This week a California judge struck down a law that required public companies in the state to have at least 1 woman on their Board, with larger Boards required to have 2-3 women. The law was enacted in 2019. Of course, the Superior Court judge ruled the law was unconstitutional as it violates the “equal protection under the law” clause by mandating gender-based quotas.
When the law was enacted in 2019, the governor said he knew the law was “on shaky ground” but he got bullied by the #MeToo movement. It took 3 years for the courts to decide. Another huge waste of taxpayers’ money. From 2019 to this week, the law imposed huge fines ($100,000 to $300,000) on companies that failed to meet the quotas. Another waste of money!
Company Board members play a significant role bringing governance, industry expertise, ethics oversight, financial stewardship, personal connections and influence, and strategic skills to the company. These positions are extremely critical to a successful company. Gender should never be the determining factor for appointment to the Board.
Many women are qualified to serve on company boards and should be selected based on the factors stated above. Gender is not on the list.
Across the globe and throughout history as far back as the Roman Empire and Genghis Khan (1200AD) law and order has played an important role. The common denominator in every prosperous country is law and order. Trust in the legal system allows businesses to grow.
If a country, province, state, or even a city does not have laws to protect persons and property the economy will not get established. Private property will not be recognized and thus can be looted, stolen, destroyed, or taken over by the government. There will not be any reason to work hard and create goods or services if that output is not the property of those who worked for it!
Investors will not loan money to entrepreneurs with creative ideas if those investments are not protected by law. Businesses always start small and grow as money becomes available to expand. If there is no private property protected by laws, then there is no collateral. Investors will not be protected with liens.
Growing businesses create goods and services for the general public, often making life better. Businesses pay taxes which are used to provide services to the people. And-businesses provide jobs! The economy at every level is just a collection of transactions between producers and consumers. Goods to sell to those with money. Those simple transactions must be protected by laws.
Currently, there are many Third World countries without laws to protect citizens and property rights. This is the fundamental reason these countries are poor. There are 55 countries in Africa, many with vast natural resources but most are very poor. Government corruption, despotic leaders, lack of law and order are the reasons these countries are poor. Most citizens of these poor countries work “off the books” in jobs not recognized by any legal system. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is larger than France and has vast natural resources, yet its GDP is $47 billion, compared to $2.778 trillion for France. Lack of law and order and government corruption is the reason DRC does not have a prosperous economy.
America has drifted away from a country of strict law and order. Race riots in the 1960’s caused major cities to suffer financially. Many businesses were destroyed and not re-built. Jobs in the cities disappeared. The economy suffered and public services declined. More recently, race riots in 2020 occurred across the US. Thousands of buildings were destroyed Many businesses were lost. Jobs are gone. No taxes to collect which again lead to a decline in public services including schools.
Bail reform and no cash bail policies plus reducing police budgets have led to lawlessness, property damage, theft, personal injury/deaths and population decline in many major cities. Crime rates in these cities are at record highs. This is very bad for the economy, and thus for the tax base which provides services including law enforcement.
A strong economy serves all people. Prosperity creates an improved quality of life. Law and order form the base of any strong economy and has been demonstrated across the globe for 2000+ years.
I believe the US. is in a terrible mess!! And the people are angry, upset, stressed, divided, burdened, scared, and struggling financially. The causes are inflation, crime, illegal immigration, Biden’s policies, a dishonest media, Twitter, war in the Ukraine, and Federal debt. We got in this mess because of many bad ideas and actions by our elected officials. This is my list of bad ideas that got us into this mess:
Open borders allow unvetted, uneducated people into the US. It also allows criminals, guns, drugs, and disease into our country.
De-funding any law enforcement department. We all know crime rises as a result!
Bail reform puts violent criminals back onto the street. Very bad idea!
Teaching sex and gender in public schools. Why?
Declaring roads, trees, parks and buildings as racist! This is crazy!
Allowing people to destroy buildings, cars, stores, statues, etc. during riots. Same with threats of violence, and bodily harm to anyone.
Electing political activists to public office at any level. They are narrow minded, inexperienced, uncompromising, and often very stupid.
Dropping “merit” as a selection criterion for admission to colleges. America needs top talent to survive. The SAT and high school grades have been successfully used in the US for 90+ years. Math is math! Same with English. M.I.T uses the SAT’s.
Cancelling student debt is a bad idea. The middle class will pay the bill. Much of the debt is for medical degrees and law degrees. Hmmm! Biden just wants to buy votes!
America is not systemically racist! If one group of citizens under-performs another group, the causes are often effort, skills, talent, choices, parenting skills, and laziness!
Diversity is a myth. There is absolutely no evidence that a diverse team delivers better results. Does anyone think adding more white players to the NBA team rosters will make the teams more competitive? And not all women or Blacks think alike.
Casual dress Fridays was a bad idea. That led to sloppiness, irreverence, lack of personal discipline, laziness, and lower levels of respect. Sad but true!
Just back from a 10-day vacation to the wonderful island of Jamaica! Ya Mon!
Stayed at the Sandals resort, which was ok, not great! Room AV/AC was not working properly so all clothing got damp. Ugh! Food was average. Wine was Robert Mondavi Twin Oaks, about $8.50/bottle. Below average. I thought lunches were hard to get as most restaurants were crowded and slow. Several times it took 45-50 minutes to get meal.
The servers were very good. Special recognition to Andrewnique, Javel, and Ishmael.
During the stay, we re-connected with a lovely couple from Houston. Young people. It was Karma that their room was next-door. N and V are all class!
The highlight of our stay was meeting a crazy woman from Florida and her tolerant husband. She kept us entertained with her various stories and antics. She adopted one of the resort’s feral cats and allowed the cat to sleep in their bed! B and B were great. I hope we see them again.
Covid testing was required to re-enter the US. The resort provided that service. And Global Entry went well. No waiting!!! Returned to see masses of illegals crossing our southern border without testing. That situation is wrong and very dangerous!
Shiyun Malik Smith is a 23-year-old NFL player from South Carolina. He plays as a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers. Last year, his rookie season, he caught 6 passes for 104 yards. Pitiful! In 2021, he signed a 4-year contract for $3.4 million.
However, in late March, he was arrested for speeding, driving over 80 mph in a 55mph zone. During the arrest, deputies found 49 grams of marijuana in his car and a loaded handgun. Smith did not have a permit for the gun. And any marijuana amount over 28 grams is considered “intent to distribute.” This is a felony charge. Smith is in serious trouble. He could face 3-5 years in prison.
Stop and think! He signed a 4-year contract for about $1million/year. He’s driving recklessly about 20 miles from the Panther’s stadium with marijuana and an illegal gun in his car. How incredibly stupid is that! Shi Smith has embarrassed the Panthers and the fans. And the NFL.
Facing these 3 charges, Smith will probably lose his one chance to play professional football.
This past Sunday, our local newspaper (The Charlotte Fishwrap) published the names of 50,000+ local people and businesses that did not pay their local taxes. The list was 84 full pages long, using a very small font. The list showed names, addresses and amounts owed. Just assuming each person or business owed $500/each, the total unpaid tax bill would be $25 million. And that is just for the current year, it does not count previous years.
So, I had a variety of thoughts regarding these delinquent taxpayers:
$25million is a lot of money that could be used for education, law enforcement, road improvements, and resident services.
Am I a chump for paying my taxes? Ha!
If personal property taxes like DMV are not paid, are these people still driving legally? Have their driver’s licenses been revoked? How can they afford a car but not the $300 tax?
Why isn’t the local government collecting from these people and businesses? What is that process? How hard can it be? Does the local budget “allow” for these delinquent payers?
I guess these people are using local services but not paying for them! The rest of us have to cover their expenses costs.
What % of these past due amounts does the government collect? I’d like to see that amount, and are there repeat offenders? 50,000 people and businesses is a huge number. How does that happen?
At $75,000 per teacher, including benefits, the uncollected amount would cover the employment costs for 357 new teachers!!!!
I say go after these delinquents! Track them down!
Black Lives Matter enough to purchase a $6 million mansion in California!
Will Smith is a “victim. ” Hmmmm! Pundits are saying he has been banned due to racism!
Production for “Fast and Furious 10” starts this month. Hollywood has no imagination!
Hope Solo has been arrested again for violence and resisting arrest. Class act!
Hunter Biden is a stupid, stupid man. Too bad the media covered for him!
Nancy Pelosi has the China virus. Poetic justice at work!
The Parole Board in California is letting violent criminals out of prison to kill people.
Our southern border crisis is about to get worse.
Canceling student debt is a very bad idea. Middle class Americans will pay for that.
Elon Musk is showing his true intelligence again. Damn-he seems right about everything!
Biden needs large print note cards to answer simple questions. He is an embarrassment.
Jen Psaki is leaving the White House…another fool to join MSNBC.
I paid $90 to fill up my gas tank. Hamburger is $7/lb.
The Dollar Store is now $1.25.
Record number of golf rounds being played in the U.S. Young people are not working or golfing while working from home. Tennis courts are also overcrowded!
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the top technical universities in the world. Over the last 25 years, M. I. T. has ranked No.1 in the world in 12 categories of study in the technical field. The university admits about 4% of the applicants each year. Thirty-five thousand students apply for admission each year, only 1400 are admitted.
During the pandemic, M.I. T. suspended the SAT requirement because SAT testing centers were closed or had limited availability. The university admitted 2 classes without the SAT requirement.
This week, M.I.T. announced it is reinstating the SAT requirement. Same with Georgetown, Georgia Tech, University of Florida and the University of Georgia. Others are sure to follow. The Scholastic Aptitude Test (S.A.T.) has been used by American colleges and universities since 1926 (96 years).
Of course, political activists and “social justice” advocates have condemned the SAT’s claiming racial inequality. Blacks score lower on the test. Pressure to drop the test for college admissions has been publicly demanded by many minority groups. Lots of the U.S. major colleges and universities folded under the pressure. Too bad! However, it now appears the mood has shifted.
Everyone knows math and English skills are important at the college level. The SAT is used as a predictor for college success. Period! Math is math. High school grades have been steadily increasing for years. Grade inflation is the term used to describe the phenomenon. High school grading has flaws and varies from school to school.
It does not serve anyone to admit students into college without the prerequisite skills in the name of “social justice.” Many of these placements take the spot of another more qualified and better suited for college study. There is even pressure applied to college professors to “dumb down” the coursework so students will pass. UGH!
The United States needs top technical talent. M.I.T. has taken action to attract, admit, and educate top talent. I hope our other colleges and universities follow that lead!!!
There are too many false articles on the Internet regarding income and racial disparity. Here is the truth!
Education is the key to income. For 200 years in the US and almost all developed countries, people with the best education earn the highest incomes.
Harvard economist, Richard Freeman, compared Black and white families whose homes included newspapers, magazines and library cards and who had the same number of years of schooling. He concluded there was no difference in average income between the two.
In Charlotte, the average income for Black families is lower than white families. That is a fact. However, Black families are 78% single mother families, thus one income. Majority of white families have dual incomes. Both parents work! That alone explains the income gap! It is not racial injustice or oppression.
And-white adults have significantly better education levels than Blacks. Black kids dropout out of high school at higher rates than white kids. But that gap has narrowed. That is great news. Education is the key. Over the last 30 years, Black adults have enrolled in college at lower rates than whites, but recently that gap has narrowed, again good news. There is no racial injustice or oppression. Also:
Research shows that Black women with the same job title as white women earn more income.
College educated women, not married, and without children, and who work full-time earn 10-15% more income than men.
Top celebrities earn 2X the pay of the top CEO”S. Check out Snoop Dog’s income!!!
Often, your income depends on what other people are willing to pay you! I am willing to pay a landscaper $150 to aerate my lawn once a year.
The government is not as efficient in handling other people’s money as is the private sector. In the private sector, mismanagement of financial resources ends in bankruptcy. The US Post Office lost $11 billion in one year! People with merit should get the loans, not people selected by skin color.
I believe there exists huge differences in skills and achievement among people. Skills and achievement create wealth, and this accounts for the disparities in income levels. Regrettably, our current government wrongly believes racial or ethnic oppression is the cause. The data says otherwise.
One last comment: under no circumstances should Black high schools be “war zones” or under-achieving. Black children deserve a fair chance. If I were the Governor of NC, I would “attack” that problem.
Gun ownership is protected by the US Constitution. There are about 200 million guns in the US. The number of guns owned by private citizens started to drastically rise during the Obama years. Same with ammunition. Criminal justice reform scares the hell out of people. Hardened criminals are being released back into our communities.
Violent crime rates are at historic levels in most major cities. Detroit, Houston, St. Louis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Milwaukee, LA, New York, etc. all have record high murder rates. Why? Violent criminals are not being imprisoned. Too many of the murders, car jackings, rapes, etc. are being committed by repeat offenders. Everyone knows that!!!!!
People are scared. They are looking to protect themselves. So, the US is seeing record levels of gun purchases and concealed carry permits. Makes sense to me. Violent crime rates in the US are highest in cities with the strictest gun laws. Chicago has the highest number of murders, yet the tightest gun control laws. UGH!
I believe criminals will always be able to find a gun.
Gun violence is often stopped by people arriving on the scene with guns, law enforcement and/or private citizens. logically, violent crime drops immediately when communities pass laws allowing citizens to carry concealed guns. Just one time I would like to see the national press to cover crimes that were prevented by a private citizen carrying a gun.
Lastly, for many of the recent years, I have noticed that the same national/local leaders that promote “criminal justice reform” and “defunding the police” are also the same people demanding tighter gun controls for private citizens. The result has been historically high crime rates. People are scared!
Postscript-New York City just published guidelines for walking in the city. Some of their “suggestions” are to avoid wear expensive clothing or jewelry in public.
Postscript-2-If our leaders want to control guns in the US, start with closing the southern border.
High Truths and Low Lies 