The Reasonable Electorate

Simply based on media coverage, one would conclude that the top Democratic priority is to revoke the Second Amendment while Republican nirvana consists of euthanizing seniors and starving the children of single mothers.

But a recent Pew Research Center poll indicates otherwise, and gives hope that there is considerable room for accord.

In a January survey, Pew found a significant degree of concurrence between the priorities of self-identified Democrats and Republicans. For instance, Republicans agreed with six out of ten of the Democrats’ top priorities:

                                                             Dem.      Rep.

Strengthening the economy                       1            1

Improving the job situation                         2            4

Improving education                                  3            6

Reducing health-care costs                       4            9

Securing Medicare                                    5            7

Helping the poor and needy                       8          10

On other issues, there is some divergence. For instance, Democrats ranked “strengthening the military” as 18^th while Republicans thought it far more important at 8^th. There are few other issues as divisive as this, but one is “reducing the deficit” – 2^nd most important to Republicans but merely 11^th to the Dems.

In a real shocker, the importance of “strengthening gun laws” ranked only 18^th out of 21 issues across the full spectrum of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. This may account for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s refusal to allow Dianne Feinstein’s assault weapon ban to come to a vote.

But there exists considerable common ground and good reason to engage in constructive dialogue. While we agree on many ends, what separates us still is the means.

For instance, Democrats and Republicans agree that our top priority is to strengthen the economy. But Democrats believe that that should be achieved by increasing the minimum wage, empowering public employee unions, and increasing overall government spending, all fueled by towering tax increases on the rich.

Republicans agree with the goal, but believe that the Democratic approach is like pouring cold water on a hot bed of economic coals.

Who is right? Who knows. But if the debate begins with the common goal in mind, then the mechanisms can be developed. How about we use the crucible of liberty (the fifty states) as a laboratory? We could, for instance, compare the economic success of big government states versus free market states (left as an exercise to the reader).

The same approach can be used for each of the important issues. If we agree on the end goals, then only the means of achieving them need be debated. And, hopefully, those means can be developed rationally based on experimentation and evidence, not ideology.

In the end, we must convince our elected leaders to represent the desires of their electorate. We seem to be far wiser than they.

Nerds are underrated

San Miguel River valley, Telluride Colorado

What do the light bulb, Telluride Colorado, and your dishwasher have in common?

Thomas Alva Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park, is famous for inventing the electrified world in which we indulge ourselves. In addition to the electric light, which replaced the oil lantern, Edison is famous for inventing the phonograph (a device which reproduces sounds from lines inscribed in pressed vinyl, freeing us from the whims of a radio disk jockey to play our favorite bebop and doo wop hits – oh, never mind kids).

But as famous as Edison is, he fought, and lost, the “War of the Currents” with the brilliant and eccentric Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla.

Tesla was an odd child who was able, at the age of fourteen, to perform integral calculus in his head, prompting his teachers to accuse him of cheating. But Tesla was not cheating. He could also visualize spinning, interacting fields of electromagnetic force. He was, in short, a genius.

First working as an electrical engineer for Continental Edison in France, Tesla immigrated to the United States in 1884. His possessions stolen en route, he arrived with four cents in his pocket. Edison put him to work and Tesla immediately redesigned Edison’s inefficient electrical motors and generators. Instead of granting Tesla a promised $50,000 bonus, Edison reneged and offered a $10 per week raise. Tesla promptly quit.

At the root of their conflict was the choice between direct or alternating current (DC vs. AC). Edison (and General Electric) championed DC and had a patent portfolio to protect. Tesla (and Westinghouse) believed in the virtues of alternating current (AC), and Tesla had the patents to back up his claims. Edison exhorted that AC was unsafe, while Tesla countered that DC was inefficient. The nature of our emergent electrical  generation and distribution network was teetering on the outcome of this competition.

Meanwhile, in the mountains of Telluride, a major mining operation was going on. Gold, silver, zinc, lead, copper, and other ores were being harvested from steep mountain slopes. Manual methods of mining and transport (including mule trains) resulted in very high costs of extraction. In 1891, Westinghouse engineers using Tesla technology built a water-driven AC generating plant. The electricity was transmitted 3.5 miles to the Gold King Mine and was used to power mining operations. This was the world’s first long distance demonstration  of AC power generation and distribution, and it was a wild success.

Our world today is shaped by Tesla’s vision rather than Edison’s, contrary to what you may have learned in middle school. Alternating current is highly efficient and safe. It lights your home and powers your dishwasher, refrigerator, and air conditioner. It enables energy to be efficiently distributed over hundreds and thousands of miles. If Edison’s vision had prevailed, we would exist in a dim version of our brilliant, electrified world.

Edison, while a genius, was wrong. Tesla, nerdy, eccentric, and socially inept, built the world that we take for granted.

Today, while Justin Timberlake is feted on “Saturday Night Live,” who really should be our hero? Nerds are underrated.