Election Issues Today

What a popular topic today, the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, July 20, 1969.

Like so many other space travel enthusiasts around the World, along with science fictions crazies, we thought a new age had dawned and that space travel was just a few years away for the rest of us.

Such was not to be. Not only is space travel not available to any but the very richest individuals in the World, a Russian Soyuz trip is about the only way to get into space. A trip to the International Space Station for ten or twenty million dollars is not what we had in mind for the masses.

Space travel is very limited even for the few countries who have engineered a vehicle capable of reaching orbit and returning. In fact, AFFORDING a national space program has become a real question of priorities in virtually every country, including the USA.

Back in 1969, NASA officials probably thought they would be engineering trips to MARS by the beginning of the 21st Century. So did I.

Now, however, even a return trip to the Moon is being re-tooled to do it on the cheap. Forget about Mars; the economy is so bad and the NASA budget so tenuous, that the “return to the Moon” plans are becoming doubtful.

For the population at large, the exploration of space, and manned space travel in particular, has lost the romance it once had. We need to feed our people, educate them, provide for their health and for their old age, not spend billions to put a man on the Moon. BEEN THERE; DONE THAT!

I swear, there is so much money proposed to pump into this economy, one has to wonder what it buys us.

Time.

Sure there will be a few million jobs that can be attributed to direct government action, but most of these jobs are temporary, totally dependent upon a revived economy to continue the demand for workers.  

The goal must be to “jump start” the production of goods to meet the demand of the new construction projects and other parts of the industrial base.   Jobs and salaries will in turn fuel the demand for commercial goods.  We have to remember that demand drives supply. 

These “cycles” of boom and bust have been with us for a long time.  Granted, this one is worse than most, and affects the entire developed World, but such cycles are normal corrections to economic systems that depend upon the fluctuations of supply and demand, inflation and recession.  

A small rate of inflation is considered necessary in a capitalist economy, and after a while, there must be a correction.  This recession is proving to be extra extreme because of poor management decisions fueled by greed.  Bankers and financiers have been exposed as corrupt egotists who have no qualms about taking investors money and a generous salary for themselves, with extravagent benefits, while carelessly disregardly their fiscal responsibilities toward their investors and depositors. Disgustly display of greed.

Meanwhile the amount of money is staggering.  It is impossible to comprehend. 

New Year Brings New Attitudes?

Oh,  I wish, but I doubt.  I see and hear so much of the arrogance and elitism that brought down the economy during the past year.

We see it on Wall Street; we see it in the banking and insurance industries; we see it in the auto industry.

The only humility I see right now is in the retail sector.  Yes, they were hurting at year’s end, and many hundreds of retailers will NOT recover.  They will go under.  More unemployment, more pain for lower and middle class Americans.

The politicians around the country are gearing up for new legislative sessions.  They face tighter budgets and fiscal disasters in their investment and pension funds.   State and local governments are hurting–probably as much as the retail industry.

The financial industry and investment bankers remind me of alcoholics or drug addicts.  They have to really hit bottom, face death and family ruin, before they finally can begin recovery.  I don’t see much humility among the “big money” people in America.  Although they may be keeping a pretty low profile at the moment, I believe, for the most part, they still have their homes and cars, and villas, still take winter cruises and vacations in Aspen and Vail.

I hear the “Hollywood” types are not wearing so much bling–not wanting to appear ostentatious.  Big deal.  It’s attitude that is the problem.

The attitude problem is huge. So, while I would like to “hope” for the best in the new year, “hope” will not get us out of this mess.  I just think the “wake-up call” hasn’t yet been heard by the big money people.  Billions and billions may bail them out, but the rest of us will still suffer.

Deteriorated Infrastructure May Be Key to Recovery

Public Infrastructure in America is in need of repair and the new President-elect appears poised to push forward with an economic recovery plan that will re-build roads, upgrade schools and improve energy efficiency across the country.

Recently I joined with many others in urging Mr. Obama to concentrate his economic recovery efforts on public infrastructure.  In asking his transition team to prepare to expend millions of dollars on infrastructure in the biggest effort since construction of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950’s, the President-elect is focusing his team’s efforts on creating well-paying jobs rather than the “dole” of welfare-like benefits that demean the human spirit.

In addition to roads, there are thousands of bridges in America, many in the rural hinterlands, that are in critical need of upgrade.

Our National Park System, underfunded for reconstruction projects for many years, could also benefit from a new effort to preserve and improve our conservation and recreation lands.

City Parks and other local infrastructure, including streets, sewer systems, pedestrian improvements, and neighborhood lighting projects could all use an infuse of federal dollars that would put people to work.

Not to be overlooked in any comprehensive recovery effort should be some emphasis on TRAINING.  We have a broken apprenticeship program, badly outdated and overcome by technology advances in the past forty years.   Let’s prepare today’s youth for skilled labor and technical jobs by paying them enough to support their families while they train.  A work-school program that puts 50 percent of their time in the classroom or in field training environments could provide long-term benefits for the next generation.