#202 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Monday November 22)
Good morning!
Some Monday meanderings…
I have waited a while to let the lessons of the Virginia gubernatorial race sink in before opining about its longer-term impact. Here are my takeaways, with lessons both for Republicans and Democrats:
No one wants to be called a racist. Why does the left feel the need to label everyone as part of the “white supremacy,” calling them names, and instilling guilt (or, worse, resentment) before talking to them? The corollary is a seeming desire to define American history as solely (and uniquely) the story of oppression does little to impart support amongst a population that still has pride in the many accomplishments of this country. There is a balance.
McAuliffe didn’t understand that parents actually care about what’s taught to their children. But parents do care. Many are upset with the “erasure” of America’s heroes. Some believe we are crossing the line between teaching of America’s shortfalls and racial inequities, and learning from them, toward indoctrination to a single way of thinking about the world. It seems that it’s okay to teach about racism and negatives; provided positives that one can be proud of also are taught.
Youngkin figured out how to distance himself from Trump and make the election local, rather than national. McAuliffe tried to make this a national election—but Virginians didn’t want to debate the 2020 election over again.
Democrats ran on an “anti-Trump” mantra, while they had not yet passed President Biden’s key initiatives. So even though they could claim Trump did little (and, in fact, caused harm), they had a year of showing few accomplishments, all while fighting amongst themselves,.
Republicans should note that Trump isn’t needed to win elections. Youngkin did everything he reasonably could to distance himself from Mr. Trump. And it worked. Perhaps this is the first chink in the “always Trump, all the time” mantra of the current Republican party.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE AND WILL START AFFECTING PROPERTY VALUES AND INSURANCE COSTS
I was on a call the other day discussing climate events and how they will affect real estate, its valuation, usage and cost of ownership. Obviously, there are more weather events and property damage. Coupled with this, not surprisingly, is the significant increase in the cost of insurance.
One chart that stood out to me was extreme storms, collated by decade. In the 80s there were 25, the 90s there were 45, the 00s brought 60 such events and the 20s are a whopping 120. There is an explanation for this and, notwithstanding the climate change deniers, we are contributing to this material increase in events. The same relative increase is being seen in wildfires in the west.
GIFTED PROGRAMS
Why is New York contemplating getting rid of gifted programs? The idea of “leveling the playing field” is an attractive draw in addressing inequities in education and between school districts. I have always felt, however, that we must continue both to provide the necessary accelerated learning needed by those who are excelling academically, while at the same time increasing the number of students qualifying for that cohort. Let’s try to pull up those who are not as successful at school, rather than getting rid of programs that can educate kids who are.
Andrew Yang, one of the biggest thinkers in our current political environment, suggests modifying New York’s current test system. That system differentiates students at the kindergarten level. He suggests creating “multiple entry points” for kids who, while not necessarily demonstrating proficiency at that tender age, are able to move into these programs in later years. Basically, offer more opportunities for more kids at more times during their intellectual, cognitive and emotional development.
Plus, why not just increase these classes by 5% each in size, with the additional students being the best students from minority-predominant schools who didn’t quite make the cut? In this way, the programs continue, those qualified aren’t denied and those with some promise (and perhaps greater risk of success) can get in and change their lives and perhaps ours.
Have a great day,
Glenn
From the archives: