The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today

Best and worst states in the U.S. for women

What is the best state for women? Massachussetts.

What is the worst state for women? Louisianna

 

What motivates people to vote? "Negative partisanship."

While Democrats flipped 40 Republican held House seats in 2018 ousting 31 Republican incumbents, can Democrats do the same in the Senate in 2020? They can if enough Democrats and Democrat leaning Independents come out to vote.

Who needs to vote for the Democrats to prevail? 18 - 49 year olds.

What will it take to get young Democrats out to vote: the fear of a Republican victory which will destroy democracy and the issues they hold dear.

According to Rachel Bitecofer in her article, "Fear Factor," in the March 2020 issue of the New Republic, the biggest motivator for voting is what she calls "negative partisanship."

And what drives people to vote? For many voters, especially intermittent or newly engaged ones (i.e., people activated by the election of a new president), negative partisanship is a critical factor. And due to the polarizing logic of the present electoral landscape, it’s easy to behold the power of negative partisanship nearly everywhere—in news cycles, social media feeds, campaign debates, and impeachment proceedings. But for ordinary voters, negative partisanship chiefly follows the threat response they register in reaction to the opposition party’s control of government.

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America was never a democracy

One of things that is dysfunctional about American politics is the senatorial system which allows 30% of Americans to elect 70 percent of the 100 U.S. senators who control the legislative branch.

Source: The New Republic, March, 2020, page 17

Markhams Slow News Index - heatlh insurance statistics

MarkhamsSlowNews index

• Percentage American family's health care premiums have gone up over past decade = 54%
• Number of American families who file for bankruptcy every year because of medical bills = 530,000
• Percentage of Americans who support Medicare for all = 70%
• Amount of money Medicare for all would save in health care spending over first decade = $5.1 Trillion
• Amount of money health insurance companies spent lobbying congress last year = $117 million

Source, The New Republic, March, 2020, p.8

Policy plans to lift poor children out of poverty

From The Nation, 02/10/20

This December there was an overlooked Christmas miracle: Two senators announced a bipartisan proposal that wasn’t terrible. Mitt Romney (R-UT) teamed up with Michael Bennet (D-CO) to endorse an expansion of the child tax credit. Crucially, the bill includes something essential to the economic security of families: a child allowance. 

For more click here.

Editor's note:

There has been such a media focus on impeachment and the democrat party horse race that news about policy issues often is buried if reported at all. Check out this short article about proposals for a child allowance to help live poor children in the U.S. out of poverty.

74% of guns in New York State crimes are purchased out of state

I received this from New Yorkers Against Gun Violence on 02/04/20

Click to enlarge.