In an ideal situation, through the combined processes of immigration, innovation, and productivity, each of the 50 state’s economies grow, and the various types of taxes collected from residents, tourists, businesses, and organizations are used to fund infrastructure projects, educational initiatives, and the overall health and well-being of the community.
Over the last four years, however, the likelihood of this ideal scenario, seems further from reality in many states. It’s not just the devastating economic effects of COVID-19 on the respective economies of each state but there are larger forces at play.
I’m sure it was not planned as such, but the governors and legislators of many Republican dominated states (e.g., Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas. etc.), bolstered by Trumpism, and narrow interpretations of personal freedom, have opposed COVID-19 lockdowns, mask mandates, mandatory vaccinations, and encouraged political gerrymandering favoring Republican districts, and soon restrictions on a woman’s right to have an abortion like what has most recently happened in Texas.
In the long run this political battle is bound to backfire.
These Red states are making it increasingly inhospitable to liberals and progressives who live there, and for people and corporations who are considering opening a business or sustaining one in that state. It’s also giving pause to some out of state tourists to reconsider their plans to visit.
Sure liberals and progressives will always live in college towns located in these states, or cities that have longstanding arts and music scenes like Austin or Nashville, but they are frequently reminded that they are surrounded by hostile forces.
If the Republican Governors and state legislatures continue to have their way only people who can’t afford to leave will remain. This population is largely older, unskilled, poor and the unemployed. A large number in the high tech sector that leads the way in economic growth and prosperity will leave or never come.
But look at the bright side. In another decade or so, the property values of residential and commercial real estate in those Republican dominated states will be comparatively low, and the unemployment rates should be high. This means that those states might be conducive for low wage low skill manufacturing entities (if they have not completely moved off shore) to briefly relocate there (like they did in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia two decades ago) to take advantage of the economic climate.
Republicans might temporarily feel smug about winning the battle, but in the end not the war.
Photo Credit:
Photographer: Ed Schipul
Title: Texas State Capital Building
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/419796506_bb1ff86907_o-scaled.jpg17072560Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2021-09-16 14:23:132021-09-16 14:23:13How to tank a state’s economy
Scholarly fields develop in a haphazard manner. Those interested in exploring the vicissitudes of a subject, may for one reason or another contribute to the body of knowledge by writing a conference paper, article or even book. Overtime due to competing demands and interests, these researchers may become disinterested, distracted, or exhausted, and move on to other fields of inquiry and pursuits.
Meanwhile our ability to learn about a subject is dependent on numerous factors. One of the most important is the accessibility and quality of written resources available to people who want to learn about a field.
Some of these (like free material available on the world wide web) are widely distributed and generally easy to access, whereas other written sources require users to make an investment of resources such as attending a class, enrolling in a program of studies, or reading an article or a book.
And just because content is freely available it’s no guarantee that it is of good quality. Sometimes it is quite the opposite.
Over the past five decades, numerous scholars have conducted research on graffiti and street art. This work has appeared as articles published in a variety of academic journals and has also resulted in close to a dozen English language academic books. These efforts have examined various theoretical concerns, such as youth subculture, masculinity, and gentrification, as they apply to graffiti and street art and the individuals who engage in this behavior. Meanwhile a handful of edited books review graffiti and street art in a comprehensive manner.
These works are important building blocks in the scholarly understanding of graffiti and street art. They are great reference tools for the field, are important building blocks in the scholarly understanding of graffiti and street art, and are the basis of important discussions held by people deeply interested in graffiti and street art.
However, there are noticeable shortcomings with some of these books. These drawbacks mainly revolve around the fact that they are outdated, take narrow (sometimes esoteric) perspectives on the subject matter, ignore significant relevant scholarship, are overly academic in tone, and can be comparatively quite pricey.
The development of scholarship on graffiti and street art is predictably uneven, being shaped more by academic arguments, interests of the scholars who conduct research on this subject, and the gatekeeping activities performed by editors and reviewers for academic journals and publishing companies.
Meanwhile, the field of graffiti and street art is frequently changing including, but not limited to, the important role and influence of social media websites like Facebook and Instagram, responses by municipalities, and the increasing commodification of graffiti and street art.
Although serendipity has its advantages in some domains, a book on graffiti and street art that not only treats the subject matter in a comprehensive manner, but is also up to date and engaging could prove to be very helpful.
This book, would integrate scholarly research, interviews with practitioners, and images of graffiti and street art to explain the fields’ growth, the people who engage in this activity, and reactions to it, accessible to non-specialists and scholars alike. The book would also review causes, reactions, and so-called solutions to challenges generated by the existence of graffiti and street art.
Until then knowledge about graffiti and street art will be more idiosyncratic in the manner it is collected and presented to wider audience.
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_6991-scaled.jpg14672560Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2021-09-09 21:10:402023-02-13 19:29:24On the need for a low cost, comprehensive, and up to date introductory book on graffiti and street art
Everyday young boys and girls, all across America, are sent by their teachers to the principal’s office because they believe that they were “acting out,” are stopped by police (and questioned, searched, and sometimes arrested), or they are compelled to go in front of judges and sentenced to a period of time in a juvenile detention facility.
In the United States, we know that this is especially prevalent among young black and latino males, resulting in the infamous school to prison pipeline.
Invariably this often sets up a dynamic where children become drawn deeper and deeper into a criminal lifestyle which is increasingly difficult to get out of. This entire process is a waste of human potential and institutional and public resources often shouldered by taxpayers.
If you are a concerned caregiver, guardian, loved one, parent, relative, social worker, or other similar professional, then you have probably thought quite a bit about (and perhaps even struggled) with how to best guide children under your care, to minimize the possibility that they will become involved in or continue to participate in deviant and criminal activities and spend a lifetime cycling in and out of jail and prison.
There are numerous reasons why young people engage in deviance, delinquency and crime. In general, the causes for juvenile crime closely mirror those that lead to adult crime. Some of the more prominent factors include:
• Lack of proper guidance/good role models, and poor supervision
• Abusive and toxic families
• Being born into or being raised in families and situations where criminal lifestyles are normative
• A society that glamorizes crime/violence in human interactions and popular culture
• Peer pressure and wanting to fit in
• Immaturity
• Lack of or poor after school activities
We can spend considerable resources trying to determine which causes are the most prominent. But this does not necessarily lead us to appropriate solutions.
There are, however, a number of practical strategies that we can implement to minimize the possibility that our youth don’t go down that slippery slope and become involved in the criminal justice system.
So what is/are the answer/s? The good news is that there are numerous approaches and institutions that have been successfully used to minimize children from descending into a life of crime. Some of them are more prominent than others, and some are better able at minimizing the possibility that our children will visit the principal’s office, coming to the attention of the criminal justice system, and eventually going to jail or prison. None of them are easy to implement. Nevertheless, they include, but are not limited to:
• Educating our children about the role and practices of the police. (So that they understand that they are neither all good guys nor all bad guys).
• Addressing racism that is systemic in all institutions
• Using fewer offensive terms to call children who engage in deviant and criminal activities, to avoid the negative effects of stigma that this kind of labelling entails
• Removing children from criminogenic situations
• Better access to quality therapy, food and nutrition, and safe spaces to escape their challenging home lives.
• Increased funding to educational institutions that offer engaging instruction and curricula
• Encouraging more and better parental involvement.
• Providing abundant, diverse, properly supervised, managed and led meaningful after school activities (e.g., sports, boy scouts, girl scouts, boys and girls clubs of America, etc.)
• Minimizing screen time (esp., violent television programs and computer games)
Regardless of the intervention we chose to pursue, we need to examine each child and situation in a wholistic manner. We should not apply a one size fits all method. What is certain, however, is if we can address the criminogenic factors early on in a child’s life, then we might be able to prevent them from later getting involved in criminal activities.
Indeed, children need to learn from their mistakes. And there should be appropriate consequences for their actions. But by providing proper education, health resources, and supportive environments, they can actually grow from their experience and get the necessary guidance they so critically need.
Photo credit
Photographer: Stuart McAlpine
Title: Juvenile Detention Center
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/6183476085_c0ac850eef_o-scaled.jpg16202560Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2021-09-02 18:56:532021-09-29 20:07:13Preventing our children from ending up in juvie hall
How to tank a state’s economy
/by Jeffrey Ian RossIn an ideal situation, through the combined processes of immigration, innovation, and productivity, each of the 50 state’s economies grow, and the various types of taxes collected from residents, tourists, businesses, and organizations are used to fund infrastructure projects, educational initiatives, and the overall health and well-being of the community.
Over the last four years, however, the likelihood of this ideal scenario, seems further from reality in many states. It’s not just the devastating economic effects of COVID-19 on the respective economies of each state but there are larger forces at play.
I’m sure it was not planned as such, but the governors and legislators of many Republican dominated states (e.g., Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas. etc.), bolstered by Trumpism, and narrow interpretations of personal freedom, have opposed COVID-19 lockdowns, mask mandates, mandatory vaccinations, and encouraged political gerrymandering favoring Republican districts, and soon restrictions on a woman’s right to have an abortion like what has most recently happened in Texas.
In the long run this political battle is bound to backfire.
These Red states are making it increasingly inhospitable to liberals and progressives who live there, and for people and corporations who are considering opening a business or sustaining one in that state. It’s also giving pause to some out of state tourists to reconsider their plans to visit.
Sure liberals and progressives will always live in college towns located in these states, or cities that have longstanding arts and music scenes like Austin or Nashville, but they are frequently reminded that they are surrounded by hostile forces.
Although some corporations in Red states, because of COVID-19 have made the transition to remote work, and those workers who are not happy with the state’s mandates have high tailed it out of there, those at the top will probably have to stay. But we are now seeing large high tech corporations considering moving out of Republican dominated states.
If the Republican Governors and state legislatures continue to have their way only people who can’t afford to leave will remain. This population is largely older, unskilled, poor and the unemployed. A large number in the high tech sector that leads the way in economic growth and prosperity will leave or never come.
But look at the bright side. In another decade or so, the property values of residential and commercial real estate in those Republican dominated states will be comparatively low, and the unemployment rates should be high. This means that those states might be conducive for low wage low skill manufacturing entities (if they have not completely moved off shore) to briefly relocate there (like they did in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia two decades ago) to take advantage of the economic climate.
Republicans might temporarily feel smug about winning the battle, but in the end not the war.
Photo Credit:
Photographer: Ed Schipul
Title: Texas State Capital Building
On the need for a low cost, comprehensive, and up to date introductory book on graffiti and street art
/by Jeffrey Ian RossScholarly fields develop in a haphazard manner. Those interested in exploring the vicissitudes of a subject, may for one reason or another contribute to the body of knowledge by writing a conference paper, article or even book. Overtime due to competing demands and interests, these researchers may become disinterested, distracted, or exhausted, and move on to other fields of inquiry and pursuits.
Meanwhile our ability to learn about a subject is dependent on numerous factors. One of the most important is the accessibility and quality of written resources available to people who want to learn about a field.
Some of these (like free material available on the world wide web) are widely distributed and generally easy to access, whereas other written sources require users to make an investment of resources such as attending a class, enrolling in a program of studies, or reading an article or a book.
And just because content is freely available it’s no guarantee that it is of good quality. Sometimes it is quite the opposite.
Nowhere does this seem most pertinent than the field of graffiti and street art studies.
Over the past five decades, numerous scholars have conducted research on graffiti and street art. This work has appeared as articles published in a variety of academic journals and has also resulted in close to a dozen English language academic books. These efforts have examined various theoretical concerns, such as youth subculture, masculinity, and gentrification, as they apply to graffiti and street art and the individuals who engage in this behavior. Meanwhile a handful of edited books review graffiti and street art in a comprehensive manner.
These works are important building blocks in the scholarly understanding of graffiti and street art. They are great reference tools for the field, are important building blocks in the scholarly understanding of graffiti and street art, and are the basis of important discussions held by people deeply interested in graffiti and street art.
However, there are noticeable shortcomings with some of these books. These drawbacks mainly revolve around the fact that they are outdated, take narrow (sometimes esoteric) perspectives on the subject matter, ignore significant relevant scholarship, are overly academic in tone, and can be comparatively quite pricey.
The development of scholarship on graffiti and street art is predictably uneven, being shaped more by academic arguments, interests of the scholars who conduct research on this subject, and the gatekeeping activities performed by editors and reviewers for academic journals and publishing companies.
Meanwhile, the field of graffiti and street art is frequently changing including, but not limited to, the important role and influence of social media websites like Facebook and Instagram, responses by municipalities, and the increasing commodification of graffiti and street art.
Although serendipity has its advantages in some domains, a book on graffiti and street art that not only treats the subject matter in a comprehensive manner, but is also up to date and engaging could prove to be very helpful.
This book, would integrate scholarly research, interviews with practitioners, and images of graffiti and street art to explain the fields’ growth, the people who engage in this activity, and reactions to it, accessible to non-specialists and scholars alike. The book would also review causes, reactions, and so-called solutions to challenges generated by the existence of graffiti and street art.
Until then knowledge about graffiti and street art will be more idiosyncratic in the manner it is collected and presented to wider audience.
Preventing our children from ending up in juvie hall
/by Jeffrey Ian RossEveryday young boys and girls, all across America, are sent by their teachers to the principal’s office because they believe that they were “acting out,” are stopped by police (and questioned, searched, and sometimes arrested), or they are compelled to go in front of judges and sentenced to a period of time in a juvenile detention facility.
In the United States, we know that this is especially prevalent among young black and latino males, resulting in the infamous school to prison pipeline.
Invariably this often sets up a dynamic where children become drawn deeper and deeper into a criminal lifestyle which is increasingly difficult to get out of. This entire process is a waste of human potential and institutional and public resources often shouldered by taxpayers.
If you are a concerned caregiver, guardian, loved one, parent, relative, social worker, or other similar professional, then you have probably thought quite a bit about (and perhaps even struggled) with how to best guide children under your care, to minimize the possibility that they will become involved in or continue to participate in deviant and criminal activities and spend a lifetime cycling in and out of jail and prison.
There are numerous reasons why young people engage in deviance, delinquency and crime. In general, the causes for juvenile crime closely mirror those that lead to adult crime. Some of the more prominent factors include:
• Lack of proper guidance/good role models, and poor supervision
• Abusive and toxic families
• Being born into or being raised in families and situations where criminal lifestyles are normative
• A society that glamorizes crime/violence in human interactions and popular culture
• Peer pressure and wanting to fit in
• Immaturity
• Lack of or poor after school activities
We can spend considerable resources trying to determine which causes are the most prominent. But this does not necessarily lead us to appropriate solutions.
There are, however, a number of practical strategies that we can implement to minimize the possibility that our youth don’t go down that slippery slope and become involved in the criminal justice system.
So what is/are the answer/s? The good news is that there are numerous approaches and institutions that have been successfully used to minimize children from descending into a life of crime. Some of them are more prominent than others, and some are better able at minimizing the possibility that our children will visit the principal’s office, coming to the attention of the criminal justice system, and eventually going to jail or prison. None of them are easy to implement. Nevertheless, they include, but are not limited to:
• Educating our children about the role and practices of the police. (So that they understand that they are neither all good guys nor all bad guys).
• Addressing racism that is systemic in all institutions
• Using fewer offensive terms to call children who engage in deviant and criminal activities, to avoid the negative effects of stigma that this kind of labelling entails
• Removing children from criminogenic situations
• Better access to quality therapy, food and nutrition, and safe spaces to escape their challenging home lives.
• Increased funding to educational institutions that offer engaging instruction and curricula
• Encouraging more and better parental involvement.
• Providing abundant, diverse, properly supervised, managed and led meaningful after school activities (e.g., sports, boy scouts, girl scouts, boys and girls clubs of America, etc.)
• Minimizing screen time (esp., violent television programs and computer games)
Regardless of the intervention we chose to pursue, we need to examine each child and situation in a wholistic manner. We should not apply a one size fits all method. What is certain, however, is if we can address the criminogenic factors early on in a child’s life, then we might be able to prevent them from later getting involved in criminal activities.
Indeed, children need to learn from their mistakes. And there should be appropriate consequences for their actions. But by providing proper education, health resources, and supportive environments, they can actually grow from their experience and get the necessary guidance they so critically need.
Photo credit
Photographer: Stuart McAlpine
Title: Juvenile Detention Center