Energy Independence:
Applying this concept would provide jobs across the country as the resources vary from district to district. Natural gas in several places around the country where jobs would be created exploiting it, solar in other appropriate places to create jobs, petroleum in others, wave action energy production on coasts and so on all creating jobs and a desirable outcome of energy independence. Energy independence would save a huge amount of money for this nation and we would not be paying enemies for energy. Maybe they would be too broke to attack us.
Sponsor a competition for entrepreneurs and students highlighting possible new energy sources or a new angle on an existing resource. Offer prizes, recognition and job offers from sponsors. Make these with a local angle, as in Tucson, Arizona working with solar would be local, or a wind solar combo or solar smelter. Florida might want wave action/solar/wind combo. Natural gas combined with wind generators or something brand new that nobody ever thought of before.
This competition would create jobs and stir up new ideas that we need. The institutions of learning could contribute free tuition and other perks to winners to bolster interest. Our students are so creative and so well educated they don't know the intellectual boundaries felt by others. This money infusion into the schools could be based on sheer size: X number of students=Y number of prizes.
Benefits: money and recognition would be infused into the creative world of entrepreneurs and students. competition for prizes would be stiff but the most feasible improvement leading to energy independence would be rewarded. A big prize for the best research lead should be included.
Recall the huge benefits of government support of Research and Development from back in the 1950s. Sputnik and the push in education for science? We walked on the moon! We can achieve energy independence and free ourselves from the expense of foreign oil. And when oil runs out, we will have developed alternative resources to sustain our civilization.
Construction
Construction jobs should be minimal because of surfeit of structures. Renovating and reenergizing existing structures is a possibility. Tax/fee/ licensing breaks for spending money that way for individuals and businesses benefits: homes and businesses are renovated and the community looks better and people are more comfortable. People are employed doing the renovations, which is a continuing profession if the field doesn't get too crowded. Unemployed construction workers can compete for these jobs and they already have the skills.
Space Program:
The space program is a logical extension of the R&D money invested during the 20th century that has changed our civilization with the new knowledge. Exploration of the moon could be accomplished through government R&D and through private investment. The mining companies could be given tax breaks for investing in moon exploration, which could yield plentiful titanium, other metals and minerals. Private enterprise is already funding ventures in space exploration.
Expanding the USA space presence could be funded through the military, NASA and Transportation and other nations. Dream up another academic contest aimed at delivering smelted titanium to Earth from the moon. .. Go for USA creativity because that is where excellence shines in our students. Jobs in R&D and fabrication of units and possibly a new space station terminus. Only fund studies of something new or a vast improvement on existing ideas, like floating a payload in like those satellites that 'fall' but then control the reentry.
Benefits: Immediate employment funding for students, researchers and fabrication and construction of associated units. Long term benefit could be the utilization of the minerals and metals found on the moon, which would enrich our civilization and provide long term jobs on the moon and Earth. Our military could develop defenses for our planet and nation and international cooperation could flourish.
Transportation:
Expansion of the roads has been heavily funded throughout manifest destiny, but now jobs and money should be focused on repair and maintenance and replacement of dangerous structures. Funding for more new roads is like the bridge to nowhere but the land of a land speculator who has contributed to politicos who respond to such stimuli. An elaborate storm drain structure at Quartzite is a good example of temporary jobs that produced no lasting economic stimulus and was basically unneeded because it only rains every few years in the Mojave Desert. Money needs to be invested in what will bring in a return, like solar generating stations at Quartzite would have generated a valuable commodity. The culverts look nice, however. This was transportation money. The transportation lobby needs to cut back and take a look at what will truly benefit the community instead of supporting jobs that drain the coffers without an adequate return in tax revenue that is needed to continue the system.
The key here is what will continue the system. What will continue the system?
• maintaining existing infrastructure
• cut back on debt and consider default on usury and ignore rating agencies
• maintain a strong national defense on Earth and in Space
• continue the innovation that our nation has fostered.
• fund research and development in higher learning institutions
• get insurance out of mandatory status and return to the free market
• free up businesses from mandatory insurance requirements except in hazardous situations
• penalize businesses and countries that abuse trade relations or tax codes
• give tax breaks to businesses established in the USA, the more jobs the higher the percent
• encourage national production of common items
• amend the tax code to prevent lienholders from getting a tax break in any form for foreclosures
• Keep our mineral resources here for job creation
• respect the need for unions with fiscally responsible leadership
• cooperation will continue the system, disunity will not.
At this point in time, analyze data on what professions are disproportionately represented in unemployment statistics. Cut back on training programs in those professions, while encouraging training in professions where job growth is forecast by investment. Teach the students these statistics so they can make their own choices.
In the schools, stress a liberal arts program, because we simply do not know where an increase in R&D investment is going to produce another Jobs/Gates breakthrough that changes our civilization. Stress education in the basic skills of reading, mathematics, and composition plus the use of computers in all areas of learning and researching. An educated individual with those skills will be quick to learn new applications and will be ready for whatever is coming. This is adaptability, a characteristic of our species. A technocrat speaks of the future with hope and faith in the creativity of our students and entrepreneurs.
Gaming the system to acquire wealth by manipulating instead of producing is counterproductive to the goal of continuing the system. At least Caesar had a good motive when he violated the Roman Constitution and created an emperor, thus bringing to an end the Roman Republic. The apparent motivation to control as much money as possible without regard to the social consequences can be discussed... The forethought that should go into the removal of legislation formed by the fine minds of the time in an earnest effort to prevent the economic devastation of another Great Depression apparently was incomplete. The economic gamesters even scooped into tax money to further their 'derivative' schemes and continue the gaming to this day. Hang around a casino for a while and see gaming. Gambling losses must be tax deductable for some, just not for the average Joe. And the games continue, tying up cash.
So now remember what happened to Caesar while there is in the here and how an organized movement protesting Wall Street greed and political corruption on all levels. They hit the streets a while ago in New York and now other cities around the world are hosting demonstrations. This is the direct aftermath of all the gaming and undermining and short term thinking. Sure, Z group won but what did the prize turn out to be?
A flat tax would prevent the use of the tax code to discourage destructive behaviors in the community. Right now the tax code is encouraging population growth. Perhaps deductions per child should be limited to one per adult. Any other children after that would be financed from the family income. Of course the rich will do whatever but common sense will dictate courses of action. The reason is that each child costs the government and disparate groups with high birthrates are increasing at the expense of other groups who have fewer children. Part of parenting is responsibility. An individual should have to pay for increasing the population by more than replacement value. Who should pay, but the person contributing to the public obligation? The same should apply to school vouchers, one adult = one voucher. If you have more children to send to school, then you pay. This political hot potato is never tossed around for comment. Possibly this flat tax would eliminate this deduction.
The issue of population growth must come up when it comes to jobs. High unemployment rates are associated with overpopulation. As cadres of workers come of age, the economy must produce jobs for them. Say X equals population growth, Y equals existing unemployment, then X+Y=unemployment rate. If the economy cannot produce enough jobs, the unemployment rate will grow. Something must happen to restore stability: new jobs, less population growth or a decrease in population to match resources, or the USA will have an ever increasing population with a new lower level of poverty every year. It is time to limit the child deduction to one per adult.
The problem of foreclosures and the state of the housing 'industry' leads to the conclusion that any tax breaks for lienholders for foreclosures should be denied. The foreclosures are a drain on public resources, can become a public hazard and devalue neighborhoods, all which harm the community and cost money. The lienholders should pay this cost because they own the property. Local governments should consider laying a fee on foreclosures. Discouraging foreclosures seems appropriate since a study in Phoenix showed that lienholders were less likely to foreclose on high end properties they held the paper on. So the smallholders are taking the brunt of the foreclosures because their mortgage was 'securitized'. Time to bust some bricks! It's time when a schmuck who took out a loan of $200,000 for a property is foreclosed on and kicked out so his home can be sold at auction to a buddy of the lienholder for $30,000, while the government pays the difference to the lienholder. Of course, the schmuck could have easily paid the payment on $30,000 but that was never an option for him. The more expensive the property, the more likely the lienholder would 'work' with the debtor. Pass moral judgment on that.
In conclusion, after cheap money and massive debt bankrupted so many, there are now fewer jobs and more imports. Unions sometimes demand exorbitant pay and benefits, which drives up the cost of local products, which encouraged investment in importing. The daisy chain goes on and on. Them that has, gets. An old adage come true once again. The problem is in the balance of wealth: "We are the 99%" on a sign at an Occupy Tucson rally, seen across the nation in other cities.
Local job possibilities: The Indians have land and water. What crop could generate local jobs? Cotton is in demand. Cotton spinning, cloth, clothes all made here. Pumpkins grow here. Dried pumpkin? Canning takes water, which is scarce here. Sales in other countries? How about greenhouses? Greenhouses in the winter are cost effective. Research on new plant use at the UA might uncover cash crops we never knew we had, like buffgrass flour maybe. Food crops grown here are to everyone's advantage and could provide jobs and lower everyone's food costs. I think Pima County is a natural for greenhouses, which conserve water. Hydroponics and tilapia farms are also a possibility. There is a successful experimental tilapia farm here, sponsored by the UofA.
Already, jobs are being created in the second hand industry, with thrift stores opening all over Tucson. Recessions generate interest in thrift shopping. This shift has closed some retail stores. Interesting, that the price of antiques appears to have peaked with the real estate boom, as a luxury item not so valued during recession. How about a huge thrift shop on the far east side of the UA like the White Elephant store in Green Valley? Employ students on a flex schedule. Remember, the old Value Village store was on 4th Avenue for years of success.
If the city contracted out the landscaping without demanding union membership, more jobs could be created on the private market. Other jobs could be contracted out also, which would lift the burden of high pay and benefits for city workers. No more can be afforded and more jobs would be created in the private sector.
People should contact their legislators concerning tort reform. The stranglehold the lawyers have on the economy is second only to that of the insurance companies. Study the Texas model. The insurance companies are holding cash for all of us but when a big payout is required, they have to be bailed out. Nice to know that AIG now has a new line of credit, is opening a life insurance program with 40 year payouts and is now hosting lavish meetings at a posh resort once again. This must be part of the jobless recovery. The people should be free of these taxes disguised as insurance and they should be free of the costs of Armageddon litigation.
Zoning is a barrier to home based businesses. Unreasonable parking space requirements, retrofitting and inspecting and rejecting all restrict the right of a person to their own property. The purpose of the city should go back to the original charter, which has been interpreted and ballooned into a puffer fish. More jobs would be created if people were 'allowed' to use their properties to make money, like a wood shop, a cooler repair shop, a sewing shop, a bakery, a consignment shop....
Of course, Tucson needs new businesses who do not use water. We have plenty buildings, cheap solar energy, workers, cheap housing, a major research university...what else do you need?
A COOPERATIVE ENVIRONMENT AND LOW TAXES
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