Naughty or Nice--The 21st Century New Deal

When looking at the 21st century New Deal, I have to wonder just what is involved in this plan and what effect it will have on all of us.

Obama's plan is a follows...

—ENERGY: “[W]e will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That won’t just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work.”

Public buildings energy efficient, but what about my home being made the same? The government is paying the highest energy bill. No, we pay for that energy being used. And who solicited bids for those buildings to be built? Our government. Did they not see an energy crisis coming? If they are the be all and end all, where did they go wrong? Where did we go wrong? Are we not responsible for the waste and inefficiency by re-electing the suits that blatantly believe they deserve a second, third, fourth, chance to make things right? Have they exhibited such discretion once arriving in Wishingtonia, or are they indoctrinated into the "ways and means" of how Wishingtonia works.

And don't get me started on the auto industry. Why didn't they see what was coming? Couldn't they see what cars were being sold--Honda (which after 23 years, my 86 Civic SI is doing just fine, needs a paint job, but doing just fine)--Nissan, which we own a 20 year old 240 SX) --or Volkswagon, and yes I have a 1972 Yellow Super Beetle, whose smile was made crooked from a hit and run several years ago, but gets around just fine! So what is wrong with Detroit?

But back to the subject at hand...How are we going to get the "money men lobbyists" from enticing our elected reps with bribes and treats, in order to vote in their favor. Unless they are banished from our halls of justice, nothing will change. So how much energy will be saved once our POTUS institutes this new edict? How will the new contracts be allocated to resurrect our old buildings with the new green technology?

We have a federal building in a neighboring county that has been put up for sale. They recently built a new post office out of the downtown area and also built a Social Security office next door. The "old" building was built in 1965 and fully occupied by federal offices until about 10 years ago. All that is housed there now is a post office and a USDA office.

Where are the monies coming from? How much more money can we Americans print?

—ROADS AND BRIDGES: “[W]e will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s. We’ll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways, and we’ll set a simple rule – use it or lose it. If a state doesn’t act quickly to invest in roads and bridges in their communities, they’ll lose the money.”

Have you ever watched a road crew work? Why it only takes 50 or 60 men to stand around while a paver paves, a flagman flag traffic, but the rest are just standing around, smoking cigarettes, yapping on cell phones, while just three or four are actually getting the work done. Yep, that will provide millions of jobs.

Boy, I can think of many roads and bridges within 30 miles that urgently need repair. But, again, where is the money coming from? Oh, yeah, our precious tax dollars. I thought we were going to lower taxes. I don't see the wealthy parting with their hard earned cash,(mostly earned by hook, crook, steal or deal) in order to put this country back on its feet. If we looked at these states who profited from the fed co-investments, and by looked, I mean a required full financial auditing of the coffers, I believe we would find something quite amiss. Although, one would look from the top down for fraud, believe me, the little learn from the big.

As in a nearby county, the state tax commission recognized and found massive fraud within the county assessor's office, thereby, arresting every employee, including the tax assessor, for selling car tags with "county" addresses versus their actual city address. The employees discounted the fees, taking kickbacks, in order to feather their own pockets. Where did they learn this behavior, or believe that what they were doing was right, if not from the top.

—SCHOOLS: “[M]y economic recovery plan will launch the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen. We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms. Because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools.”

Upgrading school buildings will not attract the talent needed to advance the education of our youth. Throwing money at physical structures won't make them educator or educational friendly. Energy-efficient schools and new computers won't educate the students. 21st Century schools are in need of 21st century teachers.

It is the educational system that is broken, not the school buildings, themselves. What made the 19th Century schools thrive and survive? It wasn't the physical building, but the education process.

I recently read where the Department of Education had nearly 4,000 employees dictating their suggestions into the the states, few of whom held a degree in Education. What is wrong with this picture?

—BROADBAND: “As we renew our schools and highways, we’ll also renew our information superhighway. It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they’ll get that chance when I’m president – because that’s how we’ll strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world.”

(Incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had talked about expanding broadband access, but this is the first time the transition has formally proposed it.)

Oh, don't get me started...In a little, nearby village obtained guvment funding for a museum honoring a Civil Rights activist. They were able to obtain funding to build a broadband access tower to provide free service to the entire community. That was over a year ago. The only broadband service provided is to the museum, a few of the townsfolk and the mayor. When inquiring about obtaining access, I was informed it would cost $80 a month. What happened to community-wide free access?

—ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS: “In addition to connecting our libraries and schools to the Internet, we must also ensure that our hospitals are connected to each other through the Internet. That is why the economic recovery plan I’m proposing will help modernize our health care system – and that won’t just save jobs, it will save lives. We will make sure that every doctor’s office and hospital in this country is using cutting edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year.”

Now this is one I can't wrap my head around. Am I supposed to provide all my history to one hospital, just to get it moved to a centralized location. I'm sorry, I don't travel that much and i don't think red tape is what its all about anyway. I somehow think that big brother wants total control of my life and times and all that I am. When will they be satisfied? Or will I wind up in some database that will tell them its time to retire me to the farm, as in "Wild In The Streets"--where those that reach the age of 30 are put to rest on LSD farms.

I'm sorry, I must go take a classical music break...something to let me think of happier times, when I did believe in Santa Claus...maybe The Nutcracker Suite, cause some body's nuts are about to be cracked.

Before ending my rant, I must say, the day I realized there wasn't a Santa, I was sorely disappointed in my parents. How could they lie to me? If you can't trust your parents, how the hell can you trust Uncle Sam?

Oh such are the thoughts of a cynic.