Democratic Perspective

Saving Social Security From Donald Trump And The GOP. Democratic Perspective welcomes back Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. He begins by noting that, for the first time in its history, the board of his organization voted to endorse a candidate for president – Joe Biden. The reason, he explains, is because of the danger Donald Trump poses to Social Security. He has already proposed nearly a trillion dollars in cuts to Social Security and Medicare. And Richtman notes, Trump has promised to permanently eliminate the payroll tax and fund the program out of the general budget. That would almost certainly cause Social Security to run out of money in a couple of years. “He either doesn’t understand how Social Security is funded” says Richtman. “Or he doesn’t care. Or it’s both.”

Richtman goes on to say that a lot of people don’t understand that the payroll tax funds the Social Security program. “I think a better way to explain it,” he says, “is that the payroll tax really is an insurance payment.” He points out that FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contribution Act. As a result, he emphasizes, “Social Security is not an entitlement. It’s an earned benefit.”

Focus On Accountability. Democratic Perspective welcomes Felicia French, LD6 candidate for the Arizona State Senate. French is a veteran of the Army and the Arizona National Guard serving as a nurse and reaching the rank of full colonel. During her 32-year career, she served as a commander for seven years and earned the Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star, two Humanitarian Service Medals, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Expert Field Medical Badge.

Even after her retirement, French has continued to serve the public as a volunteer with the Civil Air Patrol, Tonto Rim Search and Rescue, Community Emergency Response Team, and Sierra Club. As a nurse, she has also volunteered with hospice military veterans, disaster relief efforts in the Bahamas, and most recently with the Navajo Nation.

It is in that same spirit of public service, French is running for public office. Her top issue is accountability, especially fiscal accountability. Other issues French considers priorities are making affordable quality healthcare available to all Arizonans, improving public education, protecting scarce water resources, and expanding the availability of broadband.

On the latter issue, she notes, “Twenty-two percent of Arizona does not have broadband.” She explains that expanding broadband could have a huge impact on education in the age of Covid-19, as well as making telemedicine more available, in addition to helping small businesses. “Expanding access throughout the state is a win, win, win,” she says.

Previewing The Presidential Election. Three of the Democratic Perspective contributors analyze the upcoming election. Steve Williamson discusses the possibilities of Arizona turning blue in November. Klaus von Stutterheim discusses the various scenarios of what could happen if the election is close or the outcome is unclear, as well as what could happen if Trump narrowly loses but refuses to leave. And Gary LaMaster discusses the situation in Minnesota which has been targeted as a key swing state by the Trump campaign after losing the state by only 2 percentage points to Hillary Clinton in 2016.

One Nation Indivisible Against Trump. Democratic Perspective welcomes Sharli Schaitberger, a member of the steering committee for Indivisible Arizona in Phoenix. She recalls that Indivisible was begun by a couple of former congressional staffers who wrote a guide to help counter Trump. It took off after the 2016 election. By early 2017, before Trump was even inaugurated, there were thousands of volunteers for Indivisible nationwide.

Schaitberger notes it was a grassroots organization that grew from the bottom up, saying, “At first it was just friends who gathered in their living rooms. The began by showing up at representative’s town halls and asking questions. The group now numbers more than a million members nationwide and about 400 in Phoenix of which about 40 are very active.

Given the increasing number of lies from Trump, Schaitberger reports that Indivisible has formed a truth brigade. “We use every way possible to put out the truth,” she says. “We’re continuing to send letters and make phone calls. She also says, “We send postcards to voters,” noting that most of the postcards are to get people to sign up to vote.

To learn more about Indivisible and to find a chapter near you, visit Indivisible.org. You can also check out the new book, We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint For Democracy After Trump.

Future Of The Verde River. There’s a saying in the American West that whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting. The issue is especially acute in the Arizona desert. To discuss the current and long-term availability of our most important resource, Democratic Perspective welcomes Tom Whitmer who, as Cottonwood Utilities Director, manages the city’s Water Resources division.

Whitmer is a fourth-generation Arizonan who has worked in the water industry for more than 30 years for companies such as the Salt River Project, Santa Cruz Valley Water District, Imperial Irrigation District, International Environmental Solutions, Troy Biosciences, and the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). In his current position, he is responsible for ensuring the sustainability of water supplies for the City of Cottonwood while preserving baseflow in the Verde River. Given that Arizona is facing new development, a mega drought, and climate change, he offers a surprisingly optimistic and positive outlook.