Retired Scientist

Nina and Dave (with the remains of the Kringle pastry)

We met Nina in her beautiful, large home on a broad street with manicured lawns in Mt. Pleasant, where she has lived for the last ten years.  We were introduced to her by her sister Kim, who is a friend of a friend of ours in the San Francisco Bay Area.  She is a retired molecular biologist, who worked in Madison for the last years of her career.  The commute was difficult; each day she would drive to Milwaukee and then take a vanpool to Madison.  The trip took an hour and a half each way.  She recalled the conversations with, and the people she met in the van-pool as some of the best times she had in her life, as they were interesting and represented a diverse range of professions and perspectives.

Foxconn, the new neighbor

At one point her husband, Dennis, and her son, Alan came into the room.  They are both real estate appraisers; Dennis is nearing retirement and Alan is taking over the business.  But for the obvious age difference, they could have been twins; it was striking. When they were present we discussed home values and concluded that their home would be worth about five times as much on the San Francisco Peninsula.   Father and son are eager for the Foxconn development as it will improve employment opportunities and real estate values in the Racine area.

Daily transport to/from Madison

Nina said that Foxconn means jobs and that is exactly what this area needs.  She is counting on the corporate goodwill of Foxconn to preserve the environment, even though the present governor of Wisconsin does not care about the environment. The state is tying the money that they are giving to Foxconn to goals, to milestones.  Nina was surprised that they chose Wisconsin.  Racine was a significant manufacturing area, but in the 1970’s jobs moved to the South, leaving unemployment high.  This disability remains to this day.  Before jobs moved out in the 1970’s the population was more diverse.

Political Outlook and the Media

She indicated that she has no strong political opinions but is concerned about redistricting and is following the Supreme Court case on gerrymandering closely.  While both parties have engaged in it, the algorithms being used recently have distorted districts even more.  She is concerned about criticism of the news media from the President and subscribed to the online edition of the New York Times, feeling that it is her duty as a citizen to support the first amendment and a free press.  That said, she is quite critical of the New York Times, and other news outlets for missing the predictions on the election by so much.  She feels that some voters who would have supported Hillary stayed home as her election was a foregone conclusion, according to the national media.

Nina considers herself to be “Independent, leaning left.”  She talks about politics with her children and thinks that they feel the same way she does.   She used to respect Paul Ryan, but no longer does.  When we were 6 months into the presidential administration Ryan said, “give him a chance, he’s new at this.”  This was the last straw for her, though she does realize that he walks a tightrope.  She, and her children, are not fans of Scott Walker, voting against him for governor and for the recall.  Scott Walker froze her salary and she takes that seriously.

Nina gets her news from PBS and numerous online sources, and tries hard to keep up with it.
Climate Change
She is very worried about climate change.  Wisconsin was in a drought and Houston is getting flooded.  Climate change means that when we do have precipitation there is more than before.  People in the state don’t discuss climate change much, though they do have recycling.  California is dealing with recycling in a more complete way.  She does not know how her neighbors treat recycling, Madison is obviously ahead of Mt. Pleasant when it comes to recycling.  Nationwide, coal power plants were going to be retrofitted to reduce pollution including one near Mt. Pleasant, but Trump cancelled the plan last week.  She doesn’t know what Foxconn is going to use for power.

We discussed hunting and the gun culture.  She does not think that the second amendment needs to cover automatic weapons.  She believes that mental illness was the cause of the Las Vegas tragedy,  but is not sure that guns should or could be restricted due to mental conditions.  This is because people have good days and bad days.  In any event there should be more services available to treat mental illness.  If there were no automatic weapons there would be a lower loss of life.

Healthcare...a tough one

Is healthcare a right?  Nina struggles with this.  There are benefits to working besides a salary; one of these is healthcare insurance.  She does think that there should be government mandates.  “You have to cover preexisting conditions and mental health.”  She does not know if people should be compelled to buy.  She worries about how we will pay or healthcare, although other countries seem to have it figured out.  This is a difficult issue for her.  She is all for Obama’s coverage mandates.  When it comes to serving the poor she notes that charities and food pantries are overworked.  She is concerned that drug testing before providing services just puts another stigma on those who are unemployed.

Magic Wand Question

If Nina could make one change it would be that people would understand that there is dignity in work and that it changes them and their self image.

-- Dave