Guest bengalrick Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 I'm surprised that the speech Bush gave last night, hasn't been brought up, but there was some bold things said last night... i already can hear the crys from the extreme left, that we are mortgaging the future and haliburton is going to get rich, but i still think that this issue needs to be tackled head on... i have been hearing some strange comparisons of this agenda from strange people... bob beckel (sp?) was somewhat happy about this on fox this morning... people have said it reminds them of a little bit of fdr or lbj... i'm way to young to know what they mean, but i would love some insight from those that have argued w/ me about this particular topic... no need to call each other racists or whatever, b/c i'm talking about wealth, not race... i stand by many of my previous comments, but the point i want to make about those is less dependance, and more pulling yourself up... but i now can see a major flaw in my thinking, or at least my implication... you need to have a helping hand to get out... that is why i think that giving people money to train for new skills is a very good idea... it would also be nice if we point these people in the right direction to where they should go... kind of a counselor that can figure out the persons best traits, and figure out where they may be best suited... freedom to do whatever is nice, but if you have 2 thousand choices of what job to do, it can be hard and frustrating... knock that down to 10 or so, which you seem best fitted and now we're talking... homer makes the point often (i do listen homer ) that if we are going to borrow money (which we will have to) then it should be for something that will benefit us later... a return on our investment... please correct me if i'm wrong homer... anyway,here are some examples of what bush was saying we should do last night... pretty good imo... [b]1. Gulf Opportunity Zone:[/b] for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that will provide immediate incentives for job-creating investment, small business tax relief and loan guarantees for small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises. [b]2. Worker Recovery Accounts:[/b] $5,000 stipend for evacuees to use on job training and education to help them find work and pay for child-care expenses during their job search. [b]3.Urban Homesteading Act:[/b] to identify government property and building sites that low-income citizens can be given free of charge as long as they pledge to build on the lot. Money to invest would come from charitable organizations like Habitat for Humanity any thoughts, additions, subtractions on these ideas???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer_Rice Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 I have plenty of thoughts but I don't think you'll like them. Who is going to be in charge of the reconstruction effort? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bengalrick Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 [quote name='Homer_Rice' date='Sep 16 2005, 10:54 PM']I have plenty of thoughts but I don't think you'll like them. Who is going to be in charge of the reconstruction effort? [right][post="150489"][/post][/right][/quote] smarter men than me... i honestly don't know, but my point is this is at least a step in the right direction, right? i know that you are high on buidling up infrastructure and this seems like the perfect time to push that agenda homer... i am on board, as long as we can do it in a somewhat efficent way... honestly, i would like to hear your thoughts homer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer_Rice Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Okay, a few preliminary thoughts in an unfolding situation. I'm both hopeful and skeptical; which way I'll tip depends upon how things begin to shape up concretely. Anyhow, off the top of my head and in no rigorous order. Begin with the question I asked. No person has been formally announced yet to head up the fed side of the reconstruction, but the NYT yesterday reported that Scott McClellan said that it would be Karl Rove. Now, maybe that's a trial balloon, maybe it's bad info, maybe it's the real McCoy. If it is, what might this suggest? 1) The admin really hasn't learned it's lesson. By that I mean the appointment would be a political one to a person who has no experience or expertise in this kind of thing. IMHO, this ought to be done as such things have been done in the past, with an experienced CEO/leader of large enterprise who knows how to get things done at the helm. There are such folks out there. Further, the Army Corps of Engineers ought to be the central agency/focal point for this effort, as they are specifically oriented towards this kind of work, especially with respect to transportation and waterways. We'll see how this is organized over the next short period, hopefully. If it is Rove, then independent of what people think of him, any rational assessment of his experience and expertise will strongly suggest the intent of the admin. Likewise, if it is some General or CEO of a major corporation. Hence my current portions of skepticism and hopefulness. 2) As I listened last night, I wondered if this Gulf Opportunity zone was similar to what was popularized in the 80s as enterprise zones. If so, this would be consistent with the prevailing business philosophy and practices of the free-traders. I have problems with that, but that discussion is for later. Just note it and let's see what develops. 3) What the prez said last night, on the surface, is a radical departure, I thought. Some folks in his party won't like the spending. I personally think there are ways to accomodate it, and besides, it's necessary. It ought not to become a boondoggle, though. Therefore, let the responsible coordinating agency let out contracts, under a bid process that is not too time consuming, and make sure that plenty of locals get involved. Keep the Halliburton thieves out of it, as much as possible. (That'll piss a few folks off, but c'est la vie; the Halliburton track record is available for all to investigate.) 3a) The key is to get productive activity occurring as quickly as possible, which means, first, get the ports up as fast as possible to keep agricultural exports flowing, and second, to begin building those projects which not only encourage further economic activity upon completion, but do so in a way that raises the standard of living for folks and trains them in productive skills. In other words, imho,infrastructure, resident industries, agriculture, aquaculture and transport first; casinos last, if at all. (Yeah, I know, they'll rebuild the casinos, which is a crying shame, so my objections are moot.) 4) On infrastructure in general (seeing as how you asked in another post): Dust off some of the plans sitting in various jurisdictions: state, local, and in some cases, federal. Evaluate them, and make decisions. Some obvious areas to investigate on the federal level: we need a national transportation system; primarily air and rail. Note that two airlines filed Chapter 11 this week. Reregulate these industries, as well as the trucking industry. (Another unpopular proposal.) Build them out with cutting edge technology that has been proven, for example, isn't it about time we started doing maglev in rail transport, at least in heavily travelled corridors on the coasts? This sort of investment accomplishes a few positive things, imho. It forces an upgrade in skills required to operate such advanced systems. If planned well, it stabilizes certain major components of our economy for a generation or two, depending upon depreciation and replacement costs with whatever improvements in technology we might achieve in the intervening period. Other stuff: Look at the fresh water problems we have on a broad scale, both in terms of depleted aquifers and delivery. Also, power generation at high energy throughputs sufficient to meet our current needs and the projected needs of the next 25 years or so. Rebuild the national electrical grid, which is outdated. Reregulate all of these, sanely controlling prices and costs in ways that give comfort to companies and consumers, such that making a series of investments that will take a long time to pay off is palatable. A major by-product of this activity is the creation of jobs that require some higher levels of education, skill and training. Folks would have a fighting chance to earn a reasonable standard of living. Insofar as local programs go, do the same where necessary: sewer plants, water treatment systems, roads and bridges, and other projects peculiar to an area (such as levees, coastal maintainance, etc. along the Gulf.) 5) On the Davis/Bacon act: Suspending the prevailing wage provisions for disaster areas has been done in the past, by both dems and repubs. The concern here is that there exists a harmony between keeping rebuilding costs as trim as possible, while allowing both companies and workers to make equitable profits/wages. I.e., no gouging. We'll see how this develops; I'm skeptical at the moment, based on the ruling philosophies in economics at the moment. We been bashing labor for so long now, and recycling the workforce in general, that it'll require a significant change of thinking/heart to realize that both criteria can be met, provided no one gets greedy. Maybe a national emergency will do the trick. 6) The Heritage Foundation: I saw a report today that the foundation is behind some of the planning that is shaping all this. I haven't investigated yet, but I do know something about Heritage. Let me just suggest that they don't have the "harmony" thing mastered, imho! When I get time, I'll look into this. That's all I'm thinking of now, though I'm sure there's more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bengalrick Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 i really don't disagree w/ anything you said... if karl rove is the one put in charge, that is dead wrong... i personally wouldn't mind a general or something imo, b/c the closest thing we have had to face in NO is rebuilding a country... i have thought for a while now, that its dumb to not have a good rail system... amtrack just doesn't seem to be it though imo... we need something that is fast and modern, and like you said, in crowded areas especially, and then later they should spawn out to somewhat replace cars as much... this would be a great way to cut foreign dependance on oil too probably [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/angel.gif[/img] i also think that the power grids need to be upgraded... we should put most or all power lines underground imo... it would be so much more efficient and safer really too... the airline business is a tricky one though... there is no question that the oil prices are smacking them on the head real hard right now, w/ no end in sight... i really don't have an answer of how we can fix them to where they aren't as doomed as they seem now... i believe that we can afford it, though i can already hear the crys in about a year, if we go forward w/ it... but oh well, i think its right... if it is something that will help us economically in the future, we can get away w/ borrowing some more money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bengalrick Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 i really don't disagree w/ anything you said... if karl rove is the one put in charge, that is dead wrong... i personally wouldn't mind a general or something imo, b/c the closest thing we have had to face in NO is rebuilding a country... i have thought for a while now, that its dumb to not have a good rail system... amtrack just doesn't seem to be it though imo... we need something that is fast and modern, and like you said, in crowded areas especially, and then later they should spawn out to somewhat replace cars as much... this would be a great way to cut foreign dependance on oil too probably [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/angel.gif[/img] i also think that the power grids need to be upgraded... we should put most or all power lines underground imo... it would be so much more efficient and safer really too... the airline business is a tricky one though... there is no question that the oil prices are smacking them on the head real hard right now, w/ no end in sight... i really don't have an answer of how we can fix them to where they aren't as doomed as they seem now... i believe that we can afford it, though i can already hear the crys in about a year, if we go forward w/ it... but oh well, i think its right... if it is something that will help us economically in the future, we can get away w/ borrowing some more money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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