Tag: Theodore Roosevelt

Domestic Policy, Environment

Some Good News from Washington

Bob Claude |
Visitors on the boardwalk at Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park

https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/blogs/conservationist/whats-the-big-deal-about-the-great-american-outdoors-act/

Theodore Roosevelt was probably smiling yesterday when President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act, one of the most important pieces of conservation legislation of the last decade. Despite all the partisan wrangling we hear about, Congress and the president came together to provide $2.4 billion per year for needed repairs and maintenance of the national parks and forests and other public lands. Even better, it accomplishes this without any new taxpayer dollars.

First, the bill guarantees money for park infrastructure from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is funded by a portion of the royalties from federal offshore oil & gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf. Congress shamefully raided the LWCF over the past 52 years to fund other projects in the hope the American people wouldn’t notice the decline in the state of the parks.  Now the $900 million destined for the fund will be protected and dedicated to preserve access and improve our parks and public lands.  The bill then supplements this with up to another $1.3 billion per year funded from other federal offshore energy resources.  The attached summary by Field and Stream Magazine details the changes and why they are so important.

I am lucky to live only one hour from beautiful Yellowstone National Park and frequently visit to fish and hike. It has been heartening to see so many American families using their vacations to enjoy its sights and connect with the land and resources that Theodore Roosevelt helped preserve for them. Unfortunately, you can also see the results of the past failure to maintain the campsites, trails and other visitor facilities.   These new funds will help keep the parks and our other public lands accessible, enjoyable and affordable – something we all can celebrate!

Domestic Policy, Immigration

Black (and all American’s) Lives and Futures Matter

Bob Claude |

I am for the square deal. But when I say am for the square deal, I mean not merely that I stand for fair play under the present rules of the game, but that I stand for having those rules changed so as to work for a more substantial equality of opportunity and of reward for equally good service.

Theodore Roosevelt, The New Nationalism, August 31, 1910

If the protests over George Floyd’s death and racial inequity are to mean anything, they must result in concrete and measurable improvements in the lives of disadvantaged communities. As corporate leaders try to virtue-signal their way past these changes, globalist elites are coming up with convenient excuses to avoid them such as this CNN article.  It disingenuously states that, since the world’s population will peak before the end of the century, America needs to continue its relaxed immigration policies.  It glosses over the fact that the population will continue to increase for the remainder of this century and so will drive more cheap immigrant workers here in the foreseeable future. It essentially accepts high economic inequality as a cost of a strong economy.  At best, this is another example of Wall Street’s short-term thinking and, at worst, simply a way to continue exploiting the current system for personal profit.

 A better way is highlighted in a CNBC interview of African-American investor Jim Reynolds highlighted in Alan Tonelson’s RealityChek weblog. See the July 12 entry on Alan’s blog for more. It points out that, if those companies stopped importing H1B visa technical workers and started developing and investing in students and workers here at home, they would create more opportunities for minority workers.  Indeed, this would apply to all Americans, regardless of race, creed or color.  Of course, this would require real money and effort from those companies, not just a well-worded press release.

Theodore Roosevelt knew that America could not be strong unless its people were strong and our people could not be strong unless they were given a “square deal” by our economy. It is a principle that is colorblind, and also a threat to the privileged few.  Changing our current immigration system is a critical element to achieving it for the average American.   

Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Domestic Policy, International Trade

Building American National Security and Good Jobs

Bob Claude |
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/how-to-change-the-rules-of-trade-to-bring-manufacturing-home/

No [tariff] duty should be permitted to stand as regards any industry unless the workers receive their full share of the benefits of that duty. In other words, there is no warrant for protection unless a legitimate share of the benefits get into the pay envelope of the wage-worker.

Acceptance  Speech to the Progressive Party Convention, August 6, 1912

Reshoring manufacturing and vital supply chains after decades of neglect was always going to be a difficult process.   This article is a good primer on how to do it and the kinds of issues that must be addressed to harden our economy against shocks like COVID-19.  Trade agreements that prevent us from favoring local production may have to be abrogated and domestic policies that empower workers will be necessary to prevent the benefits from flowing primarily to Wall Street rather than workers.  The article also proposes some radical changes in labor relations to achieve this goal, but minimizes or misses two other necessary policy changes. 

We learned in the aftermath of FDR’s New Deal that protected industries can easily slide into anti-competitive practices that create monopolies.  The article advocates direct regulation rather than reviving antitrust laws to prevent this, which was actually the approach TR took in his New Nationalism speech in 1913. However, the 2008 financial crisis showed us behind-the-scenes regulation can be captured and then neutered by the very industries it is trying to control.  New and robust antitrust laws enforceable in the courts would add transparency to the process of controlling this market power.

The article also fails to mention the importance of education and training.  As the author points out, the jobs of the future will require high-level technical skills to create the kind of superior products that command correspondingly high salaries. All levels of government should increase their support for the community colleges and quality vocational tech schools that will be required to provide the necessary training.  In the end, our education system and employers will need to develop lifelong learning mechanisms to keep American workers competitive with the rest of the world’s workers. 

Americans have the talent. They just need a government that will give them the skills and the opportunity to succeed.