I Believe

12:20

Security at the Southern Border - Immigrants and...

I Believe ·

2023/12/19

Are the people crossing the southern border refugees? What can we do about that?There’s some additional context we didn’t address last week. What’s the difference between an immigrant and a refugee, and why is the difference significant?Immigrants choose to relocate to another country. They move voluntarily, seeking better living conditions, economic opportunities, and family reunification. Immediate threats to their safety do not drive their move. To achieve the ability to relocate, they apply for

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15:18

Security at the Southern Border - History and Sending...

I Believe ·

2023/12/12

Can we send the US military to secure the southern border? First, some background.March 26, 1790. President George Washington (no party affiliation) signed the Naturalization Act into law. This law laid the groundwork for future US citizenship and immigration laws and reflected the racial and social biases of the time. It excluded Native Americans, indentured servants, enslaved people, free black residents, and Asians from eligibility for naturalization.March 3, 1875. President Ulysses S. Grant (R)

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11:52

Banning Hate Speech on Social Media

I Believe ·

2023/12/05

Americans believe in free speech. We share a social contract that assures every individual the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What happens when these cherished principles intersect with the realities of corporate responsibility and societal norms?Should Americans boycott companies that enable the distribution of offensive speech?How should companies that champion First Amendment rights above all else position themselves? The 21st Century is one of “Managing for Stakeholders.”

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7:56

We Can All Be Great

I Believe ·

2023/11/28

Because Americans, like twelve black men in Arkansas in 1919, endured hardship, and individuals like President and Chief Justice Taft dedicated themselves to the constitutional rights of all Americans, more Americans today have the opportunity to be great.We must dare to be great, and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage. — William H. TaftElaine, Arkansas, 1919. Black American sharecropper farmers were unsatisfied with the cotton crop payments they

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8:47

Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Collectivism

I Believe ·

2023/11/21

Collectivism is a social and political philosophy that emphasizes the importance of the common good — what’s best for society. If collectivism sounds good, why did American founders reject it?Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), writing a century after John Locke, is the foundational Western philosopher of collectivism. Rousseau starkly contrasted John Locke’s individualism (see John Locke: Ownership of Self, from last week).While both critiqued the absolute authority of monarchs, Rousseau, in his

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8:57

John Locke: Ownership of Self

I Believe ·

2023/11/14

How do Americans regard John Locke’s principle of self-ownership?Across the political spectrum, Americans believe in an individual’s right to own themselves, their property, and the product of their labor. Conservatives might interpret self-ownership in terms of economic freedom and property rights. Progressives might focus more on personal liberties and rights in healthcare, reproductive rights, and freedom of expression. Libertarians might interpret self-ownership as the right to make decisions

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9:26

Small, Affordable Homes

I Believe ·

2023/11/07

Could we create a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to incentivize builders to build small, affordable homes?My grandfather and great-grandfather built my grandparents’ first house. It was a short distance down the lane from the ranch house. My grandparents were 18-year-old newlyweds; they would go on to be married until he passed away nearly 50 years later. The house was two used chicken coops they pushed together. One chicken coop became a room for sleeping, the other for daily

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10:46

Wildfires

I Believe ·

2023/10/31

If we’re serious about reducing carbon emissions, we need to address a significant source of emissions: wildfires.What do we think causes more carbon emissions, thinning trees from the wilderness landscape or letting them burn?Wilderness fires release significant carbon emissions. Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Chicago analyzed greenhouse gas emissions from just California wildfires in 2020. They found California's wildfires that year ranked as

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7:50

Unify America

I Believe ·

2023/10/24

How will we unify America and achieve our grand vision?It’s not enough to say why we believe in the American ideal. Though inspirational, it’s a broad brush vision that lacks decisive substance. A united America is only achievable when we set the cornerstones to support the structure.We need a framework for the vision. To frame our discussion, let’s reconsider our American ‘why.’ Our vision is threefold:We are all created equal, and we can all become great. We take pride in the fact that greatness

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11:30

America

I Believe ·

2023/10/17

Today marks a year of weekly editions, the 52nd edition of “I Believe.” I’d like to thank you for reading. I learn a great deal from writing every article, and I hope you learn from reading (or now listening to!) them. The name of this publication is “I Believe” because I believe in America. This journal isn’t just a history lesson. America has some big problems, and we need to think through options to address them. Many essays have recommendations for what we should, or at least could, do to

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6:12

School Library Books

I Believe ·

2023/10/10

Do government officials, such as a school board, have the right to restrict a student’s education in the school library?Do parents have the right to dictate their child’s education?New York, 1975.An activist group named Parents of New York United compiled a list of books they deemed offensive due to “anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, and just plain filthy” speech (Pico, 1982 at 857). The school board stated, "[i]t is our duty, our moral obligation, to protect the children in our schools

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14:32

United Auto Worker and Kaiser Permanente Strikes

I Believe ·

2023/10/03

What would be the worst-case outcome of the ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) and looming Kaiser Permanente strikes? What would be the ideal outcome? To conceptualize the labor dispute situation, we must first identify the stakeholders. When we understand the stakeholders and their motivations, we can think about ways ahead.The first stakeholders are…* The workersThey want more pay and better benefits. They put in arduous labor for their product and deserve to be respected and well

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6:45

Earned Income Tax Credit and Small Business Taxes

I Believe ·

2023/09/26

As an alternative to raising the minimum wage, how about we give small businesses that pay livable wages tax credits? We should reward the many great American businesses that pay livable wages.These businesses would be more profitable, and this approach would reduce the need for social programs.Wo… Get full access to I Believe at joelkdouglas.substack.com/subscribe

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5:08

Blake Woockman Greentail Memorial Scholarship

I Believe ·

2023/09/19

The spirit of giving is deeply ingrained in the close-knit community of the Air Force’s 321st Missile Squadron. Now former members are raising money and starting a college scholarship endowment at Laramie County Community College to honor one of their fallen, 1st Lt. Blake "Moose" Woockman. On the afternoon of June 29, 2017, I met Blake Woockman. That morning, I had become the commanding officer of the Air Force’s 321st Missile Squadron. The squadron is known as the “Greentails.” While a part of the

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12:41

CEO Pay

I Believe ·

2023/09/11

Should we consider limits on executive pay for companies that don’t pay workers livable wages?Let’s first consider executive compensation to set the stage for our discussion.The Economic Policy Institutepublished that in 2021, companies paid CEOs nearly 400 times more than a typical worker. These CEOs made seven times more than the top 0.1% of the top-paid salaried workers. The article details approaches to limiting CEO pay to reduce income inequality without damaging the broader economy. Shifting

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