"That Doesn't Poll Well"
The deep dis-functionality of our government, as legislators vote in hopes of ensuring future votes from a disaffected populace - and what to do about it.
Wednesday, March 29th, 2023
Dear Vashon Loop Readers,
Today, we’re offering everyone (free and paid subscribers) a “sneak peak” at our April Issue “Terms of Concern” column. But…
First! April is a BIG appreciation month for the Editorial Team of The Vashon Loop. Why? Just because. Literally, our editorial team has been hit from all directions with a deep sense of appreciation for all the good things that are happening in our lives, in our community and on our planet. And, that sense of appreciation leaves us feeling a greater sense of connection with others. Including you, our substack readers.
Whether you’re just dropping in - or are already subscribed. Whether you found us on your own or a friend turned you on to us! Whether you live on our island, in our area, or “in a land, far, far away,” thank you for being here, right now, reading this post.
This post would usually be a “sneak peak” perk for our paid subscribers. Instead, I’ll be sharing it with everyone. The reason is relevancy. What makes news relevant?
Curation. Curation. Curation.
A lot of papers say they are “local, community papers.” Very often…this is total hogwash. Read our previous post (What Bankers Want) and you’ll begin to see who really owns the bulk of our nation’s supposedly local newspapers.
Why do corporations want to own hundreds or even thousands of community newspapers? It’s not just for narrative control. True - a distant entity’s ability to “curate” a community’s local newspaper content is a huge problem, but that’s just a perk. The newspaper industry’s primary focus is: advertising.
This came as a surprise to us. We think of ourselves as a platform for sharing information forward and benefiting our community with great content! Advertising is valuable, but it’s a secondary goal. For media corporations, it’s the exact opposite. Local papers are resource extraction tools used to siphon money out of small town business communities with amazing efficiency. (More on that in a future post.)
Traditional media manage cost and increase profit in a few ways.
(1) Buying out competition and shutting them down.
(2) Decreasing pages & content, so a greater % of space is advertising.
(3) Charging businesses more money to advertise.
We, at The Vashon Loop, aren’t willing to do any of that.
(1) We are super grateful there is a second newspaper on our island!
(2) In a world largely deprived of necessary, valuable and great content - we are here to make a difference! We may add pages to make room for more advertising, but we won’t be cutting down on community voices.
(3) Our island is almost 100% locally owned businesses. Their success is quite literally our success, as a community and as customers.
To support our business community, we’ve kept our advertising rates at pre-inflation prices. If YOU own a business, imagine paying $80 for a 4x5 inch ad. Now, imagine it runs for an entire month (not just a week), and it reaches 3,000 people in your community. Plus, it’s freely available almost everywhere a person sits down, making it an easy resource for tourists looking for something to do. All that for $80.
This will only be sustainable if some readers decide, “This newspaper is rare, excellent and I want it to stick around. It’s also worth paying for, and because I can afford to do so, I will.” That’s where Substack Subscribers come in. We’ll bring you great content, as long as enough of you step up to help us pay the bills.
NOTE: The Vashon Loop website also has no paywall. Free to everyone. I personally recommend the pdf option.
The below article is particularly relevant to EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN, so enjoy the read and consider sharing us forward to friends and family. (Pssst! For every new paid subscriber, we’ll give Dobby a special treat, purchased at our local pet store! He thanks you from the bottom of his stomach…even though, what we really wants is a chocolate croissant from Café Luna!)
“That Doesn’t Poll Well”
by March Twisdale
Given the age demographics of Vashon-Maury Island, a considerable number of us grew up during a time when "trust in polls" was high. For decades, "exit polls" were especially accurate, with a nearly 100% accuracy rate when compared to actual election results. Then, things changed.
It's universally acknowledged that polling results failed miserably during the 2016 USA Presidential Election. That consensus can be found everywhere from Forbes to Heavy.com to Pew Research and CBS. The question is, "Have we fixed our polling systems, and are they reliable?"
This matters, because our WA State Legislature is currently in session. Bills have been drafted, presented, and are either dead in committee (like HB 1814) or moving forward. When our elected representatives decide which bills to stand behind, support, oppose or vote for...what's one of the first questions they ask? "Is it polling well?"
Maybe they should be asking another question? On Tuesday, November 8th, 2016, barely 20% of American Citizens voted. From 2017-2020, 80% of us lived with an administration elected by a mere 1/5th of our population. By comparison, voter turnout in Iceland hovers between 81-87%.
Mature islanders, with a handful of decades under their belt, still think we live in a nation dominated by two political parties. Maybe, but for how long? According to the Pew Research Center, 34% of registered voters identify as Independents. This isn't good or bad, but it leaves political parties (and representatives seeking re-election) in an awkward position, as they struggle to align their votes (for or against) with the desires and demands of increasingly hands-off and unpredictable constituencies.
In the echoing silence, politicians turn to the familiar...the trusted...the polls. This is like asking an admitting nurse to diagnose a patient's illness or injury simply by checking their pulse and blood pressure. Who can draft good legislation or represent their constituents based primarily on polling data?
"It's time for politicians to grow a spine!"
Heard this before? Me, too. But, maybe it's not our elected representatives that need a spine. Maybe it's us? If we've become so tired, irritated, frustrated, overwhelmed (and lazy) that we've given up or turned away in disgust, what right do we have to point fingers?
It is our privilege (and our obligation) to be the wind beneath their wings. The gusts that blow their sails. The spine that holds them up, tall and strong. Imagine how the world would change, if each of us sent one email a week, telling our elected representatives what we want them to do for us?
Not what we're angry about. What we want. It starts with you and me. Be the change. Get involved.