have a responsibility to operate within their approved budget levels; however, the Legislature is able to apply some flexibility to adjust budgets; i.e. no number is a “hard” number. Worse case is you have departments/functions which are no longer needed, exceeding their budget, and getting more money. The 2006-7 California budget is $125.6B, an 8% increase over last year. About 31% or $40B is spent on K-12 Education, 11% or $14B on Higher Education, and 28% or $35B on Health and Human Services…these three areas alone account for 70% of the total budget.
There are five Propositions (out of the 13) on the November ballot which will cost all of us a lot of money…$43B (they are 1B for transportation, 1C housing, 1D education, 1E flood control, and 84 flood control). Several of the other ones will also hit us in the pocket book, but the impact at this point is undefined (except Prop 88 which will impose another $50 per parcel for education). As an aside, the Lottery generates about $3.3B a year and by law 34% has to go to public education, or about $1.2B. This translates to about 3% of the K-12 Education budget being covered by the Lottery. Considering all these Propositions, do we need more money or should we be doing an in-depth analysis to ensure the current spending is being optimized?
Before being asked to approve more funds, the big question in my mind is what doesn’t deserve funding. Isn’t there some place we should be cutting to fund more worthy causes? Is there a process which forces prioritization of projects resulting in those projects at the bottom not being funded? We will never know because we operate on “incremental” funding. What is wrong with Zero-based budgeting? Sure, Zero-based budgeting is time consuming and not easy, but it does make the departments defend why they need to continue to be funded. It would force the State to look at reallocating funds before just asking for more money. The most important function here is the “looking in” to see if the function is still needed, before “looking out” for more funding.
Successful businesses cannot survive on “incremental” funding. Unchecked spending would erode the profits to a point where the company would be operating in the negative. Each year business must evaluate and defend each dollar it spends, knowing each dollar spent will mean one less dollar of profit. The State should do no less. The taxpayers are supplying the source of funds. The State leaders/representatives are deciding how to spend the money with little accountability as to what the money is spent on. We need zero based budgeting at the State level. Don’t vote yes for any Proposition until you feel satisfied that the existing dollars you are already paying to the State are getting the maximum “bang for the buck”.
Posted July 14, 2006 -------- I just got back from my 40th college reunion at Occidental College. The college is not near the Union Hotel or Negri’s in the town of Occidental, but down in Eagle Rock, close to Glendale, CA. Occidental or Oxy is the alma mater of Robert Finch, Lt. Governor under Reagan, and Jack Kemp, ex football star and congressman. It was also the home of 21 Olympic athletes since it was founded in 1887. Oxy has been the backdrop of numerous movies and television shows; Jurassic Park III, Orange County, and West Wing to name a few. I graduated in a class of 320, not big considering most colleges. The current class of ‘09 isn’t much larger; 437. The current student make-up is less Caucasian than mine and more ethnic minorities, a cross section of America. July 1st, the first female president will be installed, Susan Prager.
As you would expect, for the most part the guys looked about the same, a little heavier, grayer and thinner hair…but recognizable. The women looked ravishing, as they always did. Things had changed, yet remained the same. The campus looked like it had 40 years ago, minus a few trees and a new building here and there. The ATO bench was gone and the hang-out location, the “Cooler”, had been moved…but most of the campus looked like it did the day I graduated in 1966. What has changed is the “content” of the college.
History of Civilization was a landmark class in 1962 when I started. It was a class which lasted the first two years of college. The content was amazingly simple, yet through. It would take a period of time in “Western” civilization and cover issues including politics, religion, music, economics, art, architecture, philosophy, science, and theatre. You would learn about what impacted a period of history and what history impacted. Once we covered one period, we moved to another. I considered the class “boring” at the time, yet it proved to be the most valuable learning experience in my adult life. In 2006, this class is gone, overshadowed by world events. History of Civilization didn’t include much, if anything, on the Far East, Middle East, Africa, or South America. It was “classic” history. Today’s students can’t afford to be that sheltered. History of Civilization is gone, replaced by specific classes to meet individual student needs. I guess this was necessary, but to lose the core teaching of the Western world…well…it’s sad.
I visited my old fraternity house, Alpha Tau Omega (ATO). Due to some rule infractions and misplaced focus, the fraternity was closed a few years ago. Over the years, since graduating in ’66, I and others could see this coming, but hoped for a “turn around” in member attitude. It didn’t happen and the house was closed. It is in disrepair; needs painting, shingles hanging by one nail or missing altogether, sheets covering most of the windows…but I peeked inside and there hanging on the wall were the plaques with names going back to the ‘50s, the trophies of yesteryear. Disposition of the house is now in the hands of a local board of past members. It will probably be sold and/or given to the college. This fraternity, in its day, was the pride of the college. We were the first “Southern” fraternity to pledge two black men. We were suspended by the National Chapter in Virginia, but became a viable ATO fraternity within two years, after National changed its position. In the ’60s, most of the football players of the championship Oxy team were members. Now…the house is nothing but memories…a “security” few students need today.
The years 1962 to 1966 were an interesting period; the Cuban Missal Crisis, Kennedy’s assignation…the one computer on campus took up one entire room and used punch cards. I met my wife of 39 years there. I looked around at her and my friends, some cancer survivors, Vietnam era veterans, some retired, some still working…we all had dreams in ’66 when we stepped away from the podium, sheepskin in hand. Some had met the dream, some had not, some who died in Vietnam never had the chance, but we all benefited from being at Occidental when we were there. It was good to step back if only for a few days, as a reasonability test, a check to see if we were still connected with the life goal set so long ago…happiness.
The mascot of Oxy is the Bengal tiger. The last stanza of the “Tiger Roar” says it all…
Tiger Roar, hear the Tiger Roar,
Carry on and never stop!
Carry on to the top,
Don’t give in ‘till you win,
Spirits high, do or die,
Roar on, Tigers Roar!
