Infrastructure

Lowest Unemployment Rate In Five Years: A Big Plus For The Democrats In 2014 Midterm Elections!

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There has been steady growth of employment over the past four and a half years, and the new employment report shows that the unemployment rate, now 7 percent, is at its lowest in five years! Over 203,000 jobs were created, more than was expected. This is bound to help the Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections coming up next November.

This is great news, although there is much to do for those still unemployed, and for those with minimum wages in an economy where the remnants of the Great Recession still lurk.

It is essential that public works jobs be created to rebuild the infrastructure of this nation, and that the minimum wage be raised, so that it is worth at least what it was thirty years ago, now down by more than 30 percent in purchasing power.

But since almost one third of all minimum wage workers are parents, and there are so many single mothers with children who work at such places, and including Walmart and McDonalds and other such establishments, it is unconscionable to have these workers have to depend on food stamps and Medicaid, when their companies should be responsible for a living wage. Taxpayers are paying the price, when it would be better that consumers possibly pay more at these companies, but the workers know their employers care about them and their ability to survive!

And the argument that raising the minimum wage will cut jobs is pure bull, as that has not happened in the past!

And if consumers must pay a dollar more for fast food, or items at Walmart or McDonalds, so be it, as everyone, no matter what his or her station in life, is entitled to a living wage, and human dignity and respect!

Reality Of Life For Millions Harmed By Great Recession Of 2008: The End Of Unemployment Compensation And Cutting Of Food Stamps!

Ronald 4 Comments

It has been more than five years since the collapse of the American economy, and the onset of the Great Recession, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Millions of Americans have been unable to obtain new employment, many of them being past the “desired” age of under 50, and many others, who are much younger, who are unable to obtain substantial employment and a living wage.

The agreement to expand unemployment compensation and food stamps for these millions came only after bitter fights with the Republican Party, who would not have done so without pressure, and the reality that the Democrats controlled both houses of Congress in 2009-2010.

But the control of the House of Representatives by the GOP since January 2011 has led to a Scrooge like mentality on unemployment compensation and food stamps. And there has been no desire to raise the minimum wage to promote the concept of a living wage. The Republican Party refuses to help create jobs, promote educational investments, and to create infrastructure jobs, although the country is desperate for improvement and repair of public works all over the nation, which would also create employment for many desperate Americans.

We are arriving at the reality that 2014 will see increased poverty and suffering, as the GOP will fight to prevent extension of aid to millions who have no lifeline. And they will do this while professing to believe in “Christian values”, a mockery of the teachings of the faith.

So the economic emergency of five years ago is about to become far worse, with no “safety net” for millions of victims who have nowhere to turn to, as concern about them is ignored, and instead, we see the government unable to do anything to advance the lives of millions of victims of the Great Recession, brought about by Republican policies under George W. Bush!

Republican House Districts Worse Off Economically, But Vote GOP Anyway Due To Racism, Fear, And Religion!

Ronald 1 Comment

Statistics demonstrate that hard line Republican House districts, who have supported Tea Party candidates, and are vehemently anti Barack Obama, have a higher unemployment rate than the average House district.

The rate in the Tea Party districts is around ten percent, while the rate in other Congressional districts is 7.5 to 8 percent, a substantial difference.

One would think that the Republicans who represent these districts would wish to do anything and everything to encourage job growth, and to avoid the disarray of confrontations that undermine economic development, but instead it is the opposite,

When Barack Obama has promoted the need for infrastructure projects and educational investments, that has been enough to convince Tea Party types, plus the GOP leadership in both houses, to sit on their hands and refuse to cooperate in any fashion!

One would imagine that the voters of these districts, who elected these representatives, would begin to realize that they are playing politics, refusing to allow Barack Obama to have any ability to claim any progress economically, but at the expense of their constituents, who would benefit from such economic progress.

But instead, the emphasis is on fear of the “black” President from “Kenya”, obvious racism, and instead invoking religion, which should have no place in the public sphere, so we see emphasis on abortion and gay marriage to scare these constituents into voting for representatives who do not give a damn about them, and are even willing to cut food stamps, which benefit many of their own population, especially considering that the majority on food stamps nationally are white!

The ignorance and prejudice of so many people in these Tea Party districts, and other Republican districts, is absolutely mind boggling!

Five Years Since Financial Collapse, And What Has Been Learned? NOTHING!

Ronald 30 Comments

Five years ago this week, the financial markets on Wall Street collapsed, and America fell into the Great Recession, which many might consider the Second Great Depression, now five years long, despite claims the Great Recession is over.

Lack of proper regulation of Wall Street and the banking industry, a result of GOP control of Congress for 12 years, and a Republican President, George W. Bush for 8 years, along with some manipulation by leading Democrats, led to the worst economic outlook since 1941, and even now, five years later, with the improved economic conditions, employment will not return to pre 2008 levels until 2020 at the rate of job creation now existing!

A lot of this reality is due to refusal of the Republican Party to cooperate on legislation to create and encourage jobs, including infrastructure jobs and promotion of education training, and working to return overseas jobs to America.

But also, the Obama Presidency has not worked adequately to reform the banking structure and Wall Street, and the possibility of Larry Summers being Federal Reserve Board Chairman is precisely the WRONG thing to do, as he is part of the problem that led to 2008, and is an arrogant, overbearing, obnoxious individual who should be told to “take a hike”, with Janet Yellen the far better candidate to be the head of the Fed!

So if it going to take a grand total of TWELVE years from beginning to end for this Great Recession to be over, how is that different from the Great Depression which lasted from 1929 to 1941?

Meanwhile, a whole generation of people are suffering in terms of employment, something that will scar their future, and that of the American economy!

This is a very sad, troubling situation that must not be allowed to happen again, but it seems as if NOTHING has been learned!

Economic Reality Grim For Most Americans, Whether Based On Race Or Education Level!

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Growing evidence shows that the effects of the Great Recession, and really the policies of Republican Presidents and Congresses since 1980, have created a grim reality for a vast majority of Americans—likelihood of poverty, deprivation, and lack of opportunity, even for college graduates in large numbers for a long period of years! And where one lives does, and will have a dramatic effect on the long term futures of millions of citizens!

A study shows that four out of five adults in America will struggle with joblessness, near poverty, or reliance on welfare for part of their lives! 76 percent of whites will experience such a situation by the age of 60!

15 percent of the American people, nearly 47 million of the population, are in poverty, with higher percentages of African Americans and Hispanic-Latinos, but in absolute numbers, whites are 41 percent or 19 million of the poor, double what African Americans are in numbers. Most of these poor whites live in Appalachia, the industrial Midwest, and the heartland of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the Great Plains, areas of rural communities , and even in many suburbs, in areas where 60 percent of the poor are whites.

So working class whites, those without college degrees, are in a terrible state, unable to look forward to the accomplishment of the “American Dream”!

But the problem is that even those who have a college education are facing a horrible job market. Many are unemployed, while even more who are working, are underemployed, working part time, and also, many are working in jobs that do not require a college degree, so are wasting years trying to break in to the job market they planned for, but are unable to engage in, due to the Great Recession and its aftermath!

Additionally, it has been demonstrated that where one lives has a dramatic effect on climbing up the income ladder! Social mobility up the income ladder is MUCH harder in the Southeast and industrial Midwest, including such cities as Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis,. Raleigh, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Columbus!

At the same time, social mobility and rising up the income ladder is best in the Northeast and the West, including New York, Boston, large areas of California and Minnesota, and Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Salt Lake City.

It is extremely disturbing that earlier studies of social mobility demonstrate that a smaller percentage of people escape childhood poverty in America than in Canada, Australia, France, Germany, and Japan.

Affluent children tend to remain so, achieving a lot of success by as young as age 30, while children from poverty rarely see much improvement, and that is not just a race issue, as whites have the same results, based on how they were born, rich or poor!

The need to deal with social mobility and opportunity, for working class whites and minorities, are the agenda that Barack Obama is pursuing as he travels the nation, calling for an economic plan for the future, including improvements in education, infrastructure, new technologies, and environmental challenges to overcome climate change!

There is no more important agenda for the nation than the providing of economic opportunity, in a nation where the middle class has been decimated, from its high point, 40 years ago, in 1973!

113th Congress To Set Record As Least Productive Since World War II!

Ronald 3 Comments

THe 113th Congress, the second consecutive Congress to be a split Congress of a Republican majority in the US House of Representatives, and a Democratic majority in the US Senate, the only two times that a split Congress has been of this such division in American history, is on its way to becoming the least productive since World War II, surpassing the dismal record of the previous 112th Congress in 2011-2012!

A reminder that the other “split” Congresses were of a Republican Senate and Democratic House, and a lot more was accomplished under that scenario in 1911-1913, 1931-1933, and 1981-1987!

But this 113th Congress is setting a record for obstructionism never seen in American history!

The GOP is preventing action on the following:

The rebuilding of America’s infrastructure, badly in need of repair.
Accessible and affordable health care for all Americans
Getting off dependence on foreign oil by having a clean energy agenda
Promotion of the protection of women’s health
Responsible gun regulations to prevent future Sandy Hooks
Immigration Reform
Air and water pollution regulations
Strengthening of voting rights and civil rights for all Americans
Wall Street and banking reforms to prevent future “crashes”
A new farm bill, including food stamp protection for the poorest among us
Student loan interest reform

Confidence in Congress is at an all time low of TEN percent! The Republicans have abused the filibuster weapon in the US Senate, and the Tea Party Movement in the House of Representatives has hijacked even the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, who is powerless in the assault on cooperation and crossing of the aisle so essential for anything to get done in Congress!

Only 15 legislative items have become law in the past six months, lower than the 23 which became law in the first six months of the 112th Congress!

Those who believe that divided and split government is good for democracy are learning the hard way that it is the prescription for statemate, gridlock, and total paralysis, and that the answer is to kick out the Republican House majority and elect a Democratic majority in both houses, ideally with a filibuster proof Senate of 60 Democrats!

Sadly, neither of these ideas are realistically tenable, so the halting of effective government is likely to continue, undermining the future of America!

Washington State Bridge Collapse Another Reminder Of Need For Massive Infrastructure Investment Without Interference Of Politics!

Ronald 72 Comments

News that the Interstate 5 Bridge north of Seattle, Washington, collapsed last night, causing two vehicles to plunge in the water and cause three injuries, is a reminder of the crisis we face in this nation, regarding the urgent need for massive infrastructure investment, with an aging public works system all over the country, and with the reminder of the much more disastrous bridge collapse in Minnesota on Interstate 95 in 2007, which caused the death of 13 people and the injury of 145 others.

Instead of constant politics, and claims we cannot afford such investment in infrastructure, this is another warning of the potential for much greater disasters because of short sightedness on the part of Congressional leaders, who refuse to face the facts that it is the job of the federal government to provide necessary funding for such projects, and if that means higher taxes, so be it!

The Advancement Of The Progressive Agenda In 2013

Ronald 9 Comments

With the renewal and expansion of the coverage of the Violence Against Women Act, other important ideas are coming to the forefront of the progressive agenda:

Raising of the minimum wage, which 71 percent of the American people endorse, with a minimum of $9 an hour, although bills to raise it to $10 an hour have been introduced by some members of Congress. Realize that if one was to keep up with the cost of living since 1938, when the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed with a 25 cents an hour wage, the minimum wage would have to be at $13 an hour now to be the equivalent of 75 years ago.

Universal Background Checks for all gun purchases, which 88 percent of those polled want, including 85 percent of gun owning households.

More tax increases to reduce the deficit, a balanced approach with spending cuts that are fair and just, and do not hurt those on the bottom more than those on the top of the economic scale, with 76 percent agreeing with this.

Infrastructure Investments to repair and replace our deteriorating physical plant, and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. This is the best job creation policy, and is important for the nation’s economic growth and national security.

A pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, particularly for children brought to America and knowing nowhere else, and 70 percent agreeing with this in polls, and 60 percent of Republicans. This is the right thing to do, and is a way for Republicans to improve their image electorally.

Expansion of the Medicaid program, so that all Americans will be able to have accessible health care, a basic goal of human decency and compassion for those less fortunate.

Marriage equality, so that gay Americans no longer face discrimination legally in any aspect of their lives, including the right to have their marriages seen as legitimate.

Providing of Early Childhood Education, including universal Pre Kindergarten coverage, as a way to assist in the goal of early educational intervention, which will reap benefits in the future.

If all eight of these goals can be achieved, we will have major progressive victories in 2013!

Barack Obama State Of The Union Speech One Of Leadership, But Also Asking For BiPartisanship!

Ronald 10 Comments

President Barack Obama gave an outstanding State of the Union speech tonight, but one with an attempt to promote bipartisanship as he begins his second term.

He asked for cooperation to avoid constant budget battles that undermine economic recovery, and reflect badly on our image internationally, considering that we are a world leader.

He called for investments in energy, infrastructure, and education, including a preschool program for all young children.

He called for action on climate change, and indicated he would take executive action if nothing was done on the issue.

He called for a program of immigration reform that apparently impressed Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, in an interview on CNN after the speech.

He backed the need for Medicare and Social Security reforms, as long as they did not harm the long term stability of the programs.

He appealed for basic gun legislation to try to cut down the widespread violence, with more than 1,400 people killed by gun violence in the past month and a half alone!

He informed us that half of the remaining 68,000 troops in Afghanistan were coming home within the next year. This made clear his goal to focus on domestic reform, and wind down the overseas commitment of military forces.

He called for an increase in the minimum wage, and for prevention of laws that interfere with the right to vote, informing us that this is basic justice for all Americans.

Any reasonable person would have to say that his speech set a series of goals that were very mainstream and reasonable, but of course, the opposition will see it otherwise. One can hope that a lot of his ideas and initiatives can be accomplished, but it will not be easy to do so!

As Second Term Of Obama Commences, An Eisenhower Second Term Is Needed!

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As the second term of Barack Obama begins, and with the record of mostly troubled second terms of Presidents, one can hope for an Eisenhower second term performance.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower presided over a second term which included:

Avoidance of war, including a summit meeting at Camp David with the Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev, something no one would have believed possible.

Promotion of human rights and social justice, with the intervention of the National Guard at Little Rock, Arkansas, advancing the Civil Rights Movement.

Advocacy of the advancement of science and education as a response to the Soviet Union orbiting Sputnik I in space.

Advancement of infrastructure by promotion of the interstate highway system, the greatest transportation advancement since the transcontinental railroad under Abraham Lincoln.

If these kinds of accomplishments are possible under Dwight D. Eisenhower, with an opposition Democratic Congress in both houses, it should be possible under Barack Obama, with a split Congress, a Republican House of Representatives and a Democratic Senate, working together for the public good!