It is becoming more obvious that the priorities of many key elected officials, on the federal, state and local levels, bear little resemblance to those of the American people. If one excludes left-wing politicians, journalists and academics, it is clear that eliminating gas stoves and fossil fuels, defunding the police, building bridges to nowhere, providing benefits to illegal aliens and forcing drivers into electric cars is of much concern.
In a 2022 Pew Research survey, climate change came in at a weak number 14 in a list of concerns. Yet that appears to be a central motivating factor of the Biden White House. Racial equity appeared nowhere in a list of the top 18 issues—possibly because there is not a single law, regulation, or rule that in any way shape or form that in any way permits racism, nor is there any practice in corporations throughout the nation that is racist, except in the fevered imagination of candidates seeking to gain radicalized votes.
On the state and local level, a similar divorce from the concerns of the citizenry exists. Crime, excess taxation and regulation, and failing schools are key problems, but elected officials, particularly in “blue” states, haven’t gotten the message.
New York is a deep blue state beset by all those issues. As the legislature convened in 2023, among the first measures it concentrated on were “human composting” ( a process in which a human’s corpse is combined with items such as woodchips, heated, and then used to grow plants.) and giving themselves a 29% raise over their salary of $110,000.
The state’s citizenry has voted with their feet, leaving in record numbers.
In California, where the threats of electric brownouts are a constant presence and where homeless individuals and crime make its once proud cities resemble Dante’s inner circle of hell, Governor Newsome concentrates on driving gas cars out of existence and a host of woke issues. Like New York, his population also is leaving in massive numbers.
A 2022 PBS report notes that “Concerns about inflation and personal finances have surged…Forty percent of U.S. adults specifically name inflation in an open-ended question as one of up to five priorities for the government to work on in the next year, according to a June poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s a sharp rise from 14 percent in December and less than 1 percent the year prior. In all, 77 percent mention the economy in any way, up from 68 percent in December. But just 10 percent specifically mention jobs or unemployment, as U.S. employers continue to hire despite high inflation and weak economic growth. Now, too, Americans increasingly call their personal finances a major issue: 44 percent mention it, up from 24 percent in December and 12 percent the year before. That includes more mentioning gas or energy prices (33 percent now vs. 10 percent in December) and food costs (9 percent vs. less than 1 percent).”
Throughout the nation, no priority popular with elites but despised by the population is more evident than the politicization and radicalization of education. While spending taxpayer funds that produce more financial support than almost all industrialized nations, the results in basic competence in key subjects has declined precipitously. Reading, writing, sciences, and history are shortchanged as left-wing indoctrination, woke ideas, and attempts to gain the votes of union pofficials gain time and resources. COVID funds meant to address students needs were waylaid.
Centersquare reports that “Chicago Public Schools spent 77% of the $1.49 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money on employees’ salaries and benefits and the district has seen ’extra pay’ skyrocket during the pandemic, according to a 2023 report from the district’s Office of Inspector General.”
Politicians gained union help for their campaigns, at the expense of students. Another in a long litany of putting their priorities ahead of their constituents.
Illustration: Pixabay