MaggieMae
Reality bits
- Apr 3, 2009
- 24,043
- 1,635
- 48
We start a new age "Conservation Corps"? If you don't know what the Conservation Corps was... then you are either.
A. Too young
B. Too ignorant of history
What my proposal for welfare reform is this:
We have a crumbling infrastructure.. our roads and bridges suck, our water supplies are outdated, our electrical grid runs at approximately 34% EFFICIENCY!!!!
Let's get our current welfare recipients working.... for... you guessed it... The Federal Government.
Now before you scream socialism(like you always do), hear me out. In the beginning, we take our welfare folks and mandate them to work for their benefits. We train them, we offer them child care(for those single mothers out there), and we make the jobs as conveniently located as possible.
NOW... pay attention... IT WILL COST MORE TO DO THIS THAN THE CURRENT MODEL!
But, you will be getting something for your tax dollar, won't you? Not only that, but I personally feel that a sense of EMPOWERMENT beats a sense of ENTITLEMENT tenfold. You get these people into a real world working environment and most of them will respond.
Sure... there may be a certain percentage that will be a ditch digger for the rest of their lives, but so what? Even as a ditch digger, you are getting productivity for your tax dollar.
I agree that the crumbling infrastructure should be the next Apollo Project: Just get it done. The number of jobs, from architects down to guys with dustpans sweeping up construction debris have unemployment down to near zero for able-bodied persons.
But will it happen? Would any president in today's polarized political atmosphere dare to drop the flag and order a GO? Of course not. Congress would hem and haw, fritter and bicker over whether such an endeavor is even necessary (duh...), then they'd want to vie for a piece of the pie for their own districts (more bickering), then they'd force a cost analysis looking at the situation from every angle up, down, sideways and run the numbers all again--just for giggles.
Nope, the only way a monumental program like that will ever happen will be following a major catastrophe, such as huge segments of I-10 falling into Lake Ponchartrain due to crumbling supports and a few days later the Brooklyn Bridge collapses during rush hour. This country once was forward thinking and proactive regarding growth and modernization, but not anymore.
Of course the private sector could always step up and invest their own talent, time and money into our infrastructure, but will they? Probably only if Uncle Sam guarantees their loans, so like building nuclear power plants, nothing major gets built by the private sector without government assistance. Imagine that.
Uh, who pays for it?
Don't you know WE ARE BROKE.
Why should we borrow any more $$ from the Chinks that YOUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS will have to pay back?
It would pay for itself over time. So why not address the part about private companies getting it done instead of making an asshole comment?