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In 2016, Bernie Sanders was the President of choice for Humboldt County, winning 70% of the Democratic Primary vote, according to some his highest percentage of support by County, was in the County of Humboldt, who believed in his backwards economic worldview. (1)
A simple understanding of economics makes us informed enough to know that Sanders' ideas are wrong. Socialism leads to shortages, price hikes, rationing of gas and medicine, wealth confiscation and affects specific industries in a particularly damaging way, bringing despair to low income service-based jobs.
Economic ignorance is a serious problem for people of all ages, but I'm concerned the most with our youth. If we are not willing to teach kids the virtues of the free marketplace, we should not be surprised when they start identifying as "socialists." When children grow up into adults that cant balance a checkbook or have a basic understanding of what all the different items being withheld in their paycheck are--we all have a problem.
It's easy to get mad at dumb young people that hold a poorly written message on a sign, sitting near a drive thru or grocery store hoping for a handout. But how much better of a chance could they have had, if at some point during their education, they learned what it takes to win in the marketplace? How to save money at a bank, or invest in stock market, or sell items for a profit on Ebay, or even just help with writing their first resume.
I am a huge fan of education for the betterment of the person because ultimately it uplifts our society. I'm thinking it's time to run a full audit on what we teach the K through 12 classes. Instead of advanced math that many of us won't use, maybe its time for pragmatic courses on banking, home budgeting and basic financial literacy.
Unless you are going to pursue engineering or architecture in college, you don't really need anything above Pre-calculus. I know what I'm saying is going to rub some people the wrong way, but think about it. Every single Bernie Sanders sticker you see on a Humboldt car, is owned by someone that doesn't understand how to win in the marketplace.
This economic ignorance has cost Humboldt County most dearly. I recently discussed some of the large-scale projects that could have been launched in Humboldt, but were scuttled, in some cases, in my opinion, because too many of our neighbors don't understand the need for diverse industry in Humboldt.
Unfinished projects like the Balloon Track still remain, a desolate reminder of what happens when Humboldt agitators insist on stopping progress. Or when Calpine wanted to launch a Liquefied Natural Gas facility(2), they eventually chose to take their business up to Oregon, at Coos Bay instead. Again, the economically ignorant rallied together and ultimately stopped the project
There is news that a new group of stupid is assembling. What's their target? The Large-scale Fish Farm that's looking to invest and setup operations at the old Pulp Mill site. Totally enclosed, zero harm to the environment, a whole bunch of jobs. No no, that's not what we want in Humboldt. Apparently.
Sometimes you and I drive through Eureka, witnessing the high numbers of bums and rough looking buildings and wonder why we can't have nice things? Look at all the Bernie for President bumper stickers and that might be, your first clue!
AFTERTHOUGHT:
Want to learn more about economics so you don't vote for Bernie? Consider signing up for Hillsdale Colleges' online Econ Courses. They are free!
Sources:
(1) https://northcoastpeoplesalliance.org/index.php/blog/page/2/
(2) https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-mar-18-me-eureka18-story.html
