Mark Ford

“We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” –Thomas Jefferson

Are You Qualified to Vote?

“Voting is the most important responsibility we have as citizens.” Or so I’ve been told.
“If you don’t vote, you don’t have a right to complain.”

I understand the logic. But the argument is wrong. There are dozens of things we can do that are more likely to result in a better world – all of which require discipline and commitment. It’s easier to cast a vote for someone that seems to share your values and count on him or her to do the work you could be doing yourself.

It’s a moral cop-out. But that’s not the main problem I have with voting. What bothers me the most is that, with few exceptions, most people don’t have any idea about how to solve our common problems. And neither do our politicians.

In any given election, candidates may align themselves with one or another view. They might argue – as Trump has done in explaining his tariffs on Chinese goods – that they are aiming to achieve some common good. But if and when the policy is implemented, it doesn’t always achieve its advertised purpose. The result is often very different.

Take Lyndon Johnson’s “war on poverty,” which he announced in his 1964 State of the Union Address. “Our aim,” he said, “is not only to relieve the symptoms of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, prevent it.” What followed was the implementation of initiatives that to date have cost the country $23 trillion and produced only a marginal drop in the poverty rate.

And what about prohibition? Despite the good intentions of its supporters, the 18th amendment (the only one that’s been repealed in its entirety) led to the rise of alcohol smuggling and the violent criminal underworld known as the mafia.

Or more recently, the war on drugs – an abject failure that has cost the US about $1 trillion over the past 40 years. With an overall disregard for the underlying issues of substance abuse, policies were established that created an increase in corruption, violence, and tension between minorities and the police.

The fact is, human society is immensely diverse and infinitely complex. The US is an imaginary construct applied to 330 million individual people with different ideas, habits, and preferences – interacting with one another countless billions of times every day.

We understand, at best, only a small fraction of how our country works. And yet, when it comes to politics, we act as if we can fix our social, legal, and economic problems by voting for politicians that generally have no more knowledge of or experience in solving complex problems than we have.

Not to mention the problem of presidential political power dynamics: Because of the division of power between the president, the House, and the Senate, the most significant accomplishments of presidents often contradict what we would have expected when we voted for them.

For example…

Who was it that liberalized US relations with Communist China?

Answer: It was Richard Nixon, a staunch anti-communist.

And…

Who was it that passed the toughest law on crime, the law that turned the US into the country with the highest percentage of its citizens in prison?

Answer: It was Bill Clinton, an outspoken advocate for liberal policies.

And…

Who was it that ordered 542 drone strikes that killed 3797 people, 324 of which were civilians?

Answer: It was Barack Obama, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

It’s for these reasons that I’ve felt that voting was a citizen’s #1 civic duty. I see the process today as a once great idea (including the electoral college) that has degenerated into a great, sad sham.

But the issues are real. And the problems need to be fixed. As we move towards our next election, we are being asked to choose candidates on the basis of our belief in their ability to make good decisions on such issues as:

* Black lives matter vs. all lives matter

* Gun rights vs. gun restrictions

* Equality of opportunity vs. equality of outcome

* Individual liberty vs. social justice

In a recent blog about why he rarely votes, James Altucher touched on the above with a sarcastic suggestion:

“Most people shouldn’t vote. Most people vote for the candidate their friends or colleagues are voting for. And many people are swayed by cognitive biases triggered by campaign materials and media. People follow the personalities of the candidates. I hear things like, ‘I just don’t like XYZ as a person,’ etc. So? Does anyone follow issues?”

He then gave his readers a six-question quiz on some of the issues that are being talked about in the current presidential election. We liked that idea, and came up with 20 questions of our own.

Take the following quiz and see how you do.

Are You Qualified to Vote?

20 Questions to Help You Decide

What is a tariff?

___ The amount by which the cost of a country’s imports exceeds the cost of its exports

___ The amount by which the value of a country’s exports exceeds the cost of its imports

___ A ban on trade or other commercial activity with a country

___ A tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports

Which statement is true of the US balance of trade with China?

___ It is positive.

___ It is negative.

___ It is about equal.

How do free-market economists generally view tariffs?

___They are necessary to protect against unfair trade practices by foreign countries.

___They result in higher overall consumer and material costs and are bad for the economy.

___ They are political in nature and have a net neutral economic effect.

Factoring in all other variables, including experience, hours worked, and using precise job descriptions, what is the gender wage gap in the US?

___ 17%

___ 7%

___ 2 %

US senators are elected to serve a term of office that lasts how long?

___ 6 years

___ 4 years

___ 2 years

___ indefinitely

Trump often claims that the employment rate for African-Americans rose to a historical high before COVID-19 and the shutdown. True or false?

___ True

___ False

Trump’s handling of the COVID pandemic has been criticized harshly by the Democrats and the media. He denies this and proffers, in his defense, his early decision to ban most travel from China. Putting that aside, how did he respond to the WHO and CDC guidelines and to Fauci’s directives in the first three months of the pandemic?

___ He ignored them completely.

___ He was resistant and slow.

___ He followed them as they were announced.

Which one of the following is NOT a member of Trump’s cabinet?

___ Benjamin Carson

___ Elaine L. Chao

___ Kayleigh McEnany

___ Alex Azar

During the Democratic primary debates, Kamala Harris attacked Joe Biden for his past opposition to school busing. How does she explain running as his vice president?

___ She changed her mind after he sent her a note apologizing for his former opinion.

___ She said that her comments were taken out of context.

___ She said she didn’t really mean it. She attributed the accusations to debate tactics.

Kamala Harris and Joe Biden received their law degrees from _________ and _________, respectively.

___ Howard University, University of Delaware

___ Syracuse University, University of Delaware

___ University of California, Syracuse University

___ Howard University, Syracuse University

What is the name of the governor of New York?

___ Andrew Cuomo

___ Chris Cuomo

___ Bill de Blasio

___ Rudy Giuliani

Which of the following acts did Trump NOT sign into law?

___ Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act

___ Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act

___ Tested Ability to Leverage Exceptional National Talent Act

___ Save Our Seas Act

Trump issued 137 executive orders in the first three years of his presidency. Some in the media have criticized him for that, suggesting that he is using his authority to override Congress. Which of the following statements is true?

___ 137 is more than twice the number of executive orders that Obama issued during his first three years.

___ 137 is roughly equal to the number of executive orders that Obama issued during his first three years.

___ 137 is 29 more than the number of executive orders that Obama issued during his first three years.

What do NYC, Baltimore, Portland, and LA have in common?

___ As a group, they reported 90% of the country’s COVID-19 cases.

___ They were devastated by damages following looting and rioting.

___ They cut funding to their police departments.

___ None of them imposed mask regulations.

As a state attorney in California, what was Kamala Harris known for?

___ Going easy on marijuana offenders

___ Being tough on marijuana offenders

___ Going easy on cocaine users

___ Being tough on cocaine users

Which of the following is NOT a policy position held by Kamala Harris?

___ Supports the right of transgender females to compete in women’s athletic competitions

___ Supports raising teacher salaries and expanding early childhood education programs

___ Supports ending Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU

___ Opposes pro-choice legislation, supporting a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy

Which of the following is true about the US Electoral College?

___ It was created by Republicans to favor Republican candidates.

___ It was created by Democrats to favor Democrat candidates.

___ It was created to reduce voter fraud.

___ It was created to give states with smaller populations more of a say in Congress.

Presidents Barack Obama, Theodore Roosevelt, and Jimmy Carter were all nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Which of the following statements is true for Trump?

___ He has never been nominated.

___ He was nominated once.

___ He was nominated three times.

When asked, in an interview, about the humanitarian crisis at the border, who said, “Our message absolutely is: Don’t send your children… on trains or through a bunch of smugglers”?

___ Donald Trump

___ Joe Biden

___ Mike Pence

___ Barack Obama

What was Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s position on “packing” the court?

___ She was in favor of it.

___ She was opposed to it.

Answers

A tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports

It is negative. The trade deficit increased by 5.9% ($67.1 billion) when measured in August – the highest deficit since August 2006, when it was $68.2 billion.

They result in higher overall consumer and material costs and are bad for the economy. Free-market economists obviously prefer a free market, an unregulated system of economic exchange that limits or excludes interventions such as quotas, tariffs, quality controls, etc. Check out my essay on this very topic HERE.

2% – According to a PayScale analysis, when adjusted for men and women with the same job and qualifications, women earn approximately 98¢ for every $1 earned by men. Review the info HERE. And HERE is a pretty informative video on the subject. Plus, HERE is a podcast interview (with transcript) between journalist Steven Dubner and Claudia Goldin, a Harvard economist, about the wage gap.

6 years

True – The data showed that black unemployment was at a record low 5.8% in February before the virus hit. It rose to 16.8% in May, according to the Labor Department.

He followed them as they were announced. Fauci himself stated that Trump followed his recommendations. Additionally, in a January 30 press release, CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield wrote, “We understand that this may be concerning, but based on what we know now, we still believe the immediate risk to the American public is low.” And before Redfield’s statement went out, Trump had announced the formation of his coronavirus task force with Alex Azar, Fauci, and Redfield, among others.

Kayleigh McEnany – Kayleigh is the White House Press Secretary, a non-cabinet position.

She said she didn’t mean it. She attributed the accusations to debate tactics. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Harris laughingly said, “It was a debate!… Literally, it was a debate!” Watch the video HERE.

University of California, Syracuse University – Harris received her JD from the UC Hastings College of the Law in 1989. Biden received his law degree from SU’s College of Law in 1968.

Andrew Cuomo – Chris Cuomo, Andrew’s brother, is a CNN television journalist. Bill De Blasio is the mayor of New York. Rudy Giuliani is the former mayor of New York (1994 – 2001).

Tested Ability to Leverage Exceptional National Talent (TALENT) Act – This was the last bill passed by Barack Obama. The other 3 are acts all signed into law by Trump.

137 is 29 more than the number of executive orders that Obama issued during his first three years. According to the National Archives’ Federal Register, in their first three years as president, Obama and Trump signed 108 and 137 executive orders, respectively.

They cut funding to their police departments. NYC (with 477,000 cases), Baltimore (with 18,000), Portland (34,000), and LA (281,000) account for only about 10.5% of the total cases in the US. Note: All of these cities have imposed mask mandates.

Being tough on marijuana offenders – Harris is on record for having jailed nearly 2000 people for marijuana offenses.

Opposes pro-choice legislation, supporting a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Harris is generally considered extremely pro-choice. She actually fought against the bill that would ban 20-week pregnancies, which caused some backlash.

It was created to give states with smaller populations more of a say in Congress.

He was nominated three times – by (1) Christian Tybring-Gjedde of the Norwegian Parliament for “trying to create peace between nations”; (2) Magnus Jacobsson of the Swedish Parliament for leadership in the accord between Kosovo, Serbia, and Israel; and (3)

David Flint and other law professors in Australia on the basis of Trump’s “Doctrine Against Endless Wars.”