Santiago Gaughan/The Cougar

Based on the current trajectory plotted by many political analysts, the 2022 midterm elections seem to be a year where the U.S. reverts back to Trump-era division and signifies a loss for Democrats. 

Although most politicians are relieved to see Trump out of the office and out of the running for a second consecutive term, many Republicans and some Democrats have pushed back against Joe Biden’s ambiguous efforts to remedy a struggling economy, political tensions and civil rights issues. 

Early polls have shown that the slim majority of Democrats in the Senate are likely to be overtaken by Republicans. Several states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania and Texas are all having major decisive elections in 2022. 

Senator Warnock from Georgia, after winning an incredibly divisive special runoff election in 2021, will have to face another contentious election this year. 

Texas, a recently-declared battleground state, is having a gubernatorial election. The question of whether Gov. Greg Abbott will finally be replaced from office remains to be seen. 

Lastly, Pennsylvania is having both an important gubernatorial and House-level election this year which could allow the battleground state to swing in the favor of the Republicans this time around. 

These three states were one of the big states in question during the 2020 Election. Based on the recent performance of Biden as a leader, however, all of these states have a good chance of either swinging or remaining Republican. 

A Gallup poll conducted in January 2022 found that people who identify as independents, as well as some Democrats, have begun to feel negatively towards Biden. 

While the poll was done prior to the breakout of the Russia-Ukraine war and the aggressive rise in prices, most trends remain relatively the same, if not worse. 

An even more recent poll by CBS News finds a more troubling trend: the Republican Party is considered by most to be “extremist” while others label the Democratic Party as “weak.” 

Most of these feelings stem from a dislike for the current President. 

This labeling of the parties as “extremist” and “weak” only reveals an old trend that has kept the American government from reaching any favorable or progressive legislation: partisanship. 

Reverting back to a state where bitter divisions between the two parties ripped the country apart due to a deference to cooperate will only cause federal gridlock. 

The most recent struggle that Biden has had to address is the fight for abortion rights. For years, Biden has been a tactful supporter or opponent of abortion due to his Catholic faith. 

Now seemingly, with the midterm elections and 2024 looking like a hard race for Biden, he has reverted back to being a supporter of abortion once again. 

The 2022 midterm elections will most likely result in a loss for Democrats based on the analysis by political scientists, Biden’s struggling leadership, and reversion to partisanship as a reaction to the country’s weakened economic and political situation. 

JJ Caceres is a political science sophomore who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“The 2022 midterm elections will be a loss for Democrats” was originally posted on The Cougar

Cindy Muñoz/The Cougar

Although there are many interactive benefits that come with the usage of social media, it is addictive and should be limited or monitored. 

The usage of social media can be detrimental to adolescents’ mental health.

“Five more minutes” is a frequent and dangerous reminder teens propose to themselves to lessen the blow. More important tasks are acknowledged but ultimately disregarded. 

It’s important to recognize that there are both disadvantages and advantages that come along with using social media. There can be positivity found in that people can create or emulate one’s true identity.

However, there can also be harmful effects such as distraction, lack of sleep, cyberbullying, exposure to rumors and the notion to compare oneself to another.

Teenagers are often influenced and motivated by their peers. The number of likes they have can be correlated to what a teenager might think their worth is. 

When teenagers are comparing themselves to each other, it becomes difficult to steer clear of negativity. 

While there is a possibility that the negativity is not because of the media itself, it has been proven that social media inspires things like anxiety, loneliness and depression. 

Few can resist the temptation of using social media. It is unfortunate that the effects interactive media has on teens can often be more negative than positive.

Social media platforms are inherently designed by their respective companies to be addictive. Some even think that social media addiction should be treated in the same fashion as any harmful physical addiction like cigarettes and alcohol abuse. 

Creating these unbreakable addictions is unforgivable because the harm they cause teens is objectively demeaning and exploitative. Moreover, social media companies should be perpetrated for their intentionally malicious and addictive purposes.  

It goes further than a teenager’s mental health. With the emergence of media becoming necessary to interact with peers and entertain oneself, social networking has made its way into people’s work life. 

This issue penetrates beyond likes being viewed as currency. Platforms integrating into occupational life is easy because of their convenient and happening nature. 

While there are several potentially positive impacts that come along with the usage of social media, social media is addictive and should be recognized as an alarming threat. 

A broadened perspective would help understand the harm in the instant gratification that comes along with the hypnotizing scroll of dance routines at three in the morning. 

Myra Mohiuddin is a freshman art major that can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Social media is addictive and should be regulated” was originally posted on The Cougar

Iqra Rafey/The Cougar

Universal health care is a human right that should be prioritized. 

As health care costs rise, about one in four Americans are avoiding going to the doctor because they cannot afford the costs of medical care. 

This is concerning. As the pandemic lingers, a country should prioritize keeping their citizens healthy. 

Although the after effects of COVID-19 are still undergoing study, scientists have reached a common conclusion regarding the long term effects of the disease. 

Many people report symptoms of fatigue, joint pain, anosmia, chest pain and sleeping issues even after recovering from the virus. Worst case scenarios include organ damage and blood vessel problems. 

The pandemic heightened the low-quality medical care in the U.S.  which cost the lives of a million people. 

President Joe Biden’s plan to provide health care to Americans includes lowering premiums, increasing the range of providers, lowering the medical debt of Americans and protecting Americans from low-quality coverage.  

However, a recent study has shown that the U.S. has one of the lowest rates of satisfaction among its citizens compared to other countries in the world. 

This low rate of satisfaction is attributed to the high waiting times, lack of choice in physicians, and the rising burnout rate of doctors across the country. 

All of this is to say that the health care system in the U.S. has a lot to work on before it can become a reliable system for its citizens.

There is not a single thing that can fix health care in one go which is why universal health care is difficult to accomplish. 

Although other countries have achieved universal health care, it has come at the cost of higher taxes, premiums and underpaid doctors. 

America has managed to secure these disadvantages even without universal health care. 

In order to provide universal health care to Americans, the government needs to eliminate low-quality care, provide a better environment for doctors and work on preventative measures to keep people healthy. 

If America is unable to address these issues, universal health care will not be achievable. 

Cindy Rivas Alfaro is a journalism sophomore who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Universal health care in the US has a long way to go” was originally posted on The Cougar

Cindy Muñoz/The Cougar

Elon Musk should not have the power to control Twitter. As a billionaire and the CEO of Tesla, Musk’s influence over the app will lean towards benefiting people like him and creating an unregulated environment. 

Social media is one of the biggest tools that companies use to gain an upper hand in a competitive market. With Elon Musk acquiring Twitter for $44 billion dollars, many are worried about the changes the billionaire will make to the app. 

One of the things Elon Musk plans to do on Twitter is to lessen the censorship present on the app and allow for more free speech. 

Although this might sound like a good idea at first, free speech is not just saying whatever you want whenever you want. 

Free speech in the world of billionaires would be influencing their large followings regardless if the information is correct or not. 

If people with large followings will no longer be held accountable for the things they say online under the guise of free speech, the consequences will trickle into the real world. 

For example, the pandemic was one of society’s peaks where misinformation was rampant and caused lives to be lost. 

Researchers found that 67 percent of people actively spent more time on the news which made them vulnerable to myths and false remedies regarding COVID-19.  

In a study where people were shown true and untrue articles regarding COVID-19, people chose to share 40 percent of the untrue articles. 

This comes to show that people are unable to differentiate what is true and what is false. 

In a recent incident, an 18-year-old white man committed an act of terrorism that killed 10 Black people. 

He was motivated by theories he found online that promoted white nationalism. These theories were pushed by conservatives on several platforms for years including Twitter.

Social media is one of the biggest influencers of thought and if billionaires have the ability to buy their way into these platforms to push free speech without restrictions, it creates a dangerous environment. 

A lot of the people who push for free speech do not have the right intentions in mind.

With that in mind, billionaires like Elon Musk should not be given the power to control a social media platform as influential as Twitter. 

Elon Musk’s intentions with the platform will not make it a better place. It will only give power to the wrong hands. 

Cindy Rivas Alfaro is a journalism sophomore who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Elon Musk should not have control over Twitter” was originally posted on The Cougar

Renee Josse De Lisle/The Cougar

Texas democracy is immensely broken. Sortition democracy, a government by random selection, might be the best way to fix it. 

The idea is that a simple random sample or stratified sample of the population will provide a group that is far better suited to represent the genuine views of residents than a collection of politicians.

In recent years, Texas has become notorious for its anti-democratic policies. Key among them is the state’s rampant gerrymandering.

Even though roughly 60 percent of residents are nonwhite, in Texas’s new political maps, fifty percent of congressional districts have white majorities. 

Texas’s elections also suffer from severe voter suppression and the use of majoritarian first past the post voting, a system that has frequently been deemed by political scientists as one of the least representative.

This democracy deficit has come with real costs. In 2021, the failure of lawmakers to prepare the state power grid for extreme weather cost the state 200 billion dollars and over 700 lives. 

In addition, as of 2016, Texas provided a massive $60 billion in corporate subsidies annually. All of this has occurred as state funding for schools has been slashed and middle-class Texans have been increasingly crushed by rising property tax bills. 

These facts should not come as a surprise. A government cannot be for the people if the government is not by the people. 

Sortition offers a promising mechanism by which Texas’s Democracy problem can be rectified. 

Sortition has existed since the inception of Democracy but it has recently returned to the political vogue as people have sought to create a better alternative to representative democracy. 

A sortition-based citizens assembly would be reserved for a randomly selected group of citizens, unlike the modern Texas Legislature where the upper and lower house is filled with elected representatives. 

To elaborate, these citizens would study topics thoroughly with the help of key stakeholders and experts and then work together to craft policy. A new group would be chosen by lottery and the cycle would repeat itself. 

There are a plethora of potential benefits citizens assemblies could offer over Texas’s traditional elected congress.

Researchers found that participants in their sortition experiment moderated on issues and created consensus policy proposals. 

Many citizens assemblies have been launched over the last few decades. Scotland has committed strongly to relying more heavily on them in the future. 

Overall, the case for sortition in Texas is clear. The present-day legislative model is failing to represent the genuine interests of the people.

Building a Texas that works better for its residents will require open-minded and innovative approaches that fix the institutions that are at the origin of many of the state’s problems. 

Sortition is a method that has been demonstrated to produce decisions that are trusted by the population and highly competent.

It’s time for Texas to give it a try.

Micah Erfan is an economics freshman who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Texas should try sortition democracy” was originally posted on The Cougar

Juana Garcia/The Cougar

Roe v. Wade is speculated to be overturned in the summer by the Supreme Court. In order to protect the rights of women and several other precedents, this should not become a reality. 

Nearly 5,000 Houstonians gathered at Discovery Green to protest against the leak stating that it puts the lives of women in danger as well as threatens the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.

“It’s a shame,” said political science freshman Danielle Gomez. “The decision is a result of the representatives that the majority voted for. Trump nominated multiple pro-life Justices. The way to enact a change against the suppression of women’s rights is to go out and vote.”

The consequence of overturning Roe v. Wade is detrimental to America’s democracy. 

Since abortion is not explicitly stated in the Constitution, abortion is protected under the Fourteenth Amendment as a fundamental liberty. If Roe v. Wade’s foundation crumbles, so will other rulings. 

Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage, is protected under the Due Process Clause found in the Fourteenth Amendment. 

Loving v. Virginia, the ruling that legalized interracial marriages, is protected under both the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. 

The Consitution does not explicitly state these rulings. However, they are protected under the Fourteenth Amendment which states that no state can deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. 

Politicians might find other cases to go after if Roe v. Wade is overturned after more than 50 years of precedent.

With that in mind, the case that politicians might tackle next is Griswold v. Connecticut, a couple’s right to contraceptives without government intervention. 

If states eliminate the viability line and focus on when life starts, most would decide that life starts at conception with the fertilized egg. This could put birth control alternatives other than abortion at risk. 

Plan B, commonly known as the morning-after pill, stops an ovary from releasing an egg. The pill may also stop an already fertilized egg from attaching to the womb. 

If states decide that life starts at conception,  Plan B would be considered a form of abortion. Therefore, it would be another restriction in a woman’s life. 

More than 60 percent of women rely on birth control. Their autonomy will be lost if that right is taken away.

By making an abortion a felony, women are also at risk of losing their right to vote as felons are restricted from voting. 

With all of this in mind, in order to protect women as well as America’s foundation, the Supreme Court should not overturn Roe v. Wade. 

For those in need, there are resources available.

Cindy Rivas Alfaro is a journalism freshman that could be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com 

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“Roe v. Wade should not be overturned” was originally posted on The Cougar

Jiselle Santos/The Cougar

Many Americans are finding it harder to sustain a living. Living paycheck to paycheck is common nowadays but that should not be the case.

With inflation rising, more than two-thirds of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. More should be done to prevent this. 

This is concerning for many people, especially college students who are trying to enter a competitive market.

The average pay in Houston for someone with a bachelor’s degree is $53,977 a year which boils down to $1,038 a week. This might seem like a lot for some but with the average cost of rent being $1,302 a month, the picture begins to change. 

Rent is only one type of expense Americans have to deal with. Groceries, utilities, car payments, medical bills and surprise expenses begin to pile up. When people want to spurge on entertainment or take-out, many people find that they can’t afford it. 

When Americans can no longer afford their living expenses, they turn to credit. The lower monthly payments are tempting but the long-term consequences will soon catch up. 

The average credit score for Americans who live by each paycheck is 664. For people who do not, their average is 90 points higher. 

Many people do not know the risks of revolving debt, the balance you carry from a previous revolving credit account. 

People that are living by each paycheck, are probably not paying their balance in full. They might also be using the entirety of their credit limit. These factors contribute to a low credit score which is something Americans do not know. 

In fact, four out of ten Americans do not know how their credit is calculated. 

This leaves people at risk of accumulating debt that they will no longer be able to pay back.

With the rise of inflation being at its highest since the 1980s, more Americans might turn to credit as their paychecks are no longer enough to cover their living expenses. 

One solution to this problem could be increasing the minimum wage to $15, a solution President Joe Biden has already introduced to federal workers. 

The current minimum wage is not sufficient to support Americans. If the minimum wage followed the trend of increasing prices, Americans would be earning over $22 an hour. 

However, that is not the case in today’s economy with a minimum wage of $7.25. 

With that in mind, people should not be living paycheck to paycheck. 

America should increase the minimum wage so people can afford their basic necessities. Americans should have enough money to lead fulfilling lives, not lives filled with anxiety. 

Cindy Rivas Alfaro is a journalism freshman who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“People should not be living paycheck to paycheck” was originally posted on The Cougar

Juana Garcia/The Cougar

The UH commuter experience is difficult to enjoy for many students. The “ideal” college experience is built around a student that lives on campus, not a commuter.

The commuting experience is not tied down to “not making enough friends” but the inconvenient infrastructure, lack of autonomy and sacrificing your social life to graduate. 

Political science freshman Allyson Campos decided to commute since she was advised by many that it would save her money. 

“Being a commuter has drastically changed my college experience,” Campos said. “Hanging out requires you to block out a whole day just to come to campus. Most meetings are at around 6 p.m. and with traffic, I end up coming home really late. The hours I lose commuting to and from UH could have been used to study and it feels as if I have no time in a day to get work done.” 

Kinesiology junior Priscilla Munoz posted a TikTok last week that gained over 60,000 views that talked about how difficult it is to be a commuter. Over 100 UH students commented how they felt the same. 

“Some people say that joining organizations is good for commuters to make friends but for me, it’s hard to set aside time from my studies and job to attend mandatory meetings and events,” said Munoz. 

UH has attempted to relieve the strain of commuting through its Commuter Assistant Program, yet there is a lack of improvement in commuters’ outlook.

“I didn’t know that existed,” said Campos. Computer science freshman Carolyn Heron has only heard of the Commuter Assistant Program once during this year’s commuter fair.

There is a lack of understanding over the wants of commuters. While it is true that commuters want to make friends and enjoy their time on campus, outside factors prevent them. 

“Another difficulty as a commuter is that sometimes you can feel trapped on campus,” Heron said. “In between or after classes, I find myself shifting between the library, the student center or the CBB study area.”

Construction has also been a huge issue the past few years as several spots at UH are either shut down or under construction. UH’s underground satellite has been shut down since 2019 despite plans for its reconstruction to be completed by mid-2022.

“There’s no place to lay down or recline for a bit. I have seen other students sleep in study carrels or in their car but it does not sound very comfortable,” Heron said. 

About 70 percent to 96 percent of students get less than eight hours of sleep. Commuter students do not sleep well because a lot of their time is spent trying to achieve an enjoyable college experience. 

For UH to improve commuters’ morale regarding the college experience, it needs to implement changes that nourish the experience of a commuter. Forcing commuters to pretend that they are dormers is not helpful. 

UH should invest in cheaper parking, sleeping pods and better infrastructure that minimizes traffic and develops a different outlook on what it means to be a commuter. 

Commuters deserve a better college experience. 

Cindy Rivas Alfaro is a journalism freshman who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“The UH commuter experience could be better” was originally posted on The Cougar

Juana Garcia/The Cougar

Texas is not ready for a Democratic governor. 

Residents will have difficulty adjusting to a new Democratic governor after years of a Republican majority. There has not been a Democratic governor since 1995 when former Gov. Ann Richards was in office. 

The conflict for a majority pro-gun state like Texas will be Beto O’Rourke, who is running for governor.

“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15,” said O’Rourke. 

The issue this will create in the Texas Legislature will be big. Republicans mostly support conservative laws. This is possible because of the amount of Republicans in Texas.

A major change to happen in Texas is not realistic with a democratic governor. The House of Representatives and the Senate are controlled by Republicans. 

However, O’Rourke has the power to jumpstart a domino effect of Democratic officials filling Republican seats. 

In 2018, O’Rourke was able to help Texas Democrats gain two U.S. House seats, two state Senate seats and a dozen state House seats. 

The issue that arises with this plan is that many Texas are not aware of political races that increase the chances of turning Texas blue. 

The common voter knows about the presidential, Senate and gubernatorial elections.  They will vote for a governor but not pay attention to smaller elections that are just as important as Gubernatorial elections. 

To add, it takes time to inform people of these elections.

Time that Texas does not have.  

Recently, Texas has challenged several laws including how much a politician can pay himself back using his campaign funds and when the viability line sits for abortion. Greg Abbott has even signed a bill that changes how and when citizens can vote in Texas.   

Liberal views are not welcome in Texas. It is evident through the strict abortion laws, money wars by politicians and voter suppression laws.

There is a split view in Texas except Republicans have the upper hand with the overrepresentation in government. 

A Democratic governor needs to have their party be a majority in the Senate and the House to gain enough support to pass their laws. 

It is a long way toward election day. Texas’ success will be determined by how many democratic seats represent Texas in the bigger courts.

Jason Perez is a journalism and political science senior who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Texas is not ready for a Democratic governor” was originally posted on The Cougar

Juana Garcia/The Cougar

Recently, Netflix announced it was going to crack down on password sharing. However, considering its drop in subscribers and falling reputation, the streaming service should reconsider this decision. 

It’s a well-known fact that a lot of people password share on their Netflix accounts. Couples will often share or families may share one account for everyone in one household, even if the kids move out. Sometimes friends will even share multiple streaming service accounts with each other, including Netflix. 

Apparently, over 100 million households have a shared Netflix account.

Now, Netflix has announced its plans to charge extra fees for each password sharer on an account. It’s already started using this feature in Peru, Costa Rica and Chile. 

What is strange about this plan is that Netflix seems to forget people already do pay extra to share accounts. Users pay $9.99 a month for one screen and pay up to $19.99 for four screens to be watched at the same time. This is under the idea that people within one household could watch four screens at once. 

It’s completely unfair to charge even more for essentially the same thing. It doesn’t matter if people are using the same account within or outside the house. People already pay more for the additional use of Netflix.

This move is especially strange for Netflix considering the company has lost a lot of favor over the years. Some people dislike how sparse Netflix programming is now. It had a lot of beloved programs like ‘The Office’, ‘Friends’ and Disney movies leave to go to other platforms. 

A lot of people may not see the point in watching Netflix now unless they’re interested in the Netflix original shows. However, Netflix has a habit of canceling these original programs after only two seasons. It’s alienating a lot of users already.

The platform also has to compete with other streaming services like Disney+ and Hulu. 

People have only so much money and many are starting to use it on other services, considering the large drop in users since 2022 began. Netflix lost over 200,000 subscribers and now it may lose more if it makes password sharing more expensive. 

Almost 80 percent of people said they would not buy a subscription even if they couldn’t use someone else’s account anymore, according to a survey by Time2Play. It doesn’t sound like this anti-password sharing move will result in more subscribers for Netflix.

The decision will also probably hurt Netflix’s reputation a lot more. There are many streaming services now so people are having to choose where they will spend their money. They will likely choose the services that have the best options and don’t charge them extra for common things like password sharing.

Because it’s already losing favor with its user base, Netflix shouldn’t rock the boat anymore by making it harder and more expensive to share passwords. There are a ton of better streaming services now where people can easily take their money.

Anna Baker is an English senior who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Password sharing shouldn’t be regulated by Netflix” was originally posted on The Cougar