DisneylandForward for the Entire Economy

 by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – March 26, 2021

 

Whenever a large company pitches government on a proposal that’s supposed to help that firm and the economy in general, this economist’s free-market radar goes up. After all, most of the time, such proposals involve a business looking for taxpayer handouts, but trying to dress up such welfare as being great for everybody, including the taxpayers footing the bill.

That’s why the Walt Disney Company’s new pitch to the City of Anaheim – called DisneylandForward – to expand, well, Disneyland is so refreshing. It also should serve as a template for policymaking related to entrepreneurs, businesses, their employees, and investors, as we all work to climb out of this pandemic mess.

 

Disney is not looking for any kind of government aid, subsidies, or handouts in this proposal. In fact, in its various materials on the undertaking, the company explicitly declared: “To be clear, Disney is not seeking any public funding for DisneylandForward, nor are we seeking additional square footage or hotel rooms beyond what is currently approved and allowed.”

 

This is music to the ears of this economist. Please, tell me more!

 

Instead of seeking handouts, Disney is looking for Anaheim to be more flexible in terms of how it regulates the company. Specifically, Disney is looking for flexibility in terms of zoning regulations so that the company can move ahead and make investments in expansion that will serve new and current customers, boost the region’s economy, and create jobs. Disney is beginning a process of explaining and illustrating to Anaheim that a shift in its zoning from traditional, specific-use approval to zoning that allows for increased flexibility and integration in terms of uses – such as allowing a hotel, restaurants, attractions and entertainment in one area or facility, as opposed to just one of those options – not only makes sense for Disney and its business, but how the House of Mouse ties in with the rest of the regional economy and beyond.

 

Disney pointed out, “While Disney has the development rights and the desire to continue investing in Anaheim, the space to develop integrated offerings is severely limited. Without broadening the uses allowed within each district or demolishing and replacing many beloved theme park attractions, further integrated development and theme park investment are not possible.”

 

I’m always frustrated when government stakes out overtly hostile stances against entrepreneurs, businesses and investors. Such misguided actions spring from failures to grasp how the economy and business work; and how growth, wealth and jobs are created; as well as political philosophies rooted in fantasy, and/or politics built on cynicism and special-interest favors. And then there are businesses that seek government handouts, which only serves to gin up further hostility toward business. So, I wonder if the vast costs of the pandemic might change things, at least somewhat. 

 

Disney put its DisneylandForward effort in the proper context of what we have been suffering through for the past year-plus:

 

“While no one could have predicted just how far-reaching the job loss and economic impacts would be as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we know this past year has been incredibly difficult. It has taken a major toll on our cast, The Anaheim Resort, Anaheim residents and families, Orange County, and California. But, with time, we will recover, and we’ll do it together. We believe in the future of this great city, and we are ready to join hands as even stronger partners. With continued investment, we can make an even larger impact on short-term recovery, enhance long-term growth, and help address some of Anaheim’s more difficult problems in the future.”

 

Again, how will we recover and grow? Not via government subsidies. Not by some big governmental undertakings with commensurate tax and regulatory costs. Not thanks to the us-vs.-them mentality that dominates too much of our public discourse and manifests itself in public policies. Instead, it will be accomplished by government thinking clearly and providing flexibility – dare I say: providing relief? – from burdens that make no sense, and only serve to raise the costs of or block productive, private-sector investment. In turn, entrepreneurs and businesses, including Disney, will be better able to make growth-generating investments.

 

Let’s call it the DisneylandForward agenda for Anaheim, for California, for other states and for the nation: No subsidies. Provide flexibility and relief from government regulations and other actions that make no sense. And thereby, free up the private sector to invest, innovate and drive economic, income and job growth.

 

_________

 

Ray Keating is a columnist, novelist, economist, podcaster and entrepreneur.  Keating has two new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13ththriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

One of the best ways to enjoy Ray Keating’s Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries is to join the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship! For the BEST VALUE, consider the Book of the Month Club.  Check it all out at https://www.patreon.com/pastorstephengrantfellowship

 

Also, tune in to Ray Keating’s podcasts – the PRESS CLUB C Podcast  and the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast  

 

Check out Ray Keating’s Disney news and entertainment site at www.DisneyBizJournal.com.

PRESS CLUB C Podcast with Ray Keating – Episode #43: Ray Keating’s 12 Rules for Writing Commentary in Toxic Times

Whether writing books, articles, Facebook posts or Tweets, Ray argues that when trying to persuade others to your side, perhaps it’s better to be civil than resorting, for example, to name calling. He offers 12 rules to help himself and hopefully others in rather toxic times. This podcast builds on Ray's Keating Files column on the subject. Tune in here!

Ray Keating’s 12 Rules for Writing Commentary and Analysis – From Books and Articles to Facebook Posts and Tweets

 by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – March 19, 2021

 

Whether one writes books and articles, or simply Facebook posts and Tweets, a simple question must be answered: Why? Or, what’s the point? Why do you do this?

Now, if you’re just looking to vent your spleen and attack others, and that somehow that makes you feel better, then don’t bother with this. Get back to your important angry rants.

 

However, if you’re looking to actually persuade others, to try to help them see the truth, then perhaps consider the following “rules” for doing so. I jotted these down initially to help myself. I’ve been in the commentary/economist/analysis business for more than 31 years now, and things have changed, dramatically. 

 

A big part of that change has been technological. The digital/computer/telecommunications/internet revolution has expanded opportunities, allowing more individuals, for example, to have their voices heard on wide-ranging matters. That’s great. 

 

At the same time, the speed and immediacy of the internet, if you will, has meant that some things can be – and have been – lost, such as time for reflection in order to more deeply explore and more articulately express those ideas, as well as the diminished role, to the detriment of both writers and readers, of editors. Also, too many “experts” now possess ankle-deep, talking-points level of knowledge of issues upon which they spout off. That’s not so good.

 

These developments, along with an assortment of others in our culture, have led to an expansion of the us-vs.-them mentality – a return to tribal thinking. In fact, this has reached the point that large swaths of people simply assume that those they disagree with are unreachable – profoundly stupid and/or evil. That’s an unhealthy development, to say the least.

 

So, given that I write for a living – and I profoundly enjoy it – I have been thinking more and more about how to better engage people on ideas and issues. Over the past three decades, I have written some things that I would express in a different way or tone today, especially given the toxic, other-guy-is-just-evil mentality that has deeply infiltrated both the Left and Right today. 

 

The question I asked myself was: What rules do you need reminding of when sitting down at the keyboard?

 

I came up with the following 12, and thought they might be worthwhile to others who work to engage, teach, criticize, and persuade others – from commentators and authors to pastors and priests to elected officials to those who just enjoy discussing policies and ideas, again, via Facebook or Twitter. These should be straightforward and self-evident, not in need of much expanded explanation.

1) No Name Calling. After all, what’s the point?

 

2) Work to Persuade Using Logic, Reason and Facts. Using logic, facts and reasons is always better than just yelling stuff.

 

3) Always Offer a Solution, Remedy or Worthwhile Lesson. I had a longtime editor who emphasized this, and it could be the most important lesson I learned for writing.

 

4) Assume Your Opponent is Mistaken, Not Evil. Assuming that someone who disagrees with you is evil is rarely productive. While there certainly are evil people in life, assuming that all of your opponents are evil ignores the more likely reality that, for a variety of reasons, they simply are mistaken.

 

5) Firmly Criticize When Warranted, But Respect Others. Yes, you can criticize and disagree with someone, and still treat that person with respect. 

 

6) Do Not Assume All Who Agree With Your Position Understand the Issues.Particularly in recent years, I have had to learn this lesson.

 

7) Do Not Assume All Who Agree with Your Position Act in Good Faith and Warrant Your Allegiance and Defense. Watching allies on issues defend the indefensible because the indefensible has been perpetrated by someone on “our side” has been perplexing and discouraging – and it is an expanding plague in recent years.

 

8) Just Because Your Opponent Misbehaves Doesn’t Give You An Excuse To Do the Same. Hey, it’s simple: Don’t stoop down to the same unsavory level as your opponents.

 

9) In Your Pursuit of Truth, Bring Others Along With You. The ultimate point should be to bring light and truth to others.

 

10) Try to Delve Deeper Than the Talking Points. Perhaps it’s wise to refrain from spouting off confidently on something about which one knows little-to-nothing.

 

11) You Can’t Be An Expert on Everything, So Find Reliable, Well-Reasoned Experts.This is increasingly hard, but more essential, it seems, with each passing day.

 

12) Abide by the Golden Rule. As in Matthew 7:12: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them…”

 

I’m hoping that these rules will help me to be a more thoughtful, persuasive and productive writer, and perhaps you as well.

 

_________

 

Ray Keating is a columnist, novelist, economist, podcaster and entrepreneur.  Keating has two new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13ththriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

One of the best ways to enjoy Ray Keating’s Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries is to join the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship! For the BEST VALUE, consider the Book of the Month Club.  Check it all out at https://www.patreon.com/pastorstephengrantfellowship

 

Also, tune in to Ray Keating’s podcasts – the PRESS CLUB C Podcast  and the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast  

 

Check out Ray Keating’s Disney news and entertainment site at www.DisneyBizJournal.com.

 

PRESS CLUB C Podcast with Ray Keating – Episode #42: St. Patrick Deserves More Than Beer, Corned Beef and, Particularly, Cabbage

 In time for St. Patrick’s Day, Ray serves up more than beer, corned beef and the dreaded cabbage. He actually delves into who this guy St. Patrick was, and why he mattered so much that he got and deserves his own day. Tune in here!

The Church Has a Limited But Critical Role in Politics

 by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – March 9, 2021

 

Author’s Note: The more things change, the more they stay the same. The debate about religion and politics has raged on for centuries; and in the U.S., many of the details can stay remarkably consistent over years or even decades. The following column, which is included in my book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York (2020), first appeared in Newsday in October 2004. John Kerry is mentioned, but one can easily replace his name with “Joe Biden.” However, added to the story in more recent times would be the descent among certain factions within “conservative” Christianity into a bizarre quasi-worship of Donald Trump, including a defend-him-no-matter-what-he-does-or-says lack of discernment. In the end, as explained below, politics is not supposed to inform the Church. To the contrary, the Church primarily should be focused on teaching the world and the faithful, who then, with informed consciences, engage the political arena. Fortunately, at the time of this writing, I was able to interview three well-reasoned members of the clergy, including the now-late Father Richard John Neuhaus.

 

Mixing religion and politics can spark controversy. Nonetheless, church leaders have a moral obligation to speak out on certain issues. So, faith and politics will, at times, intersect. But what constitutes the church’s proper role? 

Consider two recent examples. As Newsday reported last week, Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton appeared with Democrat John Kerry at the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Miami, Florida. Some 300 parishioners, flapping “Kerry-Edwards” fans, were urged to vote for the Massachusetts senator. 

 

Meanwhile, various Roman Catholic bishops have raised questions about the moral legitimacy of voting for a candidate favoring abortion and embryonic stem cell research. Kerry, who is a Catholic, has a staunchly pro- abortion record, and calls for significant taxpayer funding for the kind of stem cell research that destroys human embryos. 

 

I spoke with three local members of the clergy last week – one Lutheran, one Anglican and one Catholic. Each offered remarkably similar assessments on the church’s appropriate place in the public square. 

 

Pastor John Fleischmann of Christ Lutheran Church in East Moriches noted that the church’s job is to be “clear about things the Scripture says are right and wrong.” The Rev. Randolph Jon Geminder, an Anglican priest at St. Mary’s Church in Amityville, declared: “All we can do is exhort our people to implement the moral teachings that we’ve given them when they make an informed choice.” 

 

The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus is a Catholic priest, editor-in-chief of First Things magazine located in New York City, and has written extensively on the church and politics. He agreed: “The responsibility of the church is to encourage and educate its own people with respect to the great moral questions of our time. Then it is up to the people to reflect upon this and to form their conscience according to the truth taught by the church and then to act” in the political arena. 

 

Each also saw risks of getting too political. Father Geminder noted that by getting “so wrapped up in the minutiae of politics, we can lose our entire focus of why we’re here.” Father Neuhaus worried about compromising “the moral integrity of religion when you hitch it to a very specific partisan agenda.” 

 

A candidate speaking from the pulpit and distributing campaign materials in church clearly rank as partisan, and the church risks being cheapened. 

 

What about the issues? Holy Scripture, church teachings and moral reason clearly support speaking out strongly against abortion, human embryonic stem cell research and cloning, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage. These are foundational, biblical values for which there should be little or no room for disagreement within Christianity. 

 

Other issues have significant moral implications, but people of good conscience can disagree. For example, some Christians oppose the death penalty, while others note that it is allowed in both the Old and New Testaments. War also can split views among people of faith. 

 

Meanwhile, some churches make proclamations or lobby on issues distant from their mission and where they lack expertise. For example, churches embracing “social justice” or the “social gospel” often will use broad biblical declarations to endorse a very specific liberal, secular agenda, including a higher minimum wage, antitrust regulation, Medicare, Medicaid, climate issues, affirmative action, or even Internet access. Such going astray can weaken the church’s moral authority when it’s truly needed. 

 

In the end, the Christian Church’s mission is as Jesus commanded: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Perhaps some of the churches or clergy who enthusiastically embrace a secular political agenda simply find this “Great Commission” uninteresting or unconvincing – a disturbing and distressing thought. For Christians, as Pastor Fleischmann observed, the Gospel informs politics, not the other way around. 

 

_________

 

Ray Keating is a columnist, novelist, economist, podcaster and entrepreneur.  Keating has two new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13ththriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

One of the best ways to enjoy Ray Keating’s Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries is to join the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship! For the BEST VALUE, consider the Book of the Month Club.  Check it all out at https://www.patreon.com/pastorstephengrantfellowship

 

Also, tune in to Ray Keating’s podcasts – the PRESS CLUB C Podcast  and the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast  

 

Check out Ray Keating’s Disney news and entertainment site at www.DisneyBizJournal.com.

 

St. Patrick’s Day Approaches: How Immigrants Shaped Our Cuisine

 by Chris Lucas

Guest Column

The Keating Files – March 7, 2021

 

March is here, and for many that means the month of green - from flowers and trees just beginning to blossom to Saint Patrick’s Day and everything associated with it.

 

One of the things people think of immediately with Saint Patrick’s Day is the hearty traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage. 

Did you know that, in Ireland itself, corned beef isn’t really a delicacy or traditional? Bacon or lamb is their meal of choice on Saint Patrick’s Day.

 

So why corned beef? Immigration.

 

People have been making corned beef since the Middle Ages. It’s a way to preserve meat using grains of rock salt (which was often called corn in Europe) and potassium nitrate (Salt Peter), which turns the meat bright pink. In some areas they skip the nitrate, and the beef turns gray (sometimes known as New England Corned Beef or Boiled Beef.)

 

Cattle was plentiful in Ireland in the 1600s and 1700s, and corned beef was produced and exported in mass quantities. The problem was that the British were shipping all of the food out of the country and not leaving any for their poor Irish tenant farmers, who relied on potatoes and root vegetables as staple meals, along with pork, which the British disdained. 

 

The famine and blight in Ireland in the mid 1800s wiped out the potato crop, causing The Great Hunger. The Irish were denied education, left with scraps and forced to work long hours doing manual labor for bits of food. 

 

That caused a massive Irish migration to the United States, mostly to big cities on the East Coast, like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Savannah. Some even went west, to places like Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Chicago.

 

It was in those cities that the Irish-Americans thrived. Their children were given free educations, and the hope was that they wouldn’t have to work at manual labor jobs causing their shoulders to grow large and their lives to be cut short. This new generation was called “Narrow Backs.” 

 

It was that group who began to mingle with the Italian and Eastern European immigrants who populated the same crowded neighborhoods and tenements. They spoke each other’s languages and ate each other’s food. That’s where corned beef comes in.

Jewish immigrants from Europe discovered that beef in the United States was plentiful and cheap, offering a culinary option other than pork. They cured and pickled the beef in brine, creating New York style corned beef and pastrami.

 

The Irish fell in love with corned beef, which they were denied back home. It was a cheap meal that they could throw in a pot with vegetables and cabbage to feed their family for days.

 

Since New York invented the Saint Patrick’s Day parade in 1762, gatherings after the event became popular. Corned beef and cabbage was the go-to dish. It became so associated with March and the Irish that Abraham Lincoln had it served at the banquet to celebrate his inauguration in March, 1861. 

 

One last corned beef innovation came in 1914 when a Broadway star wandered into Arnold Reuben’s New York restaurant late at night after a show. She demanded a new dish, so he whipped together corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian Dressing, heating and melting it all on Rye. 

 

Thus was born the non-Kosher - mixing dairy and meat is a no-no - Reuben Sandwich. (A hotel in Omaha, Nebraska, also claims to be the birthplace, but New York is more likely.) 

 

Today, some of the best corned beef in the world can still be found in Jewish delicatessens and Irish Pubs. 

 

You can enjoy it on rye (and only on rye, preferably with mustard. As Buddy Hackett once said “Any time a gentile orders corned beef on white bread with mayo, a Jew faints somewhere.”) with an ice cold Coke or with a green beer. 

 

When you do, be sure to say a quiet thank you to all of the immigrants who made corned beef an American staple.

 

_________

 

Chris Lucas is the author of Top Disney: 100 Top Ten Lists of the Best of Disney, from the Man to the Mouse and Beyond.

 

On the PRESS CLUB C Podcast, enjoy Ray’s discussion with Chris Lucas about his career as an actor, author and Disney expert. Tune in right here!

 

PRESS CLUB C Podcast with Ray Keating – Episode #40: What REALLY Annoys Me About Social Media and Some Solutions

Ray Keating doesn’t just rant about what annoys him regarding an assortment of engagements on social media, but also serves up some solutions or advice. Golly, how novel. Listen here!

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #96: Immigration and the Economy, Part III: Economists Weigh In

 

Ray Keating continues to look at the issue of immigration, and considers what a wide array of economists have to say on the issue. Listen here!