58 results for author: Pam Keith
On Closing the Income Gap
Here are some basic truths about our economy: Our economy is driven by a combination of innovation and consumption. Consumer demand for new and better goods and services drives innovation. The overall effect of strong consumer buying power is more money in the hands of Americans to fuel demand. When our middle class consumers do poorly, the entire economy suffers. The disparity between the buying power of the wealthy and the middle class is unprecedented and must be addressed. By virtually every measure, the average American worker’s wages have remained flat (or have declined) in the past decade. According to the Bureau of Labor ...
Facing The Challenges of a Modern Economy
Truth be told, our economy is evolving so fast that many people are struggling to keep up. An economy that used to be driven by productivity and labor is now driven by three things: consumption, innovation and transaction. Because of globalization, companies are able to take advantage of lower wages abroad, which negatively affects the job market at home, but also drives down costs and allows American to buy more goods and services than ever before. Companies that are able to come up with new products, or to market their goods/services in a way that generates demand, are succeeding. Those enterprises that are unable to capitalize on ...
Protecting Our Treasured St. Lucie River Environment
South Florida is home to one of the most fascinating and unique natural environments in the world. While the tourists are often attracted to our beautiful beaches, it is our wetlands and estuaries that make Florida so unique. There is nothing like the Florida Everglades. It is a treasure, and MUST be protected and properly nourished. The same is true of the Caloosahatchee River, the St. Lucie River, its estuary, and riverine environment. And yet, all three ecosystems are being endangered by the current water management scheme for Lake Okeechobee. The lake is fed by tributaries that carry ground water from Orlando and surrounding areas into ...
On Investing in Clean and Renewable Energy
It is not a worthy pursuit to continue debating the science behind climate change. The question is what we should be doing about it. There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that we are very close to finding the “holy grail” of clean energy, which is storable and deployable solar energy. Currently, solar energy is greatly under-utilized for a variety of reasons, chief amongst them that the sun does not shine all day, nor necessarily when its energy is needed. If solar energy could be stored for long periods of time and deployed as needed, it would become the go-to form of energy across the globe. Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, are ...
On Immigration Policy
There are some 11+ million people currently in the United States who have either over-stayed their visas, or have entered the country illegally. These people live in our communities, go to our churches, raise children who attend our schools, and contribute to our economy through both their purchasing power and extremely valuable labor. Indeed, some industries would simply not function without their work. Many have lived in the United States for years, and are integrated in families made up largely of U.S. citizens. We must come to terms with this reality. America has neither the will nor the resources to ferret out all these people and ...
Criminal Justice Reform
Our criminal justice system is in need of wholesale reform. We are incarcerating way too many people, they are going to jail for the wrong reasons, they are staying there too long, the system is neither a good deterrent nor particularly rehabilitative, and it is discriminatory in its application. Here is what I propose as some key changes: REMOVE THE FINANCIAL INCENTIVE TO INCARCERATE MORE PEOPLE –Where it is possible to regain public control of prisons, such should be done immediately. Where, due to budgetary constraints, such is not possible, state prison contracts should be structured on a flat-rate basis, which creates profit by reduction of ...
On Caring for Our Veterans
Those who serve our nation in the armed forces are deserving of the utmost respect and care. It is a disgrace that we have so many veterans who are homeless, suffering from untreated illnesses and who suffer daily. Many have benefit claims that have languished for years, wait months for needed medical care or are neglected altogether. I propose the following to dramatically change how we treat our veterans: REVERSE THE BURDEN OF PROOF FOR VA BENEFIT CLAIMS Currently, we place the burden on our veterans to prove that a debilitating injury or illness is “service connected” (i.e., related to their time of service military). For many of our ...
IF PUTIN WANTED TO DESTROY THE UNITED STATES FROM WITHIN
If I was Vladimir Putin, and the POTUS was my asset (we are trying to ascertain if he might be), and undermining the US was my objective (which it has always been), then... I would get my asset to engender mistrust between the American people and their government; I would undermine the effectiveness of America's intelligence community; I would decimated America's international reputation by reducing foreign aid, disabling its foreign service and driving its allies away (Germany goes first). To sow discord in American society, I would tell my asset to exacerbate divisions along race, gender and economic lines. To strengthen my position at home, I ...
Why PRIVATIZING is NOT the Answer
Let's get clear about what the word "PRIVATIZE" really means. The GOP LOVES this notion, and they peddle it as how "free market ideas" and "competition" create productivity and innovation. What it REALLY means is "structure it so that a few people can get VERY rich off of it." I am NOT anti-business. I am a big fan of free enterprise. But some PUBLIC functions should NEVER be privatized because creating a profit-driven structure would directly impede the service-oriented nature of the enterprise. Private prisons is a perfect example. When our prisons were re-structured to create shareholders, private owners, and well compensated executives, they also ...
On “IDENTITY POLITICS”
Here is my "IDENTITY POLITICS." I am NOT Jewish, but if you're anti-semitic, I will NOT tolerate you. I am NOT gay, but if you seek to diminish LGBT-Americans, I will NOT agree with you. I am NOT an immigrant, but if you demonize immigrants, I will NOT support you. I am NOT Muslim, but if you are bigoted towards Muslims, I will NOT validate you. I am NOT poor, but if you belittle those who struggle to get by, I will NOT condone you. My "IDENTITY POLITICS" are simple: I care for other Americans. And I could give a damn about someone's "policy" if their purpose is to harm those who don't look, live or love like them. America is NOT, nor has it ...
- 1
- 2
- …
- 6
- s