People Always Prevail

Our political landscape is pathetic. Nobody, except serious MAGAs, is excited about the choices in the Presidential election. Politics has never been pretty, but these days, it is exceptionally ugly. We can thank the Supreme Court for allowing the rise of PACs, so once again, it is people with deep pockets controlling who stays in office.

We all have to look for silver linings. We are seeing people use laws to fight against the Government. Over sixty percent of people in the US believe the Electoral College should be abolished, and I recently read about a group of people who are working their way through the system to force change. Will they get there? Who knows but the one thing about this country is that anybody can fight for change.

There are three states where people have succeeded in getting abortion rights on the ballot. Will this trend begin to separate the majority from the loud strength of the minority? Many states are putting cannabis on the ballot, overruling the leaders in the state.

In California, nine propositions are on the ballot. They are for climate, school, crime reform, measures to close an involuntary servitude loophole, marriage equality (the changing of the wording in the CA constitution), lowering the supermajority to approve lowering taxes, raising the minimum wage, and a few others.

If any of these props are confirmed by the voters, it will take time to determine what these vague props will become but once voted in they are legal changes that make their way through the system. What is great about props is that the people have the ability to make change vs. relying on their elected officials, who these days seem to be more interested in just staying in power.

Will we begin to see more states forced to put props on the ballot? It might be worth it in NY when it comes to the real estate moguls. It is time to force landlords to fill their empty spaces after a period of time vs. just keeping them empty, waiting for the market to return, and taking their tax deductions. No politician is ever going to force this because the real estate people help keep them in office. What is the answer? Taxing them. There are a few large commercial properties in the heart of the village that are standing empty and are priced way out of reach, considering how they have deteriorated.

Something needs to change, and it might take the people’s will to force the changes that most people want rather than what the politicians are not doing to keep themselves in power.