Issues Under Fire: In Retrospect, While Democrats Lost Big, Liberals Made Gains

Issues Under Fire: In Retrospect, While Democrats Lost Big, Liberals Made Gains 

Observing President Obama strike a conciliatory tone as he took questions from reporters after a trouncing in the midterm elections, had some Democrat and Progressive's heads bowed, but in reality, all was not lost. In a series of ballot initiatives throughout the country, issues related to  pot smokers, low wage earners & petty criminals caught a break.  

Wherever the issue of  legalizing  marijuana appeared on the ballot, it passed with flying colors. Arizona gave its citizens the nod on Pot for medicinal purposes, while Washington D.C, Oregon and Alaska went all the way, legalizing weed for recreational use. Laying the ground work for more cowardly politicos to test the waters of courage, many around the nation now see hope for decriminalization and complete legalization of the "relatively passive" drug. 

Weighing the unsustainable cost of keeping Pot illegal against Pot's documented health benefits, potential revenues generated from taxation, with business opportunities and job creation related thereto, forward thinkers are making the sensible decision to stop investing in failed drug policies. The cost to mid-sized and large businesses for pre-screening and ongoing random drug testing alone could be huge.  

Low wage workers also got a boost of support, as Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota voted to raise their minimum wage laws. Despite the President's agenda being repudiated, the country appears to be moving in the right direction to bring relief to the otherwise permanently poor. Realizing, sustaining poverty wages will do more harm to the economy than harm businesses ability to turn a reasonable profit, most states, Red and Blue are slowly but surely progressing toward a livable standard. 

In arguably the most progressive state in America, California passed Proposition 47. In a successful effort to address sentencing reform, Californians voted to reduce criminal penalties for certain non violent crimes. Reportedly, penalties for common drug and theft crimes will be reduced from potential felonies to misdemeanors, shortening the time some crooks spend in the poky. Imagine how much taxpayer money could be saved by clearing the courts and jails of minor offenders. 

If one considers the life long missed opportunities a felon will face for relatively minor run ins with the law, one can see the overwhelming impact a felony conviction will have on the individual, families and communities. Even after the petty crook, the stoner and youthful offenders gets their act together, they could be denied the right to vote, have a hard time obtaining a decent job or serving in the military. While one's life ain't exactly over, a felony conviction for a young person could make that life extremely difficult. 

Bottom line: Although the Democrats got their heads handed to them and the President has been reduced to serving as a lame duck for his last two years in office, at least the little people walked away with a few important gains. The legalization of Pot, a decent minimum wage and criminal sentencing reforms could be just the things the country needs, to give hope to those who need it the most. Podcast Below!