Good news from 2015

Back in October of this year, I began to label some of my blogs "Good news."   Realizing that I was focusing so much on what's wrong with the world, and specifically with our country, and even more specifically with the Republican politicians, I wanted to shift that balance at least a little.    So in just these three months, I have posted 18 good news stories that caught my attention.

There were others throughout the year, before I started labeling them, that could also be put in that category.    Of course, a huge one would be the Supreme Court decision that made marriage equality the law of the 50 states.   Another major SCOTUS decision was upholding the legality of President Obama's subsidies that make the Affordable Care Act possible.

Not a SCOTUS decision, but another very important story was the response by South Carolina's governor and legislature to take down the Confederate Flag that flew over the capitol in response to the mass shooting of members of a black church by a white supremacist.   One of the ones killed was a member of the state legislature.   Fittingly, Paul Thurman, the son of former arch-segregationist Sen. Strom Thurman and himself a member of the state legislature, was one of the supporters of that bill in South Carolina.   As S. C. Gov. Nicki Haley said, "history has changed."

So as the year ends, I though I'd like to collect a summary of those 18 good news stories to share.    The year 2015 has been a difficult year:   the Middle East wars, police shootings at home, ugly rancor in Washington, mass shootings and one major terrorist attack, and the ridiculous and maddening Republican primary.   So let's finish the year looking at some bright spots -- and hope for a better 2016.

Happy New Year to all and thanks for reading ShrinRap.

Ralph

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#1.   World poverty declines.  The World Bank has forecast that less than 10% of the world's population will be living in extreme poverty by the end of 2015, a decline from 37% in 1990.   The U.N. has set the goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030.

#2.  Global child death rates decline, and other improvements.   In 1990 12 million children died before age 3;  that has been cut in half.   In 1980 only half of girls in developing countries completed elementary school;  now 80% do.  Specific diseases have been sharply curtailed.   Birth rates have been diminished.    

#3.  Australia conquers gun violence.    We needed this natural experiment to be able to demonstrate that gun control can work.   It did in Australia.   Following one of the worst mass shootings ever (35 dead and 23 injured), people said "Never again" and they meant it.  Parliament banned semi-automatic weapons and imposed rigid licensing.   A buy back program gleaned and destroyed nearly 1 million guns.   Licensing now requires background checks that can take months, and they have strict gun storage requirements.   In the decade since, firearm homicide rate fell by 59% and firearm suicide rate fell by 65% without a concomitqnt increas in other forms of suicide.  And no mass shootings since.

#4.  Prison debate team beats Harvard debate team.   Bard College sponsors a program for selected prison inmates that leads to a college degree.   One feature of the program is that the Bard debate coach also works with inmate-students on their own debate team.   Their hard work paid off to show what they could do -- and, it happens, to show what such a program can do.   In a debate match up with the Harvard team, the team from Eastern New York Correctional Facility won.   Probably the Harvard team thought they could win without preparing much;   but the ENYCF team were both prepared and sharp thinkers on their feet as well.

#5.   No more drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean.   After all the fighting to preserve the arctic ocean from effects of oil drilling, no more drilling permits will be issued and no existing permits will be renewed.   At least as long as Obama is president -- and probably as long as oil prices are so low.

#6.  U,S, budget deficit at an 8 year low,   Another success for Democratic strategy.   Under Obama as president, the deficit has shrunk by over $1 trillion dollars.   Yet, because of Republican rhetoric, 73% of the public believes that the deficit has gotten bigger.   It was actually under President George W. Bush that the huge deficit explosion occurred.  Starting a war and cutting taxes, instead of paying for the war, was completely irresponsible.

#7.  Potential good news:    If only Georgia's governor and legislators would expand Medicaid, here's what would be good news:   300,000 more Georgians with health care;  $33 billion in federal tax dollars coming into the state;  80,000 new jobs;  rural hospitals would not have to close.    Wouldn't you think they would want to be responsible for such good news for Georgia?    But they would rather stick to the Republican line of defeating Obama.   So none of those things are happening.  Saddest words in the English language:   "if only . . . "

#8.  Publix gorcery chain is employee-owned.   I had been buying groceries at Publix for years and didn't know that the chain is owned by its employees, from CEO to bag boys.   Each employee becomes a stockholder, and there are no owners not involved in the retail success of the stores.

#9.   National unemployment reached a new low of 5% in the 3rd quarter of 2015, with better than expected job growth.   Mitt Romney had run in 2012 on the promise to get it down to 6% by the end of 2017.   Good thing we didn't elect him president.    Proves once again that the economy does better with Democrats in the White House.

#10.  Hysteria over "refugee terrorists" did not sway Lousiana governor's election.  Republican candidate David Vitter devoted the last week of his campaign to demagoguing the issue in a desperate effort to save his failing campaign.   It didn't work.   He lost by 12% points.

#11.  Generosity begets generosity.   When 7 year old Jack Swanson gave $20 from his savings to a community mosque that had been defaced during a Muslim hate crime, his generosity was rewarded by some members of the mosque.   They found out he had been saving his money to buy an iPad, and they bought him one.   This story has one caveat, in my opinion.   I hope it doesn't turn a pure act of generosity into an expectation that one gets it back in spades.

#12.  Unfathomable wealth and generosity.  Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Pricella Chan commemorated the birth of their first child with a promise to give 99% of their Facebook share (currently about $45 billion) to their charitable foundation  to help make a better world for their daughter's generaton to live in.

#13.   Minnesota economic success proves Democrats correct.   Democratic governor Mark Dayton, by increasing taxes on the wealthy, raising the minimum wage, and guaranteeing women equal pay has reversed a budget deficit to a $2 billion surplus and lowered unemployment.   Exactly the opposite of what Republicans said would happen.   In contrast, Kansas went the route of austerity and tax cuts, with disastrous results for their economy, for schools, and employment.

#14.  Bernie Sanders rejects Super PAC money.   Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is running a grass-roots funded campaign.   He has compiled over a million individual donors and has turned down offers to set up a SuperPAC for him -- proving that a billionaire sugar-daddy is not necessary if the people like what you're saying.

 #15.   Climate agreement in Paris.   186 nations meeting in Paris have agreed to speak with one voice on the necessity of acting to reverse the effects of climate change.   The significance of this major achievement is that this many nations have begun to act together to save our planet and human civilization.

#16.  Murder rate lowest in 50 years.   Contrary to what most people think, the U. S. gun murder rate is now lower than it has been in at least 50 years.   A Gallop poll found that 56% thought it had gone up and only 12% said it had gone down.

#17.  Congress passed a bipartisan budget bill that was, of course, a compromise in which both sides had to give up some of what they wanted and accepted some things they didn't want.    But, according to Elizabeth Warren, there was not a single provision to materially weaken the rules on Wall Street.

#18.  Success in retaking Iraq.   Iraqi forces, with the help of Americans, have retaken about 40% of the territory in Iraq that was conquered by ISIS last year.   This includes regaining control of most of the major city of Ramadi.

The year 2015 doesn't sound quite so bad when you look at all these good news stories.