Shame-Out:: (Third Time) It's the ECONOMY, (you) stupid congressmen...

Shame-Out:: (Third Time) IT's the Republicans (and the tea-party idiots) STUPID.

 OK.  Listening to MarketPlace on NPR,  I heard two economists discussing the June 2011 Unemployment drop (only 18,000 jobs created in June).

I said this, I will say this again.

It's not a single dip or Double dip RECESSION.  It's a ##^#&^#@$*&#@$^& DEPRESSION (2.0).

Get the facts.

• Companies that are sitting on billions in ca$h will NOT hire new workers, as the existing ones are being over-worked.
• Companies will NOT invest in new workers, making the problems worse.
• Republicans claim that cutting the deficit is key to getting the economy fixed.  NOT!
• In fact, the only reason we do not have an OFFICIAL unemployment rate of 16% TODAY  is because we DON'T count the people who are under-employed or gave up on looking.  Otherwise it would be much higher today, and perhaps at about 23% today.
• The $$$ that the federal government gave to local states and cities has ran out because the stimulus was limited.  Therefore, states and cities have cut over a QUARTER of a MILLION jobs in the past two years.

Republicans refuse to consider tax increases.  It now is time for them to realize that the 'trickle-down' economy concept has failed.  We have two Americas (one highly educated, and motivated, and one of  'burger-flippers', employing a huge percentage of our country) and we also have two Financial Americas.  Corporations, and "Multi-millionaires", versus 'the rest of us'.

We need to address this huge imbalance.  For republicans to ignore this imbalance, and still claim, "TRICKLE-DOWN", is simply like a huge "Trick on the down and out!".

It's time for the congress to get off of it's REAR, and actually do a stimulus LARGER then the last time.


HINT:  see my discussion on green job building and Eisenhower Highway Expansion.

Spending trillions of dollars on a NEW transportation system (not re-using existing rail lines) is green:

To reiterate:

• Use existing Eisenhower highway system and establish 4 new rail tracks on every highway.
• 2 Tracks would be for freight/trucks/motor vehicles.
• 2 tracks would be used for mass transit.

Benefits:

1. Federal jobs creation program.  Construction will take 15-25 years [it took that long to finish some parts of the Eisenhower system]  giving lifetimes of employment to current and future workers.
2. Green program.  Project objectives are 
• Reduce # of trucks/diesel/buses (and especially gas and emissions) on road.
• Program would seek to get both trucks or just trailers (and cars -SUV's too) from origination point to destination as fast and as fuel efficiently as possible, increasing productivity, and reducing emissions, fuel consumption and driver time behind the wheel.
3. Technology Driven:  Program objectives would be cost reduction via technology, reducing fuels, and needs for drivers going cross country.  
• Cargo should be able to go on a trailer, or with a truck.
• Rail system would use existing right of ways of highways.
• Totally separate from existing freight lines, but would interconnect.
• Existing Railroads would not be running these systems.
• Technology would allow national 'ez-pass' type electronic billing system for interoperability with all systems.
• Commuter rail portion of system would also be technology driven.

In summary again, we are NOT in a recession, but a full blown DEPRESSION 2.0.

In order to get out of this, we need to drastically increase spending, and have a PROGRAM and way out to:

• Rebuild our economy
• Rebuild the  MANUFACTURING and construction sector.
• Re-Train our workforce (from a service 'burger-flipping' mentality) to meaningful middle-class jobs.
• Create the "Green Economy", that everyone claims they want.
• Reduce fuel emissions DRASTICALLY
• Reduce gas and Diesel usage
• Make transportation a Technology driven , growth industry.
• Stop the political bickering, and allow our government to work together to solve our problems.

Jobs: Bring back the WPA, ...Just Do it!

OK.

Since today is President Obama's Jobs summit I thought I'd discuss what I believe needs to be done for our country.

(Executive Summary: I believe we need a new version of FDR's "WPA-Work projects Administration", that will be focused on training, service, and helping our country. I contend that this massive stimulus package can help re-focus our economy, and also make our nation less energy dependent.

There are several inter-related problems

1) Job Availability
2) Job Training and Retraining
3) Education
4) Green Economy / New "Manhattan" Project

1) I believe that the entire United States economy has been destroyed by its transformation from a supplier of GOODS, into a consumer based SALES economy. Availability of jobs, both traditional, blue collar, to high tech (technology) have fled from the United States overseas.

It is NOT an option to re-introduce trade barriers. It's too late for that. However, we can STILL overcome this, and make a great number of skilled trade jobs available. By undervaluing blue collar, and not encouraging manufacturing of any sort anymore, we have eliminated a huge number of potential jobs.

2) Job training and retraining:
Detroit. 'nuff said? I think so...
seriously, job losses and jobs exported ALSO is very high in the technical (computer) sector.
besides overseas call centers, web and computer programming, almost everything, including technical support, can and IS outsourced to other countries.

We need programs to help newly graduated, as well as unemployed, (and even) OLDER 50 and older workers learn new trades.

3) There are a great deal of studies about how our educational system has failed a great deal of inner city and urban students. For argument's sake, lets just say that 80% of the urban HS population graduates, but does not go to college.

What are the realistic job prospects for these newly graduated teenagers? The Service industry.
Not a lot of skilled labor there. If I wanted to become a plumber or electrician, becoming an apprentice is the only difficult way to achieve this.

What we need is the ability to have someone learn a skilled trade, that will allow this person to become a productive member of society, that will earn a living wage. I say living wage, because this is also a key problem in our current service economy.

4) Green Economy / New "Manhattan" Project
The opportunity to re-engineer our entire country, and create a national 'home' grid, as well as re-creating the national highway system are potential recipients of this labor.

What I am proposing is simple:
We will create a new job program (I call it the training corp), that will take workers, and depending on their talents and interests, help to train them, apprentice them, and then become skilled journeymen craftsmen in their chosen fields.

This program will take both volunteers, and eventually, all HS graduates (or over 17, which-ever comes later) for a three year, gradual program to teach these new skills.

Several aspects of the program will be familiar. The concept of military boot camp will be useful to teach new survival skills to those who may not have previously had the best learning environment.

The concepts of the "Military Academy" (West Point, Annapolis, etc) is also a key goal, as is the concept of the permanent career (just like in the military...)

Many of these "military concepts" can help to guide these programs. An example of a new service path would be for those interested in becoming engineers, or architects (for the large number of future projects).

The Manhattan Project (for Energy)
Here's a key infrastructure project that will make our country much more competitive:

It cannot be implemented using the current private US rail system, but would inter-act and exchange cargo with it.

But first:

When I recently took a trip down the NJ Turnpike (Route 95-South), on a Sunday night at about 11PM, I counted over 500 tractor trailers in one 1/2 hour period. Imagine what could be achieved if we had a new national rail system.

This new rail system would become a brand new expansion of the existing Eisenhower Interstate Highway system (Originally created to speed military operations if needed inside our country).

One of the critical factors would be to create 4 lanes (2 heavy and 2 light rail) railroad tracks, that would run down the highway, and allow trucks to offload (or even entirely load the entire truck itself) onto newly designed rail cars.

As another example, you might get onto the highway (again Route 95) after the George Washington Bridge. You (or your Car/Truck), or (eventually, just your cargo trailer) would get onto the train, and the train would carry you, your cargo, and your car or truck to your desired stop.

Cargo (as well as cars/buses/etc) would be tracked with High tech RF-ID tags, to help enable automated routing to your final destination.

A system this complicated will take almost as long to be built and implemented as the National Interstate highway system did in the 1950's, 60's and 70's. It isn't for the faint hearted.

But that's why I say it is PART of a "Manhattan Project" for energy independence.

The crews, the skilled labor, (yes, pouring concrete accurately and perfectly IS ALSO a skilled trade!!!) as well as the ability to put a great deal of our young people to work in jobs that will help our country become a new model for the world is something that is visionary.

No, we won't have to develop a bomb. But eliminating Trucking via diesel rigs will be a huge step to controlling pollution, reducing our oil usage, as well as making transportation a new industry that can help our country become more competitive again.

Additional steps besides research for R&D (and to develop new types of small power generators (think solar and wind) as well as plans for deploying them across the country will help our economy better then paying bankers, or Car manufacturers.

Part of this plan would be to commercialize and economize a solar panel, so that an average house could become energy neutral, if not a major energy generator.

Combined with new energy distribution networks (grids), as well as positive (or negative) metering and billing, we can pray that we can reduce our country's addiction to coal fired power plants.


XYZZY. Oh. You're already inside.

Is this just a dream? I hope not.

Please take the time to comment, critique, and make suggestions!

thanks again..

Detroit -- A restatement of the OBVIOUS

OK. Previously I stated that the AUTOMOBILE industry is Dead. Totally dead.
Or maybe you want to see where I said it HERE, which starts out, "

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings.
...
And Boy oh Boy,do the PIGS in Detroit have HUGE WINGS!

and boy, oh boy, I hear the wings are SO SO big, they're ALREADY complaining that the new Obama administration rules will kill them (see NYTimes HERE) -less then one hour ago in TODAY's issue...

As I said in the FIRST post above (here again)

I believe:

We are asking conflicting (and also the wrong) questions about the current Auto industry Crisis.

Why are we bailing out the Automobile Industry?
Answer 1: Because we want the US Automobile Industry to be Healthy and self supporting?

Answer 2: Because we want the manufacturing capacity of our country to remain intact.

Answer 3: Because we want the manufacturing capacity of the country to remain intact AND we want the Detroit companies to RETRAIN their workers into GREEN and Productive new industries.

Answer 4: Because we want to throw money at a dying industry, so that their employees can then get unemployment.


The correct Answer for OUR COUNTRY? 2.
Because we don't want to lose the MANUFACTURING capacity of OUR COUNTRY...

But see the post for a DETAILED analysis of WHY we want this.

And REMEMBER:

if we PUSH/SHOVE/Drag (kicking and SCREAMIN) the AUTO industry and MAKE it the TRANSPORTATION
Industry (SEE HERE) THEN
we can SAVE the JOBS from the FORMER AUTO industry AND
also TURN the country green.


Bottom line answer for Detroit?

Yes. You're Right. We WANT to kill the car.

Yes, you can still make (and TRY and sell)
ONE small car,
ONE SUV
ONE MiniVAN
ONE PANEL Truck
ONE Pickup Truck

but the REST of your production capacity MUST become GREEN, and become JOBS for PUBLIC transportation and INFRASTRUCTURE.

and rest assurred, it ISNT only the Detroit Auto industry that's dead and buried today.
It's NOW a WORLD-WIDE funeral.

And the rest of the world will eventually get the reason why we need to save the jobs too, but then it will be too late to save the MANUFACTURING base of the United States of America.

Take that and put it in your Peace Pipe before it's too late!!

Who's Listening/Talking about this

Here is a list (starting on 11/25) of programs on the radio

That are discussing the stuff I've covered in this BLOG

Perhaps SOMEONE will notice, and maybe even communicate this info to them at some point! I hope that someone, somewhere sees that these are all INTER-CONNECTED and need to be done together...

Date/Who/What/Link?/Guests (from)

Paul Krugman (This year's Nobel Prize recipient for Economics) says we need to SPEND, SPEND SPEND to get out of this toxic Mess. (TERRY GROSS interview 10-21-08: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95929699&ps=cprs )
"Need for massive spending to get out of this morass."

11-25-08 WHYY/Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane Listen
Guests:
EMIL FRANKEL -- of the Bipartisan Policy Center
ROBERT PUENTES of the Brookings Institution

More to come. Who knows, maybe someone I listen to every day will finally listen!

1-8-09 Leonard Lopate (listen) discussed what MIGHT be on the Rails in our country with Thomas Downs is a transportation expert and former president of Amtrak (1993-1998).
Very active commenting, and I hope some people will come and visit the blog here...

Topic of Week: Infrastructure: (update 11-25-08)

Here is a previously published post:

1. We need to REBUILD the INFRASTRUCTURE in our COUNTRY
2. We Need to start to TRAIN and RETRAIN workers in our COUNTRY.
3. We need to train and RETRAIN the underprivileged in our country.

Why do we need a infrastructure program in our country?

And..(added) We NEED to make our country GREEN while we rebuild it too!
HERE is a link to my NEWEST prediction... HOW to safely save the Car companies AND make them GREENER. (the Auto industry in US is DEAD, long live the transportation industry).

Why does the GOVERNMENT need to pay for it?

1. Economic Crisis: By pumping billions into infrastructure repair, it will stimulate the economy.
2. Educational Crisis: By having a massive retraining and educational program, this will help to get decent paying jobs, in a growing industry.
3. Moral Crisis: By offering training to our population, it will allow those who want, to get out of the service-oriented (mcdonalds) economy, and actually make things.
4. Military Crisis: Creating this as a national SERVICE program, and making it MANDATORY will be the start of eliminating paid military contractors as "service employees".

Here are some links to previous discussions I have written:

(in which I call for a Job training, and SERVICE corp, as well as a MANDATORY draft)
See Here (mandatory draft) http://sos-newdeal.blogspot.com/2008/09/topic-of-week-mandatory-draft.html
and
HERE (mandatory Draft -- Military Option)
http://sos-newdeal.blogspot.com/2008/07/proposal-mandatory-conscription-of-17.html
and
HERE (mandatory Draft -- Alternative Service Option)
http://sos-newdeal.blogspot.com/2008/07/proposal-mandatory-conscription-of-17_11.html

And making it GREEN: By taking the 'Eisenhower Highway' system, and putting MASS Transit and HEAVY Rail (capable of taking a Tractor Trailer OR FULL TRUCK) down the CENTER of EVERY single HIGHWAY in the country (eventually).
Using stuff like Electronic tags (think EZPass) to identify Every trailer, can help do routing, and transfer from train to train to make it a seamless, with less human intervention needed.

We need to rebuild our country. We ARE in a depression. You won't hear it called that until we're OUT of the depression.

Just like Franklin Roosevelt fixed the banks, created work programs, and did lots of great stuff to pull the country out of the depression, We have the OPPORTUNITY to now do the same thing,.


We need CHANGE.

GO and VOTE!