A Crucial Element of Democracy

This is a blog by Robert Gutierrez ...
While often taken for granted, civics education plays a crucial role in a democracy like ours. This Blog is dedicated to enticing its readers into taking an active role in the formulation of the civics curriculum found in their local schools. In order to do this, the Blog is offering a newer way to look at civics education, a newer construct - liberated federalism or federation theory. Daniel Elazar defines federalism as "the mode of political organization that unites separate polities within an overarching political system by distributing power among general and constituent governments in a manner designed to protect the existence and authority of both." It depends on its citizens acting in certain ways which Elazar calls federalism's processes. Federation theory, as applied to civics curriculum, has a set of aims. They are:
*Teach a view of government as a supra federated institution of society in which collective interests of the commonwealth are protected and advanced.
*Teach the philosophical basis of government's role as guardian of the grand partnership of citizens at both levels of individuals and associations of political and social intercourse.
*Convey the need of government to engender levels of support promoting a general sense of obligation and duty toward agreed upon goals and processes aimed at advancing the common betterment.
*Establish and justify a political morality which includes a process to assess whether that morality meets the needs of changing times while holding true to federalist values.
*Emphasize the integrity of the individual both in terms of liberty and equity in which each citizen is a member of a compacted arrangement and whose role is legally, politically, and socially congruent with the spirit of the Bill of Rights.
*Find a balance between a respect for national expertise and an encouragement of local, unsophisticated participation in policy decision-making and implementation.
Your input, as to the content of this Blog, is encouraged through this Blog directly or the Blog's email address: gravitascivics@gmail.com .
NOTE: This blog has led to the publication of a book. The title of that book is TOWARD A FEDERATED NATION: IMPLEMENTING NATIONAL CIVICS STANDARDS and it is available through Amazon in both ebook and paperback versions.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

REPUBLICAN MOVES

In the last several postings, this writer has reviewed political developments prior to this last election that led to the results the citizenry faces today.  To date, this blog has described how the Democratic Party, if only rhetorically, turned its back on its traditional base, the white working class (WWC).  In this posting, the writer wants to briefly describe what has been taking place on the other side, that being the Republican efforts since the 1960s.
All of this is meant to aid civics teachers who want to make sense of the current political landscape.  The assumption is that while the most recent election does not spell a transformational change, it does promise to be quite unsettling to what Americans have come to expect of their political universe.  While they might have voted for change, what is in the offing might be a tad different from their expectations.
The variance of expectations is mostly due to how Republicans have sold themselves to frustrated whites.  The “make America great again” slogan can be read as code to recapturing a time in which public policy catered to the whims of the white population.
In the last posting, it was pointed out that this current disaffection reflects both economic and social complaints:  economic loss of jobs and minority claims for equality.  The goal:  recapture a time before there have been significant changes in both our economic conditions and in the civil rights status of many minority citizens. 
These changes are judged by many to be the causes of their problems.  The common wisdom among the unconnected[1] is that such programs as welfare exist only to get minority votes at their expense.  This whole area of concern has a strong racial component.
This spelled opportunity for Republicans.  Beginning with the sixties and President Johnson signing the civil rights laws of that time, the GOP captured the southern states from the Democrats.  Whereas it used to be the solid South for the Dems, they have ever since been solid red states.
But then there came opportunities in the previously strong manufacturing states of the Midwest, commonly referred to as the “rust belt.”  There, jobs began to be either transported to cheaper labor sites in the South or foreign countries, or eliminated by automation.  In response, the GOP was in the position to promise better job creation with business-friendly policies.
Their spiel was:  workers could get back their jobs if they lowered taxes for corporate America and the rich – this would free up money for investment – and get rid of regulations.  If implemented, jobs would pour back to these areas.  They cite Ronald Reagan’s “trickle down” policy and the eventual boom to the economy during his administration.
What is not mentioned is the stimulus effect that federal defense spending had on the economy.  What is also glossed over is what happened to the national debt.  It mushroomed under Reagan and it also shot up because of George W. Bush’s version of Reaganomics.
Bush’s efforts did not have the job creation of the Reagan years and ended – due to regulation easing – in a ruined economy.  The Trump plans also promise the same with a promised explosion in defense spending, infrastructure spending, and a lowering of taxes and elimination of regulations.  What can go wrong?
Well, this may be a question civics teachers might ask their students.  Perhaps this time, the nation will experience the promise of supply-side economics and there will be a significant uptick in jobs – hopefully so.  Defense and infrastructure spending might do the “job.”  But there are other concerns.
Now that the GOP is in full control – the only check on conservatives is that they do not have a filibuster proof Senate – there is little to stand in their way of fulfilling their wish list.  What is included in that list?  An overall word that describes what they want is “privatization.”
They want to privatize just about all government services so that their true constituents – the business class – can reap a potential profit windfall.  At the state level, with Republicans gaining control of most statehouses, there has been a rush to privatize, for example, prison systems.
This has resulted in significant incidents of reported prisoner abuse.[2]  Most citizens are unaware of this problem.  What is promised at the national or federal level will affect the welfare of many citizens and will be experienced not behind hidden places, like prisons, but in broad daylight.
Take plans to privatize Medicare.  There, if Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s plan is adopted, beneficiaries will be given a voucher and then individually deal with insurance companies and medical facilities.  The plan is seen by commentators as part of replacing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).[3]
Given that among the elderly, in the upcoming years, there will be the last of those who benefitted from dependable pensions programs – and instead will be on undependable 401 plans – the future for the elderly seems precarious.  But that is not all the GOP might affect.
Of course, the Republicans will continue to be against upping the minimum wage and still be against policies that protect and advance organized labor.  While their leader, Mr. Trump, has come out against open trade – he promised to negotiate better deals (whatever that means) – his party is firmly in favor of continuing current trade policies.  This, if Trump is serious about his promises, will probably be a bitter fight within the Republican ranks.
The bottom line is that in two years, the WWC will probably not be any happier than it is today.  In addition, because it is usual that a sitting president’s party loses support in Congress in off-year elections, the Democrats can situate themselves to begin their comeback in 2018.
One will see.  In the Senate, many Democratic seats will need to be defended – not a good sign for them.  But if things don’t get better for the WWC, given the promises of this election, who knows what will happen?
But as important as 2018 will be, 2020 – a census year – election will be more so.  If the Democrats can gain control of statehouses and with the result of the census, they will draw the new legislative and Congressional boundary lines.  This current control is what has given the Republican Party such an advantage in the 2010s.  One can be sure that the pros of both parties are well-aware of this potential gain or loss and will strategize accordingly.



[1] A moniker used by George Packer.  See George Packer, “The Unconnected,” The New Yorker 92, no. 35 (2016):  48-61.

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