The importance of the youth vote in 2020
Attention young people: Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964) and Millenials (ages 18-35) both represent nearly one-third of the potential voting populace apiece. In 2016, people 65 years and older voted at a 71 percent rate. Millennials voted at 46 percent.
The U.S. has one of the lowest youth voting rates in the industrialized world. The goal should be to make it the highest. The Sixties generation and yours are the two most progressive and idealistic generations in history. The least racist, the least religiously bigoted, the least homophobic, etc. If young people voted at the same rate as seniors, they could change the world.
The top 1 percent represents the current power structure of the US. This includes the fossil fuel industry, the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries, the corporate media (which controls over 90 percent of what you watch, read and hear), the military-industrial complex, etc. The three richest Americans own as much wealth as the bottom 160 million-plus Americans. The top 1 percent owns more wealth than the bottom 92 percent.
Forty-nine percent of all new revenue generated goes to the top 1 percent. And the other 51% goes to the bottom 99 percent. When almost half of the new wealth created goes to the top 1 percent, it is called income inequality. Millennials get 3 percent of this new wealth today vs. 21 percent they got in 1989. In the 1960s, CEOs made twenty times what their average worker received. Today, it is 287-1. This is the greatest wealth disparity since the 1920s, just before the Great Depression hit.
The concentration of wealth and power by a handful of millionaires/billionaires is called an oligarchy. If we continue in this direction, we end up in a dictatorship. If we move in the opposite direction, however, we will be back in a democracy by majority rule, one person one vote.
The 1 percent has the wealth and power, but we have the numbers. Now I may not have a PhD. in math, but I can tell you that 99 percent is a heckuva lot more people than 1 percent.
To enact change will require nothing less than overwhelming the ballot box next year with the biggest voter turnout ever seen. Not by a little either, by a lot. Most political experts consider the 2020 election the most important we’ll see in our lifetimes. The future of our country and the future of the planet will be decided next year. Please register to vote AND get people you know registered as well.
As one politician recently said, “We don’t watch the polls. We change the polls,” by getting involved in the political process.
The future of this country will increasingly rest upon the shoulders of young people. To transform society toward a bright future for them and the other 99 percent will require a record-shattering turnout.
Gordon Kobayashi, Valley Springs
President impeached
I had to write to and correct some things in your front page article. First of all, the “President Impeached” headline is not correct; to be impeached, it needs to go to the Senate for their vote and Nancy Pelosi has not done that yet. So it remains an “inquiry to impeachment.”
Another paragraph states 200 people lined up on Main Street and shouted support for impeachment. The thing that these people don’t understand is that you don’t impeach a president because you don’t like him. You do that at the ballot box and Donald Trump was elected by the people.
The good things that have happened since he was elected are: unemployment is at a new low, the economy is doing great, our foreign policy is helping our country thrive and not be taken advantage of.
So reporters, try to report the news truthfully and give readers the whole story. Sadly, today, most all news services have not printed the facts but want to take down our president.
Barbara Bertetta, Watsonville
Public arts grants
How exciting to read in the paper that the City of Watsonville is investing $4,000 into public art projects in the coming year. Our town leaders deserve a warm pat on the back for understanding the public enrichment and all the amazing beauty, that will result in allowing local artists to work their magic in the form of murals, paintings, sculptures and performing arts.
I think Watsonville is on the fast track to becoming a city of artistic glitter and supreme dreams. Peace and love forever.
Mike Bobeda, Watsonville
Hard work
A couple of days ago my wife and I went out to visit relatives staying at Pajaro Dunes for the holidays. There I met a university professor who is a Trump supporter.
Not surprisingly, this fellow’s main point seemed to be that he worked hard to get where he now is, and others should do the same. Free stuff (like health care) actually cripples people. If you work hard, you will move up.
As we left, we drove by the strawberry fields where people were bundled up, bending over in the fields surrounding West Beach Street doing what looked to me suspiciously like hard work. When juxtaposed with Mr. Trump’s work/golf schedule, this “hard work” thinking doesn’t make sense to me.
Of course, hard work is a virtue, but it sure looks to me like fast-food workers (for instance) aren’t laggers, but the best they can expect is to become a manager and make $3 more per hour. Times have changed.
Don Eggleston, Aptos
Nancy de la Pena for Superior Court Judge
The March 3, 2020 election includes a race for Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge. As a retired attorney with 35 years of law practice, I write in strong support of Nancy de la Pena for that position, and encourage all voters to join me in voting for her. I have known Nancy for many years, and believe that she is extremely well-qualified, and will serve our community with distinction on the bench.
Nancy attended the University of California Davis Law School, graduating in 1985. During her 33 year legal career here in Santa Cruz County, both as a Deputy Public Defender and as an Assistant County Counsel, Nancy has made frequent court appearances before numerous judges and has tried many jury trials and court trials. In the course of her trial work she has also interacted with countless parties to litigation, witnesses, attorneys and jurors. This extensive background has prepared her well to serve as a trial court judge.
Sara Clarenbach, Capitola
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