Two Cents Worth

 

Blackie Sherrod was an outstanding Texas-based journalist and sportswriter.  He was voted Texas Sportswriter of the year 16 times.  Yes, he was that good…even better.  He passed on in 2016 at the age of 96.  One of the columns he used to write was called “Scatter-Shooting” and he would address a variety of subjects, mostly sports, but not entirely.  It was great stuff and always left you wanting more.

 

I’m not about to use “Scatter-Shooting” to describe this ramble.  Instead I will opt for this well-worn country nugget: “Two Cents Worth”.  Back in the day, when someone wanted to say something, but with the qualification that it was just their opinion, they might open with “Just my two cents worth, but this is what I think…”

 

So, here’s my Two Cents Worth on some of the issues of the day.

 

College kids protest.  They’ve been doing it for generations.  Now the Cause du Jour is Palestine.  And, as usual, some of the kids are taking it too far.  Time for the adults in the room to set some boundaries…if it’s not already too late.

 

The U.S.-Mexico border situation baffles me.  The only reason I can see for the Dems allowing this to happen is they want to boost the number of Democrat supporters.  There may also be some pressure from business to come up with more cheap labor, but this really feels like more of a demographic play to shift the balance of power more toward the Dems.

 

Abortion is liable to end up being the difference maker in the November election.  Religious convictions aside, the majority of Americans favor some allowance for legal abortion.  12-15 weeks seems to be the acceptable range with exceptions for later term if there are serious medical issues.  The hardlines on abortion being drawn by many Red states are going to bring out the votes for the Dems.  If the Dems hang on to the White House, this will be the reason.

 

The Right is also overplaying their hand on shutting down DEI programs.  There are certainly all sorts of negatives in the way many DEI programs have been run.  But for a lot of people, DEI remains the “equalizer”.  Without established DEI programs and policies they believe we’ll just go back to straight, white guys having all of the advantages and everyone else scrambling for leftovers.  

 

Last but certainly not least, Federal government spending has now gone so far over the line that it will take years to recover.  Inflation is baked into our economy.   We’re not going to work out of it with increased production or economic growth.  And there is no commitment to cut spending.  Tax increases are just a way of shifting some of the debt burden off of lower income folks who are essentially bearing the cost through inflated prices.  There is no free lunch.  Someone has to pay.  Who, how much and for how long are questions no politician is willing to answer.   But I can tell you it will take a lot of time and way more than two cents.