Original document posted with permission from The Heritage Foundation.
Documentary Rebuts Claim That the Electoral College is Racist
Original article posted with permission from Save Our States.
Staff – Sept 03, 2020
Critics of the Electoral College Paint a False Narrative for Partisan Purposes.
Today, Save Our States, a non-partisan nonprofit, responded to critics who allege the Electoral College is racist. In a soon to be released documentary, “Safeguard: An Electoral College Story,” the group shows that the Electoral College serves to protect and promote minority voices.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, Americans have grappled with race relations. Many communities, especially big cities, have experienced unrest. Some activists and politicians are now arguing that the way we elect our president is a product of racism and hurts black voters.
Prominent civil rights leader Vernon Jordan, who as president of the National Urban League in the 1970s was a vocal defender of the Electoral College, argues this is untrue, “For blacks, abolition of the electoral college would severely limit our political leverage in national elections.”
This issue has come to the forefront as the presidential election approaches and with voters in Colorado about to vote on a “National Popular Vote” (NPV) ballot measure. This effort – openly described as an“end-around” of the Constitution is endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and funded by George Soros. NPV would essentially give away Colorado’s voice in presidential elections, as voters there would be drowned out by those in bigger states like California or New York.
In a compelling new documentary, Save Our States shows the flaws of NPV and the need for the Electoral College. “Safeguard: An Electoral College Story” explains how the American Founders established the Electoral College as part of a system of checks and balances, allowing the people of each state to have a voice in presidential elections. “Safeguard: An Electoral College Story” – will be released nationally and internationally on September 8, 2020. The film will be made available on Amazon Prime (an audience of 120 million viewers), iTunes and other platforms. The film will be submitted to multiple film festivals.
“Attacking the Electoral College as racist makes for a good talking point, but bad history. The constitutional system has helped to moderate our politics, forcing political parties to reach out to new voters. Support for the Electoral College by figures like John F. Kennedy and Vernon Jordan remind us how the system has benefitted minority voters,” writes Trent England, Executive Director of Save Our States.
Trouble Brewing in the Housing Market?
Just this last week, a number of interesting news stories crossed my desk. Two in particular stood out – the Trump administration’s newest moratorium on evictions, and the Federal Reserve’s purchasing $1 trillion worth of mortgage bonds. Now, I don’t think there is any question as to why the feds have chosen this path; times are hard for some people and the feds don’t want them to get harder. The question is, what problem does this solve? The answer: it doesn’t solve any problems. As Thomas Sowell was quoted recently, “There are no solutions, there are only trade-offs; and you try to get the best trade-off you can get, that’s all you can hope for.”
The real question is, then, “what are the trade-offs for these policies?”
Well first, the administration’s moratorium certainly provides some much sought after breathing room for America’s renting population. The Aspen Institute estimates that between 30 and 40 million people are at risk of being evicted: that is quite the number. What happens, however, to the landlords when their troubled but legally protected tenants stop paying rent until the end of the year?
Consider the following: a reasonable percentage of at-risk renters cease paying rent for the next 4 months. Due to this, the less financially prepared property owners must choose to foreclose rather than to continue to deal with the mortgage that many are using the rent to pay. January 2021 comes along, renters are no longer protected, and the houses they live in are now bank-owned assets which will undoubtedly be sold at auction after the tenants are evicted en masse. Potentially millions of rental properties may end up in just such a circumstance, and the potential of a sudden decrease in rental supply could very well mean higher rents in 2021. Will this policy truly help America’s renters, or will the trade-offs come back to bite even those that are not currently “at risk”?
Beyond this, what happens to all those mortgage-backed bonds that are being held by the Federal Reserve if mortgages go belly-up like they did after the 2008 recession? Mortgage delinquency peaked in 2010 at 9.3% as we began the agonizing process of digging ourselves out of a politically driven recession with the same political burdens slowing down our efforts. This last August, mortgage delinquency had reached 8.2% at the same time that the Fed was approaching $1 trillion in what some might consider toxic securities; incidentally, that is approximately 30% of the American housing market. I can only imagine that among the threats of continued lockdowns, a flagging service industry, and the administration’s short-run compassion, we may see considerable difficulties in the new year vis a vis 2008.
This does not address all of the potential trade-off for these policies, but this is what you need to be thinking about when you read the news on new economic programs, public welfare spending, and public policy more generally. It should always be your very first question: “what are the trade-offs?”