Looking around the world today, there is a lot that needs improvement, especially here in the States. My dream comprises a liberal president and congress willing to swing the pendulum wildly in the other direction to set our country to rights again.
First of all, the experts say that we are headed for a depression. I have seen more and more people with signs saying they will work for food, as well as more hitchhikers who looked like an updated version of the Depression-era hoboes. These are ill omens. In order to work, most of us have to drive. I’m as sick of hearing about the rising gas prices as the next person, but as I spend $40 to fill my tank I am even more sick of the lack of alternatives.
Don’t despair, I have a solution. We need a new New Deal. People are unemployed and yearn for work, while much of our work is outsourced. We spend billions a week on a fruitless and geopolitically damaging war most of us never wanted in the first place. Meanwhile, prices continue to rise, and people continue to have little in the way of choices. You know – you live here.
My thoughts, and I know it is unoriginal, but let’s invest in ourselves again. Why not build the infrastructure necessary for great mass transit? Green mass transit, that exists even in rural communities. Yes, expensive, but after we have hemorrhaged money on one of the worst conceived wars in our history, I no longer think that argument works. Besides, instead of fighting for oil, we should focus on no longer needing oil, instead.
I also want to employ people to build wind farms, solar panels, and create affordable green architecture. People cry that we don’t have the infrastructure to support green building, lower fuel consumption, and mass transit, so I say quit fucking around and build it. People say that Americans are too tied to their vehicles, but I say that if they had an affordable alternative, they wouldn’t be. This is proved by the success of the Metrolink and other mass transit systems. Wouldn’t you rather spend $40 a month on getting to work rather than $40 a week – and that is if you have a vehicle with good gas mileage.
Laws need to be on the books that charge high taxes for companies that are outsourcing. Huge tariffs need to be in place for anything – but especially cheap plastic crap sold at Walmart – that is coming in from other nations, most especially China. Why are we friends with this nation while we decry the cruelty of Iran and Iraq? We need to extricate ourselves from China before we become completely owned by a foreign nation. I don’t fancy living in a cyber punk novel.
All of the problems that face us are fixable, and we are well past the point of pretending that there are not any problems. Acknowledge the problem and create a way to fix them. We can improve our nation and save the people who live in it by acting now. To continue to promote this idea of not helping people is ludicrous, especially when we can help ourselves in the process.
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The ignorance shown in this post is staggering. Please learn something about why nations trade before you say we should stop doing it.
Alice,
If the only thing you got out of my post was that, then you misread it completely.
My point was we need to work on infrastructure, not that we need to quit trading. If you don't understand the word "tariff" maybe YOU should learn something before you comment.
Also, I just love how people will read an entire post, focus on one paragraph, and decry is as "ignorance". Arrogant and pointless, much?
**applause**
"Tariff" means exactly that: limitations on trade. We slap on tariffs, other countries follow. Read up here if you want to see what happens when you add big tariffs during an economic downturn. Also consider that with inflation running as high as it is, and the dollar slumping, exports are one of the few bright spots in the US economy right now. Taxing outsourcing is the same thing: a tariff on labor and service industries.
In order to stay competitive with other countries, I agree that we need to do a lot of big investment in our own country, in infrastructure, but also especially in education. Demonizing trade, or demonizing other countries as in some sort of new version of the "yellow peril" of China, is exactly the wrong thing to do. Let's work on ourselves before we go around blaming other people or engaging in hyping up foreign threats, ala George W. Bush.
I was crying "yellow peril" but pointing out the hypocrisy of stating that Iran is evil and having an embargo on Cuba while being partners with China. Don't read into what I wrote things that aren't there. I'm not demonizing trade as much as I am saying that some trade should be regulated - which is completely different than the hysteria you are accusing me of.
Other than that, I agree that education is something we should focus on on strengthening.