Category: Social Behavior

America is one of 6 countries that make up more than half of gun deaths worldwide

This is not a national emergency or is it?

                                                 We love our guns!

They haven’t buried the three who died in Gilroy California and now there has been another shooting. The latest in Southaven Mississippi. Oh, it was only two people you could say. Most people probably won’t give this killing a second thought. The reason is obvious. The frequency of gun killing happens so often that it has become routine. Just last week a deranged man killed four people in the San Fernando Valley.

Out of the world’s 251,000 gun deaths every year, there’s a group of six countries that make up more than half of those deaths — and the United States is in it, according to a new study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

For comparison, the US’s rate of 10.6 gun deaths per 100,000 people was much higher than Switzerland’s rate of 2.8, Canada’s 2.1, Germany’s 0.9, the United Kingdom’s 0.3, and Japan’s 0.2.

The United States has the highest number of civilian owned firearms of any other country. Thanks to the Second amendment to the Constitution we can all own almost any weapon we want. You have to be tested for competency before you are granted a automobile driver’s license but there is no test requirements to own a firearm.

The National Firearms Association (NRA) is more about keeping the laws as they currently exist than training people in the use of weapons.

This situation is unlikely to change.

The tarp renaming Curry Village Half Dome Village came down on Monday

I have visited Yosemite National Park dozens of times.  It is a six hour drive from Los Angeles when you take time to stop for lunch.  The beauty and serenity of the park is something you will never forget.

In 2005 the facilities operator, Delaware North Companies Inc.  lost its renewal bid to Aramark. Delaware North claimed it owned the names Ahwahnee and Curry and would not permit Aramark to use those names because they are intellectual property.

Delaware North sued claiming they had paid the previous concessionaire’s for the right to use the names Ahwahnee and Curry.  They demanded $50 Million.

The consequence was the Ahwahnee Hotel was renamed Majestic Yosemite and Curry Village was renamed Half Dome Village.  I am quite certain that most recurring visitors continued to use the names Ahwahnee and Curry.

Basically the National Park Service and Aramark paid out $12 Million ransom to recover the use of those names. Ownership of the names will now revert to the federal government.

Incidentally I never thought it important to photograph the Curry Village sign or a picture of the Ahwahnee Hotel.  These photos appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

Stock Market has reached new highs – Should we care?

Why is this man laughing?

What percentage of Americans own stocks?

Politifact California Stats:

6.7% are owned by bottom 80 %

9.3% are owned by the next 10%

84% are owned by the top 10%

Reported on NPR: As of 2013, the top 1 percent of households by wealth owned nearly 38 percent of all stock shares, according to research by New York University economist Edward Wolff.

Market Watch confirmed the same data.

According to U.S. News: In the U.S., there are 607 billionaires, up from 586 last year and 404 in 2010, and 14 of the world’s 20 richest are from the U.S. More than 40 percent of U.S. billionaires live in two states – California and New York. Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates don’t.

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.  States that have not set a higher wage must pay that amount to their employees.  In California the minimum is $12 for employers with 26 or more employees, otherwise $11.

The super wealthy keep telling us how lucky we are by pointing out how the working classes in other countries are poorer than the American working class.

The USA is run by rich old people.  Sadly that is not likely to change despite the campaigns of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

The picture at the top of this posting is Warren Buffet. His net worth this year is over $84 Billion.

Welfare for Business is Good but Welfare for Families is Bad

In the U.S., it is rather commonplace to see welfare recipients demonized, people on food stamps ostracized, and anyone on any form of public assistance made to feel guilty that they need help. They are called lazy and incompetent, with little regard for circumstance or economic hardship. Sure, there are some people who take advantage of the system. But there are millions that desperately need help, and social welfare programs are the only thing standing between them and poverty.

However subsides to corporations are not deemed to be welfare.

The Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn announced a plan in 2017 to develop a factory hub south of Milwaukee, it’s promised to take a “Wisconsin First” approach to hiring local suppliers. While that phrase didn’t make it into the final contract, that’s how state officials and Foxconn have touted the deal, which involves about $4 billion in potential subsidies.

Foxconn is not alone in receiving government subsidies. Those subsidies are in the billions of dollars. According to The Cato Institute, corporate welfare handouts shot all the way up to $92 billion as of 2002.

Amazon recently conducted a contest to determine where they will open a second “headquarters.” NYC and Arlington, VA won the contest for Amazon’s split East Coast headquarters. Arlington lured in Amazon with promises of a helipad and a cash grant of up to $550 million. The NYC total amount in tax incentives and grants amounted to $3.4 Billion.

Then there are the subsidies for the movie industry called “tax incentives”. The California Film Commission administers the Film & Television Tax Credit Program 2.0 which provides tax credits based on qualified expenditures for eligible productions that are produced in California. The $1.55 billion program runs for 5 years, with a sunset date of June 30, 2020. Georgia allows for a 20 percent tax credit for companies that spend $500,000 or more on production or post production in Georgia, either in a single production or on multiple projects. The Georgia program has resulted in more film produced there than in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, individuals and families, you should be ashamed apply for any welfare help.

Walmart – Billions of Net Profit but NO Decent Pay for Hourly Workers

Many employees still earn below the poverty line. Walmart said its store managers now average $175,000 a year, while its full-time hourly worker average $14.26 an hour.  That means many of their hourly workers earn less than $14.26 an hour.

This Net Income data is from their annual reports
2015 16.18B
2016 14.69B
2017 13.64B
2018 9.86B

Bernie Sanders is correct to point out “If Amazon, Costco, and Target can all pay their workers $15 an hour, so can Walmart.”  The real question is can anyone live on pay of less than $20 an hour?

Pennsylvania Lawmaker Brian Sims Confronts Anti-Abortion Protesters

Tweet, “Bring it, Bible Bullies! You are bigots, sexists, and misogynists and I see right through your fake morals and your broken values.”

“As an activist and an advocate, I know why pushing back against harassment and discrimination are a must, even when they’re uncomfortable, but last week I wasn’t a patient escort,” Sims said, referring to a volunteer role he has performed in the past. “I was a neighbor and a concerned citizen and I was aggressive. I know that two wrongs don’t make a right and I can do better and I will do better for the women of Pennsylvania.”

Tweet, “I will fiercely protect a woman’s right to make the best choices for her health & her body, unimpeded. I also know that two wrongs don’t make a right, especially on the front lines of a civil rights battle. I can do better, and I will do better, for the women of Pennsylvania.”