Monthly Archives: April 2019

Interpretation

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֎ The rising tide of white nationalist violence is in the spotlight in the 2020 presidential race, reports The Washington Post. “I think that’s what the crux of this campaign is going to be about,” said House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.). Over the weekend, Trump gave a full-throated condemnation of anti-Semitism following a deadly shooting at a synagogue north of San Diego. And days earlier, Joe Biden launched his presidential campaign with a video attacking Trump’s response to the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville — comments which the president quickly doubled down on. Some GOP strategists, however, think the issue could be a real weak spot for Trump, who has come under scrutiny for his rhetoric around white nationalism.[Politico]

 This is tied to immigration policy as well. Mariner believes that worldwide migration will continue to become worse as economies and climates bifurcate into have and have-not. Racism is an obvious defense for those on the margins, for example Donald’s base. Most western nations that are large enough are experiencing the same impact; nationalist parties are gaining political clout. At the moment mariner sees two alternatives: develop an economy that absorbs (needs) more population or develop an economic policy somewhat similar to China’s which is to invest heavily in nations with weak GDP thereby easing emigration (and fostering economic dependence on China).

For the US, with its fragile concepts of freedom and equality, racism translates into identity politics which is highly volatile and destructive; just ask Russia.

Perhaps the ideas about infrastructure may provide an economic boost – hampered only by indebtedness imposed by the last Congress and a severely imbalanced tax system. But infrastructure may be little more than an offset to job loss caused by automation. In short, living today is a lot like watching storm clouds approaching.

Ancient Mariner

Oh My, Oh My

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Not enough to worry about? Here’s more:

֎ A new paper, based on highly detailed observations taken using the Hubble Space Telescope, appears to confirm that everything in the Universe is expanding too fast – 9 percent too fast. [LiveScience.com]

֎ According to an annual Gallup poll of more than 150,000 people around the world, Americans are among the most stressed-out people on Earth. Fifty-five percent experienced stress during “a lot” of the previous day. That’s compared with 35 percent of stressed-out folks globally. [The New York Times]

֎ If you weigh the Earth’s terrestrial vertebrates, humans account for 30% of their total mass, and our farm animals for another 67%, meaning wild animals (all the moose and cheetahs and wombats combined) total just 3%. In fact, there are half as many wild animals on the planet as there were in 1970. [Falter, Has the Human Game begun to play itself out? Bill McKibben, Henry Holt]

֎ Earth Overshoot Day marks the date by which all of humanity has used more of our natural resources than the planet can renew in the entire year. In 2018, it fell on August 1. This means we are using the resources of 1.7 earths at present. We are using more resources than the earth can provide, largely through overfishing, cutting down our forests, and other unsustainable practices. [The Royal Gazette]

֎ Will we still be able to visit Treasure Island in the Bahamas when 80% of the islands will be under water by 2100? [Bahamas Association of Young Professionals]

֎A survey of nearly 800 top business leaders around the world listed global recession as their biggest concern for 2019. [Chicago Tribune]

֎The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sounding the alarm on a potentially life-threatening super fungus spreading across the United States. The deadly yeast fungus is called Candida auris and it’s lurking in hospitals and nursing homes. Nearly 600 cases have been confirmed across the United States, the CDC reports. While a majority of those cases are in New York, Illinois and New Jersey, several other states have each reported at least one case. More than one in three people with an invasive Candida auris infection can die, according to Illinois health department officials.[KCCI8, Des Moines]

Ancient Mariner

The Creative Brain . . .

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Over the years mariner has noticed a preference, even a celebration of the human brain’s dexterity and inventiveness. Mariner first noticed this bias in scientists. Remember Carl Sagan? He was famous for saying “billions and billions of stars, galaxies”, etc. Outer space was tantamount to Heaven itself. More recently, Neil de Grasse Tyson had an astronomy series where he blatantly described the wonderful phenomenon of physics, science and the creative mind. Any number of science specials on television tout the glorious, unburdened reality and the never ending benefits to humankind by the creative three dimensional world.

The other day mariner watched a special on Netflix called ‘The Creative Brain’ hosted by David Eagleman. He spoke of the special tool of the human brain, the Prefrontal Cortex, which allows humans to combine old knowledge and experience with new ones to create the art, tools, machines, technology, and abstract reasoning. Every example was a contribution to business, a three dimensional, arts and crafts creation.

Mariner reacts to the glorification of ‘things’ and ‘processes’ by asking a probing question: Who is in charge of these new things? His traditional example is Alfred Nobel; he invented dynamite in 1867. A premature publication of his obituary led him to establish the Nobel prizes in retribution. The obituary stated, Le marchand de la mort est mort (“The merchant of death is dead”) and went on to say, “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.) This motivated him to dedicate his estate to the Nobel Prizes in 1900.[1]

Of course Alfred did not mandate the killing of people faster than ever before. The question is who was in charge of Alfred’s scientific achievement?

The man credited with first having split the atom was Ernest Rutherford, who achieved the feat in 1917. Did he authorize the death of 280,000 Japanese in August, 1945? Who was in charge of this scientific achievement at that time?

Today, computer cloud technology receives similar praise as a wonderful invention. Who is in charge of this achievement? Business entrepreneurs and the military. Without his permission, the man on the street is creating billionaires by letting them steal his profile without remuneration.

The real point to this post is this: What good are all these advancements and business opportunities if the other part of the brain, the hypothalamus, hippocampus and amygdala are not capable of handling emotional judgment and ethics regarding the use of three dimensional inventions for human good? Perhaps a bit of wonderment should recognize human advancement in maturity and compassion, should it ever occur.

Ancient Mariner

[1] Detail by Wikipedia

A Seismic Shift

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The United States, indeed the World, stands at the precipice of an historic change. Not just generational change; not just new electronic horizons; not just shifts in culture; not even the same climate. The United States as it has existed since the Second World War and especially since the 1980s will not exist in twenty years.

Mariner hasn’t surmised this future. It is the opinion of many intellectual and professional writers, leaders, scientists and philosophers – several with Nobel Prizes, many with Pulitzer prizes – all with concern whether we will be prepared for the seismic shift. At the moment, the US and State Governments, the oligarchical economy, the lack of plans for an economy that cares for the entire population not just the privileged, the standoff between climate change and fossil fuel economy, the dysfunctional education and job preparation institutions, and the symptomatic rise of identity isolationism all suggest the common man on the street is woefully exposed to the vagaries of change over the next twenty years.

If the citizenry is to minimize its exposure to poverty, environmental travesty and political failure, each citizen must make an effort to improve sociability in family, community and have a moral obligation to the nation and its citizens. Further, each person must educate themselves to the realities that will confront the nation over the next twenty years.

To suggest a tone for pursuit of quality understanding and insights, mariner offers three recent books that address the seismic shift. There are many more books and magazines that already provide a steady stream about the nation’s imminent future. Mariner also lists several broadcasting sources that are veritable libraries of quality discourse. Everyone must respond to the changes. Become conscious of social morality and become educated.

Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy: An Agenda for Growth and Shared Prosperity

by Joseph E. Stiglitz

Joseph E. Stiglitz is a Nobel laureate in economics, University Professor at Columbia University, and chief economist of the Roosevelt Institute.

“The United States bills itself as the land of opportunity, a place where anyone can achieve success and a better life through hard work and determination. But the facts tell a different story—the U.S. today lags behind most other developed nations in measures of inequality and economic mobility. For decades, wages have stagnated for the majority of workers while economic gains have disproportionately gone to the top one percent. Education, housing, and health care—essential ingredients for individual success—are growing ever more expensive. Deeply rooted structural discrimination continues to hold down women and people of color, and more than one-fifth of all American children now live in poverty. These trends are on track to become even worse in the future.”

Falter

By Bill McKibben.

Bill McKibben is recognized around the world for his dedication to the environment and health of the planet. He first warned of climate change 30 years ago and says its effects are now upon us: “The idea that anybody’s going to be immune from this anywhere is untrue.”

In his latest book, Falter, McKibben broadens the potential disruption to question whether the human race is in an end game.

The Second Mountain, The Quest for a Moral Life

By David Brooks.

David Brooks is a Canadian-born American center-right political and cultural commentator who writes for The New York Times. He has worked as a film critic for The Washington Times; a reporter and later op-ed editor for The Wall Street Journal; a senior editor at The Weekly Standard from its inception; a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Atlantic Monthly; and a commentator on NPR. Brooks is currently a columnist for The New York Times and commentator on PBS NewsHour.

“This book is meant to help us all lead more meaningful lives. But it’s also a provocative social commentary. We live in a society, Brooks argues, that celebrates freedom and choice, that tells us to be true to ourselves, to march to the beat of our own drummer at the expense of surrendering to a cause, rooting ourselves in a neighborhood, and binding ourselves to others by social solidarity and love. We have taken individualism to the extreme degree—and, in the process, we have torn the social fabric in a thousand different ways. The path to repair is through making deeper commitments.”

Other Media

Mariner’s opinion is that FOX, CNN and MSNBC are low quality sources for actual and meaningful information. Instead, try perusing the CSPAN video library or keep an eye for meaningful book reviews on CSPAN-BOOKS.

Check out NEWSY, a low budget news channel with no frills, just the facts, no pundits and ongoing insightful specials about issues of the day.

Check out PBS and NPR – not just the broadcasts but peruse the websites.

Mariner has mentioned previously The Atlantic, The Economist, The New Yorker and Scientific American Magazine as solid sources for insight into the reality of these times.

Check the New York Times for new books on important subjects.

How will Citizens prepare for the rapidly rising neo-Nazi presence in democratic nations? Even the US has a nationalist, racist President.

The bottom line – in the US at least – is an individual’s vote. Like a chess move, the vote must be played with insight and an awareness of future moves. Today’s US governments clearly are inept representations of a past that no longer applies. It is the reader’s job to vote for new values and knowledgeable representatives that will help everyone survive the seismic shift.

Ancient Mariner

Happenings

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[HuffPost] Confirmed: Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Viber, Snapchat and Messenger blocked in #SriLanka following series of deadly church and hotel attacks.

The United States is fortunate that misinformation did not lead to bombing and killing during the political campaign. Social media remains an uncontrolled communication service unhindered by the scruples and regulations of America’s free press. While the US suffers racial hate in the bombings and killings in black churches, Sri Lanka suffers religious hatred fueled by racism and politics. Life in the US could be worse. So far citizens yell and curse one another but warfare is not a tool of our religions or politics except for the armed crazies who seem to have a bias toward school children.

The real cause in Sri Lanka and many other situations is the ability to broadcast untrue and unwarranted information. Mariner believes that fact-checking can be automated to the point that attempts to spin falsehoods could be trapped.

– – – –

Talk about violence on TV, did the reader watch Bernie Sanders on Fox television? A notable moment to remember and one that caught the debaters off guard was when Bernie asked the audience if they would rather have single payer health coverage or stay with insurers. A significant majority raised their hands for single payer.

– – – –

[NPR] More than 80% of parents in the U.S. support the teaching of climate change. And that support crosses political divides, according to the results of an exclusive new NPR/Ipsos poll: Whether they have children or not, two-thirds of Republicans and 9 in 10 Democrats agree that the subject needs to be taught in school.

It is true that society would be less argumentative if our children were educated in contemporary subjects that provide a common (apolitical) foundation for life. However, public education is subject to imposing political and religious influence. Civics isn’t taught anymore because political locals prefer less complicated, controlled campaigns; American history of minorities isn’t taught because of race prejudice; Religions of the world and the accompanying sociology isn’t taught because of conflicts between other religions, science and Christian bias. Health practices aren’t taught because of biased resistance to issues like sex, abortion and flu shots.

Imagine if there were a class called ‘Living Today’ or ‘Contemporary Living’ where the material covered how government works, factual presentation of long-standing, polarizing issues and videos of economic circumstances around the world. Nah, mariner is dreaming.

While Betsy DeVos’ economic model for education would wipe out public education, private contractors may be encouraged to teach contemporary subjects by dangling increased profits for the effort. Nah, mariner is dreaming.

But just imagine if Donald’s base had studied civics and economics. . . Mariner is following Alice down the hole. God bless the US electorate.

Ancient Mariner

 

The Future is here

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Sometimes, modern, up-to-date folks feel like they are at least keeping even with new technologies and new ways of doing things. There’s a bit of hubris in telling Alexa what to do – as if one actually is in charge of the technology and its consequences. Do not be deceived. Computer technology has leaped into the future at the speed of light – literally.

LiveScience.com has an article about a computer that can foresee the future – all 16 possibilities![1] What staggers mariner’s mind is that data is stored on qubits – a subatomic particle. A quick reference: in the beginning, data was stored by carving into stone; then data was stored on paper by printing presses; then data was stored on tape; then data was stored on disks, all this time leveraging the computer base 2 language of zero and one; then data was stored on magnetic switches; now data is stored on subatomic particles that can be divided and manipulated to predict future events. There is no way mariner can convey how tiny a qubit is.

Without confusing things by discussing quantum mechanics – a valid science that has nothing to do with our sense of reality – mariner will fall back onto Schroeder’s cat. Imagine a cat in a sealed box. Is the cat alive? Yes. Is the cat dead? Yes. As a state of factual reality, alive and dead are both equally true at the same time. It isn’t until one opens the box and measures the situation that alive or dead – it could be either – is true.

If one is truly careful and can open the box with different versions of historical evidence, one can predetermine whether the cat is alive or dead. Hence, foretelling the future. The computer scientists in the article are able to present four variables to the qubit that modify its responses for future processing into sixteen different futures.

Forget history class; take future class.

Ancient Mariner

[1] https://www.livescience.com/65271-quantum-computer-sees-16-futures.html?utm_source=lst-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20190419-lst

What can we do about the Base?

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The concept of a political whole has existed since Thucydides described the Peloponnesian War. In those days, a political whole was necessary to provide armies for war. Today, a political whole is the same as flour in a bread recipe: it holds a nation together despite endless differences in politics, society, technology, religion, economics, international treaties and the state of the planet itself – all part of the same recipe.

A way to feel the presence of a unified political whole, or unified nation, is to feel national pride. Remember in the old days when the phrase ‘I am an American’ was spoken with sincerity? An obligated feeling is to believe that each individual is America. America is each individual. Joined at the hip to use an old phrase. Alas, today the recipe isn’t working; the bread collapses into useless crumbs and bad tasting pieces.

Throughout history when change was in the air, in fact overdue, the idea of a unified nation no longer sufficed. Populist groups rose in rebellion; today we call it ‘identity politics’ and there are fractious campaigns across the board involving abusive class practices, abusive racial practices, abusive sexual practices, abusive economic practices, abusive corporate practices, political party elitism, and too frequently, a relapse into less than moral respect for the nation itself. The Base is among this list of entities. Why?

Mariner points to the over-capitalization of the US given that its resources have shrunk over time – from that time when an entire virgin continent was at hand to let capitalism generate the profits that it can generate so quickly. But in this century especially, there isn’t enough continent to go around and capitalism still reigns as the economic philosophy. Given less resources, those who garner wealth continue to maintain profits while the common citizen collects less and less over time until things obviously are unbalanced and unfair. The time has come that the common citizen knows their children will be economically disadvantaged.

The common citizen points their finger at Federal and state governments that have let this happen. It is a serious issue; savoir faire does not apply. The election of Donald, a pompous bully who is destructive, is not an issue with the Base. His job is to bring down an unsympathetic government – no love lost.

There are just a few ways a citizen can share profits derived from the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP):

Investment – For those citizens and corporations that have ‘extra’ cash above normal living and operating expenses, the cash is invested in things like stocks and bonds and various funds or it is invested in business expansion. Today there are some new wrinkles in capitalization; antitrust laws are ignored so very large companies can supersize themselves to sustain market value and increase profits; investment has become an international reality and significant percentages of money are not reinvested in US interests but invested overseas. Having little or no extra cash, the Base does not participate in profit by investment.

Wage and benefit negotiation – At the beginning of the 1900s, there were some bloody clashes and major destruction as laborers fought to unionize. Today, at the beginning of the 2000s, unions have been outlawed to the point of not being a significant influence in corporate decisions about wages and benefits. Employers can now treat wages as a static overhead regardless of profits. Consequently, the Base is shut out from GDP profits with a net effect of underfinanced retirement. Another side effect is minimum wage; plutocratic influence in governments has pushed against increases even to levels of viability.

Taxation – It is common knowledge today that the tax tables are upside down. As a percentage of income, low income citizens are taxed at severe percentages while wealth in all its forms is virtually tax free. Further, corporations no longer are bound to one government’s tax laws and are able to avoid taxes of any kind. The Base feels it is paying an unfair share of taxes for a government that caters to the plutocracy instead of the tax-paying workers.

Discretionary Programs – Programs in the government’s budget that are beneficial to citizens in general, e.g., health, welfare, social security, worker’s compensation, support for the indigent, and equal treatment programs; add in public education. The Affordable Care Act is the first major program to be added since the Civil Rights Act in 1957 and Medicare/Medicaid in 1965. In the 1990s, the health industry became a profit taking industry; the cost of health services was no longer based on cost plus a margin, it became based on what the market would bear. This increased health insurance significantly; copays increased and many health services opted out of Medicaid and Medicare, forcing citizens to pay huge bills for special services and prescriptions. Major detractors of discretionary programs are Libertarians and conservative parts of the Republican Party. The Base feels that governments are ignoring their needs.

A paragraph must be dedicated to the screwy results of the 2016 election. When surveying Republicans, Donald has 70% of the GOP. When surveying the general population, Donald has 40%. The 40% represents Donald’s Base; the other 30% is the GOP faithful. Unfortunately, Hillary was in the crosshairs of history: the whole Bill thing, the Whitewater thing, the female thing, the Establishment thing – the crossover to vote republican was just enough for the Base to switch to Donald. The irrational Electoral College didn’t help either. Ironically, Hillary won by 4 million votes and in 2018 the Democratic Party rose like a tsunami to take control of the House of Representatives. But Donald, running republican, took the day. Mariner feels sorry for the Base in that they elected the personality they wanted but not the party they wanted.

So what can we do about the Base? Fear feeds populism. The Base feels threatened on every side. Salaries are inadequate; retirement is uncertain; automation eliminates jobs every day; upward mobility is denied (college costs, forced layoff around the age of 50, rising house prices, etc.), governments are awash in plutocracy, children can’t afford to move out and on and on.
Mariner isn’t touting either party these days; government is totally dysfunctional whether Democrat or Republican. Still, the Green New Deal may expand the necessary workforce – especially for the working class; retooled discretionary programs, including the expense of college, may help around the edges of life; the idea of a dole to every citizen may rebalance income conditions especially for the poor and elderly; universal medical coverage may ease the life of just about everyone. It seems that the Democrats need specifically to invite the Base back to their party for 2020. A lot hangs on who the presidential nominee will be.

Ancient Mariner

Being Real

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[“Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’

‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.

‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’

‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’

‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit.]

From the Atlantic:

 Can We Touch?

Physical contact remains vital to health, even as we do less of it. The rules of engagement aren’t necessarily changing—they’re just starting to be heard.

James Hamlin, April 10, 2019

֎  Today’s post largely is a number of excerpts from James Hamlin’s article. Regular readers know that mariner is skeptical about modern technology, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI) which is cleaving human behavior away from interpersonal touching, hugging, conversation, and deliberate sharing of the intimate space – a column of space that extends about a foot from the body. Several studies are presented that show a human is dependent on touching and hugging not only for social acceptance but for healthy bodies and emotional development. Brackets [ ] encompass quoted material.

[ Tiffany Field has spent decades trying to get people to touch one another more.

Her efforts started with premature babies, when she found that basic human touch led them to quickly gain weight. An initial small study, published in the journal Pediatrics in 1986, showed that just 10 days of “body stroking and passive movements of the limbs” for less than an hour led babies to grow 47 percent faster. They averaged fewer days in the hospital and accrued $3,000 less in medical bills. The effect has been replicated multiple times.

Field, a developmental psychologist by training, went on to found the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. She was a pioneer in highlighting the effects of “touch deprivation” among kids, famously those in orphanages. She explained to me that the effects are pervasive, influencing so many bodily systems that kids are diagnosed with “failure to thrive,” resulting in permanent physical and cognitive impairment, smaller stature, and social withdrawal later in life—which often includes aversion to physical contact. ]

       

      

   

֎ It is beyond question that hugging, touching, kissing, caressing, and many other intimate reinforcements are a biological requirement in primates – in fact all mammals require to some degree feelings of value, justification, affection, friendship, bonding, celebration and love.

[ Physical touch doesn’t make adults larger, but its effects are still coming to light. Field has published similar findings about the benefits of touch in full-term infants, and then children and pregnant women, adults with chronic pain, and people in retirement homes. Studies that involved as little as 15 daily minutes found that touch alone, even devoid of the other supportive qualities it usually signifies, seems to have myriad benefits.

The hug, specifically, has been repeatedly linked to good health. In a more recent study that made headlines about hugs helping the immune system, researchers led by the psychologist Sheldon Cohen at Carnegie Mellon University isolated 400 people in a hotel and exposed them to a cold virus. People who had supportive social interactions had fewer and less severe symptoms. Physical touch (specifically hugging) seemed to account for about a third of that effect. (The researchers conclude: “These data suggest that hugging may act as an effective means of conveying support.”) Cohen and his colleagues continued to show other health benefits of physical contact, such as a 2018 reveal in the journal PLOS titled “Receiving a Hug Is Associated With the Attenuation of Negative Mood That Occurs on Days With Interpersonal Conflict.” ]

֎ Everything mentioned to this point is critical to a healthy, mature sense of self. But there is another level of reality. Culture comes from human interaction; who we are among ourselves in a world of 7.7 billion people is reality. There is no way to identify and manage reality except through human interaction. Smartphones and iPads and computers are not reality. Let them take control and there will be no reality save ‘the cloud.’ Shades of “The Matrix”. We should have learned this on television: the fun parties in beer commercials are not real.

Reality comes from interaction with other people. The degree to which data mining distracts us from reality is damaging. Stop just to reinforce a friendship and hug them will enforce cultural reality. Giving the thumb a workout is time away from reality.

Ancient Mariner

 

When Migration becomes Immigration

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In a recent post, mariner and Guru discussed migration. It was determined that migration is no more than a choice of action. One chooses migration because they can. There are many, many reasons that provoke the decision to migrate. The vast majority, however, would rather not have to choose migration. Migration is not class-specific; rich people migrate; opportunists migrate; poor people migrate; young people migrate; old people migrate; starving and life-threatened people migrate. Interestingly, the Internet is a new travel route for political motives and corporate investment – both forms of migration.

In this post, however, mariner and Guru explore the other side of the coin – immigration.

– – – –

Migration is replaced by the word ‘immigration’ when nationalism confronts the emigrant’s decision. An emigrant’s desire to migrate to another nation is no longer the deciding factor. Rather, it is the receiving nation that determines whether entrance is acceptable.

For obvious reasons across a range of issues, nations are obligated to have standards for immigration. Economic stability and military security clearly are good reasons to have standards for immigration; illegitimate practices in international commerce, black market products, diseases and animal/plant/insect controls are good reasons to check who and what comes and goes across a national border. Troublesome social issues like slave trade, drugs, and persons intent on criminal behavior also are a concern.

As a procedural relationship, migration and immigration work well. There are procedures in the nation of departure for applying for entry which match closely the standards set by the receiving nation. One cannot forget that government oversight and civil management are required in both nations for the procedural relationship to occur.

Successful immigration is similar to purchasing a plane ticket, passing through airport security and boarding the plane – all before one can depart the initial location. The immigration struggles that have become worse around the world during the twenty-first century will become more troublesome as the world changes on many fronts. In virtually every troublesome case, the decision to migrate starts in a nation that has no government oversight, no civility, and to cite the analogy, no airport.

The typical reaction of most nations is to confront excessive migrants at the border after the migration has been accomplished. Taking a cue from the immigration procedure when it works correctly, the emigrant should qualify at the beginning, not at the end. Mass migrations have legitimate cause to leave nations at war, starving, with collapsed economies and management by murderous gangs, residency applications notwithstanding.

Mariner has more to learn before he can foresee a solution to the global migration issue. Being global and being international, it seems an organization similar to the United Nations would be the only comprehensive enforcement agent to take the pressure off national immigration services and push residency applications back to the nation of departure.

Pulling a process out of the air, perhaps the UN would manage humane immigration at the front end, filling out forms, etc. This would require all nations to agree to the UN’s screening. While nations still have the last say, the experience at the border may flow better.

OBSERVATION SECTION

[Politico] HOW MUCH THE BANKS ON THE HILL TODAY SPENT ON LOBBYING: The chief executives of seven major bank and investment firms — Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and State Street Corporation — arrived on the Hill this morning to testify before the House Financial Services Committee. As you might expect, all of them have a presence in Washington.

The seven companies together spent $14.8 million on Washington lobbying last year, according to disclosure filings. Citigroup spent the most, at $4.5 million; State Street spent the least, at $1.5 million. All of them also have active corporate PACs that give to members of Congress — including, of course, members of the committee.

–> Be honest. Is your vote 100% influential? Is it $10,000 for each representative or is it one person, one vote?

This is just the banks . . . The term for this form of government is plutocracy or corporatocracy. Certainly not democracy.

– – – –

[538] $1,535 rent

Driven by millennials’ demand, job growth and rising wages, the median rent in the U.S. rose 3.4 percent in March compared to the year before, according to data from the online rental housing site HotPads. It’s now $1,535 a month. Phoenix was the big “winner,” where the median rent rose 6.7 percent to $1,520. The median rent in New York, on the other hand, ticked up just 1.5 percent — to $2,380. [Associated Press]

–> It’s good news that citizens are finding somewhere to work. The rent statistics show that the unemployment record doesn’t tell the whole story. Salaries have a long way to go before they return to realistic levels. The other implication derived from the high rents is that the US faces a growing housing issue.

Ancient Mariner

Why Migration

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Mariner had a closed door conversation with Guru. Amos wasn’t invited because he is deeply affected by the Donald reality. Mariner doesn’t know where Chicken Little is hiding due to the Russian military arriving in Venezuela.

Guru and mariner delved into the broader ramifications of the migration issue. They had to have some distance from the ravaging of the issue by Donald; his leadership is inadequate and he cannot process socio-political evolution.

As always in a discussion with Guru, the question of ‘why’ had to be answered first. Mariner started with some statistics to determine the scope of the issue:

  • Worldwide, there is an estimated 191 million immigrants;
  • The last 50 years has seen an almost doubling of immigration;
  • 115 million immigrants live in developed countries;
  • 20% (approximately 38 million) live in the US alone, making up 13% of its population;
  • 33% of all immigrants live in Europe;
  • 75% live in just 28 countries;
  • Women constitute approximately half of all migrants at around 95 million;

Between 1990 and 2005 ◦There were 36 million migrations (an average of approximately 2.4 million per year);
◦33 million wound up in industrialized countries;
◦75% of the increases occurred in just 17 countries;
◦Immigration decreased in 72 countries in the same period;[1]

An interesting factoid from PewResearch.org is that the Mexico-to-U.S. link is the most popular bilateral migration path in the world. As of 2013, more Mexican immigrants (13 million) were living in the U.S. than all immigrants to Russia combined (11 million). Russia has the second largest number of total foreign-born residents, after the United States, which has a total foreign-born population of about 46 million.

Also from Pew Research, Countries with the fewest resources send lower shares of migrants. Although international migration is intrinsically tied with the search for jobs, people in the most impoverished countries may not have the money to finance a trip. The Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Niger – countries with some of the lowest U.N. Human Development Index ratings and GDP per capita – all have less than 3% of their population living outside their borders.

Then mariner and Guru focused on why migration happens. The first notable migration was the one 80-100 thousand years ago from Africa into the Middle East and Europe. A popular theory among paleontologists is simply that Homo sapiens, like any species, migrated because it could. Mariner is reminded of the French who have a larger percentage of citizens living around the world than any other nation. There must be a statistic somewhere that describes the high rate of citizen relocation within the US – just because they can. Some years ago, there was a statistic that said Americans move an average of every five years – for various reasons of course – but the bottom line is because they can. The first reason migration occurs: because it can.

Competing for the second reason for migration are economic hardship/opportunity, religious freedom, education, family ties, tyranny and war, famine and disease, and whimsy. All these reasons, save whimsy, can be listed in two groups of migrants: political reasons and economic reasons; the overlap is significant.

Lest one dismiss whimsy lightly, the migrations to the Caribbean, Central America and the South Pacific affect local political and economic circumstances in those regions. Years ago mariner sailed the islands of the Caribbean when virtually every island had a unique culture and distinctive value. In less than ten years, big time commercialism wiped out the colorful, fragile and balanced nature of these islands.

Another top-down migration occurred in Puerto Rico in the early 2000s when billionaires seeking to reduce taxes bought all the good shoreline and built magnificent castles they called ‘resorts.’ This in no way benefited the Puerto Rican economy and put out of reach the better shorelines that Puerto Rico could have leveraged.

Corporations migrate as well and are pushing the world economies into a new age of international finance. And, oddly, the Internet allows migration without ever leaving in the first place but, as the 2018 US election proved, Russian political influence affected US politics as much as a cruise ship docking at a small island in the Caribbean – without ever leaving Russia.

Given the discourse above, whether hardship or whimsy, migration happens because it can. The next post will look at migration from the opposite side, immigration.

Ancient Mariner

 

[1] http://www.globalissues.org/article/537/immigration#Whydopeopleemigrate