Run Times: Last Month Ashore

In contrast with union-hall hiring, Military Sealift Command mariners, like other salaried mariners, can be assigned to any ship in the fleet. While I have been working in and out of Norfolk, VA since January, where I have a home, this arrangement is unlikely to continue. After all, with the Pacific Pivot, there's a 60% chance that I go to a Western Pacific Ship, in addition to the probability of landing a ship based in the Persian Gulf. What needs to be done? Since travel to the ship can be short-notice, I have a checklist of standard tasks: place valuables in a safe deposit box, park thr car in long-term storage, and forward the mail. Having time in homeport has allowed me to have "capital maintenance" performed on my home. I am currently arranging for repointing my brick foundation; this was a task I did not complete immediately after purchasing my fixer-upper. I've also made my backyard more evening-habitable with a new firepit and light string. Navy Reserve duty comes up annually. This year, I helped activate a ship from the ready reserve fleet, taking it to sea for a week. We also have a medical check-up, which I completed in Washington, DC; and a physical fitness test that I did in Chattanooga, TN. After a long drive, the car likes an oul change and tune-up. Having spent much of the last ten years at sea of overseas, I also find it good practice to refresh friendships with gatherings and visits.

The Dobbs Genie

When the Dobbs ruling came out last year, I was surprised that the Supreme Court decided to scrap Roe vs. Wade precedent altogether, returning the abortion issue to the states. Initially, I considered the decision as a harbinger for a national return from “hustle culture” to a newfound domesticity. The COVID-19 Pandemic created an environment where this reshaping of norms became possible. Even while the overall birthrate declined, many high-earning professionals took the opportunity to begin families. In national discourse, the 40-hour workweek, going to the office, after-work cocktail hours, and in-person business conferences were dead and buried. Meanwhile, returning to a 1950’s understanding of social responsibility, the government surrendered individual liberty to the needs of the community for the duration of the Pandemic. Some legal scholars have pointed out that Jacobson vs. Massachusetts, a 1905 case often cited in enforcing Pandemic-era restrictions and vaccine mandates, predated the 1960’s focus on individual rights and privacy. The social and political environment made Roe vs. Wade ripe for reconsideration. On one hand, the Roe vs. Wade decision prematurely ended the political process of state abortion law reform that had begun in the 1960’s. Yet, it is naïve to think that the clock can be reset to 1973 without considering how much society had changed. The wage economy was structured differently in 1973, prior to economic deregulation. National policy favored robust wages and a commitment to full employment, instead of stockholder value and free market absolutism. The Nixon Administration supported employment for American seafarers in the post-Vietnam era by subsidizing the construction of merchant ships through the Merchant Marine Act of 1970; a program that was ended by Ronald Reagan in 1981. Reflecting this trend, Roe vs. Wade was a controversial decision in the morals of 1973, but accepted as a commonplace institution by the 1980s. This latter attitude is evident in the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, where a character obtains an abortion without on-screen commentary. In most professions today, the average wage-earner cannot comfortably support a family on a single income. Yet in certain areas, such as the military services and seafaring, there remains a critical mass of workers who refuse to accept less than family wages. For example, maritime employers are often paying officers a higher salary than agreed upon in “sweetheart” union contracts. Notably, these occupations are male-dominated and socially conservative in general, and were late to engage in political correctness. In the past year, about half the states have found a compelling interest in limiting abortion in the first or second trimester. Few of these states have offered remedies to alleviate social concerns arising from the effects of these restrictions. One promising example is a paid parental leave bank, a voluntary insurance program for employers in Virginia and New Hampshire. Notably, these two Republican-led states are unlikely to enact strict abortion limits. What other ideas could work? GI Bill for Mothers For military members and reservists, the relevant law instituted during World War Two is now known as USERRA. Under this act, a servicemember’s civilian job will be held until they return from military service, up to three years, even if the employer backfills this vacancy with a new hire. In the 1940’s and ‘50’s, these provisions covered up to a quarter of the American workforce due to the large number of war veterans. It is therefore able to scale to cover working mothers, who are currently guaranteed by Congress just 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Enhanced Child Tax Credit or Universal Basic Income plan Local governments invest between $10,000 and $20,000 per year for each school age child. With this in mind, a generous child tax credit would allowing working-class parents to provide infants and toddlers with early childhood enrichment, and offer a standard of living better than mere sustenance that is provided today through SNAP and WIC benefits. Eligibility for Child Support during Pregnancy Lack of paternal involvement is a leading factor in the decision to have an abortion. Especially in the third trimester, a woman’s ability to participate in the workforce may be reduced, and it is reasonable for a single mother to fear this loss of income. Currently, child support proceedings do not commence until the child is born, which often makes it difficult to track down a wayward father, who may have changed addresses or moved out-of-state. Some pro-choice people oppose this kind of policy, as it may implicitly recognize fetal personhood. This policy, however, would be inexpensive to implement.