VOICES

UNION WATCH - The improbable April 1 victory of Amazon workers in Staten Island, who fought for over two years to establish the very first union at the retail behemoth,

GUN CONTROL - The tragic Sacramento shooting on April 3 that claimed six lives joins a long list of shootings in California that occurred that same weekend:

ACCORDING TO LIZ - Of all social media applications currently in use in the United States, Facebook and Twitter have by far the most penetration and, perversely, the greatest influence. 

MEDIA WATCH - CBS News hiring former Trump aide Mick Mulvaney speaks volumes about systemic problems in our media.

FEDERAL JUDICIARY - Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle's decision exemplifies how completely former President Donald Trump and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell broke the judicial selection process in their drive to place conservative ideologues in the federal judiciary. 

RACIAL RECKONINGS - In August of 2020 as the world cried out for justice for George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police, the quiet town of Tiburon, California was mismanaging its own officer encounters with the public.

THE DOCTOR IS IN - A long time ago, shortly after I finished my Dermatology residency, one of my colleagues jokingly (but accurately) referred to me as a "corporate socialist". I did and still do take that as a compliment.

ACCORDING TO LIZ - George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four was published 75 years ago this coming June.

GUEST COMMENTARY - Hello, again. When I retired from the Los Angeles City Council in 2015, I honestly thought that my public life was pretty much over.

ACCORDING TO LIZ - People are starting to look forward to the 2028 Olympics, as the debate rages on about the homeless.

FIREWORKS EXPLOSION UPDATE - It has been almost ten months since the LAPD Bomb unit botched the detonation of illegal fireworks on East 27^th Street in South LA.

MY THOUGHTS - We just experienced an uplifting trifecta weekend. 

HOUSING ACTIVIST - There’s been a recent flurry of news stories about rents skyrocketing in cities throughout the nation. 

THE VIEW FROM HERE - With Los Angeles’s being infused with corruptionism, one can forget that the entire state has increasingly become one gigantic criminal enterprise. 

SCOTUS - Much ink has been spilled over Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s failure to recuse himself from cases involving the 2020 election, despite his wife’s participation in efforts to overthrow it.

SOCIAL MEDIA - Elon Musk, who has, as of this month, quietly amassed more than 9% of Twitter, just offered $43 billion to buy the whole company.

THE DOCTOR IS IN - So, some of the more idealistic members of the California's Legislature wants to allow--if not mandate--companies with over 500 employees to reduce employees' work week to 32 hours... 

...and for those working more than 32 hours per week to be paid no less than 1.5 times the employee's regular rate of pay. 

Pretty cool, huh? More free time, less miserable work hours to suffer through, and no reduction in productivity! And that "Great Resignation" makes it clear that workers are sick of their jobs, and bailing on their employers.

Except a few problems are in the way...and I'm sure we can get past those!  

#1. Getting the buy-in and approval of those silly employers at the California Chamber of Commerce. I mean, what do they know about labor costs and productivity? 

#2. Tell other American states to reduce the hours of their work week, too, just in case that productivity thing doesn't work out so well. After all, we wouldn't want to see California employers relocate to other states! 

#3. Tell other nations of the world to reduce the hours of their work week, as well! China, India, and other major global players whose productivity and economic power has exploded over the last several decades need to take a break, as well! Otherwise...it just wouldn't be fair! 

#4. Make the cost of gasoline cheaper so that Californians wouldn't have to work more than one job just to make ends meet if they commute, have kids, want basic mobility, etc. 

#5. Make the cost of utilities cheaper (see #4). Of course, we live in the Golden State--the ocean breeze and gentle weather patterns of our state really don't require heating or air-conditioning. And warm showers...who needs 'em? 

#6. Make the cost of groceries cheaper (see #4). Eating is for fat people. Top Ramen and Cup O' Noodles, anybody? 

#7. Make the cost of housing cheaper--maybe those foreign and domestic investors who work 40+ hours a week should be prevented from buying up all of housing stock. What...they already HAVE? 

#8. Create laws for Californians to not work more than one job to get ahead in life. Because if they're already as productive working 32 hours at their primary job, then that's ALL they should live with--vacations, nicer cars, college education for their kids...pssssshaw! Gimme a break! 

#9. Figure out ways to calculate all the tech, manufacturing, medical, and legal companies and practices so that their work hours allow their weekly, monthly, and quarterly deadlines can be delayed. I mean, fair is fair! 

#10. Mandate the pay and benefits of the privately-employed tax base of California, and lower the highest state taxes in the nation, so that Californians can actually keep some of their money, lower their taxes, and have the pension and retirement benefits that politicians and the public sector has! 

These are ten time-tested, proven ways to create a 32-hour work week, and they're certainly easily to implement! Just make a few more laws, and more laws, and yet even more laws when the earlier laws just don't add up.

I could just add an eleventh method: JUST BANISH THE LAWS OF TIME, SPACE, PHYSICS, AND ECONOMICS! 

...but I am pretty sure that the California State Legislature is already all over that one. 

And I can already see and hear the smiles and joyous laughter of Californians who will enjoy three-day work weeks every week...and who know they just WON'T need to work an extra job on that day off to pay for the ever-exploding cost of living in the Golden State.

(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father to two cherished children and a wonderful wife. He was termed out of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) twice after two stints as a Board member for 9, years and is also a Board member of the Westside Village Homeowners Association. He previously co-chaired the MVCC Outreach, Planning, and Transportation/Infrastructure Committees for 10 years. He was previously co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee, the grassroots Friends of the Green Line (which focused on a Green Line/LAX connection), and the nonprofit Transit Coalition His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)

GUEST COMMENTARY - For many years I was the primary caregiver for my Mom, who died in November, age 101.

­ACCORDING TO LIZ - There has been a lot written about how the plutocracy has used its money, power and connections to reshape our country’s laws for its benefit.

GUEST COMMENTARY - Once again we are all paying our federal income taxes this month.

GUEST COMMENTARY - Jackson is 4 years old. His little sister, Isabella, is 3. They live with their mother, Rachel, a recovering heroin addict at Saint John’s Program for Real Change, a shelter for formerly homeless women and children that I head.