Nine Shift

June 2019 Top NineShift Stories

Only six more months to go and society will have been transformed from the Industrial Age to the Knowledge Society.  Here’s the Top 5 stories for June 2019.

#5 Humans Replace Computers
It became clear this month that most of the computers-replace-humans predictions are premature promises.

Leading the premature promises: A story reporting that Tesla’s Elon Musk is the only car guy left still saying driverless cars are coming soon. All the other auto makers are saying technology will help, but not replace drivers anytime soon.  And we could keep going. Your job? Safe, and if not, tons of other jobs waiting. Your personal robot? Not this month. 

My NYTimes address change?  After 45 minutes with the phone, text and online computers, it took 2 real humans to make a simple address change. Photo: Paradise Point Resort, virtually an island on Mission Bay, San Diego, site of the big LERN Annual Conference this year Nov. 19-22, 2019.

#4 Is Your City Too Expensive To Save From Climate Change?

Banks, governments and companies are now calculating in dollars the cost of various responses to climate change.
For example, if you live in a city on or near the ocean, and your town has fewer than 25,000 residents, the latest projections are the federal government cannot afford to save your town from rising sea levels. 

New stories this month in the US media and in the UK also explore whether banks and government financial institutions are financially prepared for climate change.  Photo: Mission Beach, just a few minutes from the conference hotel on Mission Bay for the big LERN annual conference in San Diego Nov. 19-22, 2019.

#3 Girls Now Getting Depressed, Schools Discover

The boys have been depressed for over two decades, with 100,000 of them dying of despair this year, about the same as died in WWI.  The girls are now depressed too, schools discovered this month. 
We have a young woman friend, in law school, who told us when she gets a panic attack sometimes she blacks out. 

Girls have been depressed before this year of course; but this year schools apparently woke up to it, and started asking for more mental health counselors for their schools.  There is a tiny (compared to male suicide rates) uptick in females taking their own lives.  But alarming as the loss of every life is, it pales to the death-by-despair numbers being recorded by the CDC for young men. Schools still have no intention of reducing the biggest cause of suicide for their male students: gender discrimination in GPA, preventing smart boys from going to, and graduating from, college.

#2 Why Bernie Sanders Resembles the Greatest U.S. Senator in History

He was a U.S. Senator 100 years ago, and was later named the greatest U.S. Senator in history. Bernie Sanders resembles him today. 

He was Robert M. La Follette, Republican, from Wisconsin.  He fought for things we take for granted, like the public electing our U.S. Senators.  But 100 years ago, he was alone in advocating for the changes, thus earning the nickname “Fighting Bob.”

Like the progressive La Follette, Sanders has been the first one to propose free college, eliminating student debt, universal healthcare, and a number of other changes. 

Both have led the country in proposing new laws for the new century.  And the nation eventually adopted those proposals. La Follette ran for President several times.  So has Sanders. 

Every year, progressives in Wisconsin have a big outdoor festival in honor of La Follette with speeches and music, exhibits and well known progressives as keynoters. It’s called “Fighting Bob Fest.”  And the person keynoting Fighting Bob Fest the most times?   Bernie Sanders.

 

#1 Progressives Transform America This Month

Last week was the clincher: progressives have transformed America for the rest of the century.
The New York state legislature joined California and Europe in leading us in creating the societal infrastructure for this century.

Last week the New Yorkers finished its session, with new laws on rent regulation, climate change, criminal justice, congestion pricing, sexual harassment, gun control, and more. And how goes California and New York, goes (eventually) the nation. 

Here's what only NineShift can tell you:
1.Yes, the new laws- - and some more to come- - will transform American life.  
Why, because the same thing happened 100 years ago, with the same effect: transformational.
And for the same reason: benefit the new economy and society of the century moving forward.

2.Now is the time.
Like 100 years ago, now is the time when progressives make their move for change.  The Tea Party had its time, like conservatives 100 years ago, now the progressives have their time.  And then everyone in society accepts the new changes.

3.Call it what you will.
Progressives will call it “not enough.”  But time is running short.  Conservatives will call it “socialism,”  just like they called it Socialism Security for several decades before Ike told them to quit and accept it, as just about every citizen approved and rejoices when the check arrives today. 

And you may not think the changes will come to your state anytime soon, which is fine; but the changes 100 years ago eventually did.  PHOTO: Paradise Point Resort, site of the big LERN Annual Conference Nov. 19-22, 2019. 

 

We Told You So, Again

P.S.  Last month's story on  Minneapolis eliminating single family zoning was covered this month with a front page story in NYTimes. The story reported on a number of cities and the implications nationwide for housing in this century.