What to hope and wish for in the coming new year?
That the point-in-time count of the homeless population locally and nationally reveals fewer people living on the street. And that more publicly-funded services are made available.
That the public funding for homeless care and outreach not be pilfered from accounts set aside for other community-in-need-based programs and, instead, be diverted from those accounts that serve as incentives to developers and business rewards.
That the inevitable cuts to publicly-funded programs is minimal and is matched equally by the good-hearted.
We might hope and wish for the state mandated increase in minimum wage — $11 for workers in companies with 25 or fewer employees, $12 to those who work in places that have 26 or more employees — keep pace with the increased cost of survival. That the slight bump in paychecks for low-wage earners alleviates, even a little, the stress of having to worry about whether one should make cheap pasta and ramen for dinner or buy eggs and milk for two weeks’ worth of breakfast.
We might wish that the same bump in pay helps seniors who cannot afford to retire and rely on public transportation to get to work, given that San Diego Metropolitan Transit System is intent on increasing monthly rates for people age 65 and older.
In the coming year let’s hope that the bigots and sexists and racists among us and in public office are fewer and that the ones who are still in charge are on borrowed time.
And let’s hope that the same group of ignorants continues to reveal who they are publicly, in doing so affording us the opportunity to discover who we are by examining our reaction and behavior toward them.
Let’s hope for zero cases of police misconduct this year.
Let’s hope that the officers involved in misconduct are treated fairly and without leniency because of the profession they chose rather than their ability to execute their job duties professionally.
Let’s hope that the number of law enforcement officers declines because there is a seismic and long lasting decline in crime and the people who would patrol the quiet streets in our neighborhood quit because they are bored. (While we’re at it, let’s hope and wish for pink ponies with wings to carry us off to the secret place in the forest where all the winning lotto numbers are buried.)
Let’s hope that we spend less time on social media and more time being present, whether it’s at a stop light waiting for it to turn green, at a table for two in a restaurant or walking down the street on our way home or to the office.
Let’s hope our good decisions outweigh the bad ones and that the bad ones have no significant consequences.
And let’s hope, finally, that we and the people we love make it out of 2019 alive and healthy.
