{"id":10712,"date":"2025-01-03T08:44:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T13:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/?p=10712"},"modified":"2025-01-02T21:46:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T02:46:13","slug":"hopes-dreams-and-resolutions-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/01\/03\/hopes-dreams-and-resolutions-for-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Hopes, Dreams, and Resolutions for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>empus Fugit!<\/em> Yes, I had to take 4 years of Latin in high school. Little did I know how fast time actually flies.<\/p>\n

And now, as 2025 arrives, I find myself sobered and thinking about what lies ahead.\u00a0 For my loved ones and all the workers in my life. For the workers who will put food on my table, heat my home and keep my lights on, keep my Boston streets \u00a0plowed, pick up my trash, fill up my tank, deliver my mail, care for my mom and other elderly, disabled, injured and the ill persons; report the news, and manufacture the pills I take and the products I use on a daily basis — all year long.<\/p>\n

And for all those unrecognized and often unappreciated government workers who draft, implement, and enforce public policies; set and enforce safety and health standards for our workplaces; process our social security checks; administer health programs like Medicare and Medicaid; set standards for clean air and water; protect our natural resources; manage air traffic; conduct scientific research; forecast our weather; support veterans; assist low-income families with housing, food, and healthcare; and help ensure the safety of our food, drugs, and other products.\u00a0 And that\u2019s just a snapshot of who they are and what they do.<\/p>\n

Sobered and Worried<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We will soon have four more years of the Trump administration. Where will the President\u2019s priorities lie?\u00a0 With the health and safety of the workers who are the lifeblood of our economy, our communities, and our families?\u00a0 Or with the corporate interests that actually thrive on the labor, blood, sweat, and tears of the workers who keep them in business and bring in their profits? \u00a0Mr. Trump\u2019s record, remarks, advisors, and billionaire buddies (like Elon Musk) are reason enough to worry (see here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>).\u00a0 The past, as they say, is prologue.<\/p>\n

However, there does seem to be one glimmer of hope \u2013 his nomination of Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon to serve as his Secretary of Labor. \u00a0She is one of the few Republicans in Congress to co-sponsor the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act<\/a>. Voices in organized labor have applauded her nomination, though there are doubts that the administration will actually support her worker-friendly perspectives and agenda (here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Hopes and Dreams<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Take a look at my 2024 wish list here<\/a>. Most are unrealized, so I simply add a few more to them here.\u00a0 Though I am not optimistic, my new and additional hopes and dreams follow.\u00a0 Basically, I hope without expecting that:<\/p>\n