Implementing these corridor projects and programs serve as a catalyst to promote economic expansion (including new manufacturing jobs), create new choices for travelers in addition to flying or driving, reduce national dependence on oil, and they foster livable urban and rural communities.
Yes, it is tax monies that are used to build these systems but we, as Americans, need to invest in America in the kinds of project that benefit everyone over rebuilding countries abroad. This is by far a better use of tax dollars than military spending on two optional wars that have been ongoing for almost 10 years that only kills people including our own and benefits no one other than the oil companies and big corporations. It is a better use than going to Mars under Mr. Bush’s proposal. HSR doesn’t expand the entitlements either.
I support it for those reasons but our new “Tea Party” Governor, Rick Scott, has poopooed it and just one year after Florida lawmakers took historic, bipartisan action to spur the state's economy with a job-creating high-speed rail proposal, Governor Rick Scott is making a misguided, unilateral decision to overturn the will of the Republican-led Florida Legislature.
Will people use it? Ultimately as we move forward I believe HSR will be a part of many American’s everyday lives because we cannot continue to build more and more highways to accommodate more and more vehicles when those vehicles only have one or two passengers. It is a very inefficient way to move people around and HSP is a viable alternative.
Here is more on the subject that might help you to understand why we should do it but do it with better understanding and learn from those that have already found the pitfalls.
http://www.ub.edu/irea/working_papers/2010/201003.pdf
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Response To Traditional Conservative Views
In a perfect world the idea of a tiny government would be absolutely correct but the reality is that without government regulation the playing field gets really lop-sided in favor of BIG BUSINESS, BIG OIL and BIG BANKING. Examples: The lack of effective regulation is what contributed to the Gulf Oil Disaster that literally wiped-out an entire regional economy. The lack of regulation on Wall Street helped crash the American economy a put us in the worst recesssion since the Great Depression. The lack of regulation in the Banking Industry has led to unfair high interest rates by banks and lead to the real estate collapse and devalued property values.
Government deregulation has done more to hurt the American people than any other single ideal in the last 30 years. In the beginning it looked like a great idea but what has happened is the lack of regulation has allowed the corporations to unfairly gobble up the competition an now we have fewer choices and we must pay higher prices due to the lack of competition. Additionally it allowed corporations to move operations away from America where labor is cheap and now our jobs have been peddled to the LOWEST bidder.
As far as Congress taxing the people it is absolutely constitutional: Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, is known as the Taxing and Spending Clause. It is the clause that gives the federal government of the United States its power of taxation.
My friend Darrel is mistaken about the Estate Tax: the new tax law provides an amount that is exempt from the tax at $5 million, and the tax on the rest, except for assets going to a citizen spouse or to charity, will be 35%. A lot of wealth passes through trusts, which we can't see because they are private documents. And without full disclosure of assets on an estate tax return, even the Internal Revenue Service won't know for sure how much decedents left behind.
As far as government provided child care is concerned there is pro’s and cons to the issue but generally speaking many experts agree that the benefits are greater than the cost but it is a controversial subject. My personal stance irrespective of any economic gains is that it seems to me the right thing to do to give single parents an opportunity to work and better themselves.(this is not only a woman’s issue because there many men that are single parents) If Republicans truly are compassionate then here is an area that seems to me is of noble value by making it possible to keep people off the welfare roles and provide for themselves while contributing to society. Here is some further reading on the subject:
Further Reading
Finally, I believe your sketch of the difference in the Dems and Reps is grossly distorted. Anthony Weiner view is closer to reality where Republicans have sold out to wealthy corporations and essentially are a do nothing party at present. They represent the interest of BIG BUSINESS and to hell with the small man. Even the passage of the this latest tax bill (that by the way will cost the American middle class $870 BILLION) was no compromise but held America hostage by REPUBLICANS to give their wealth buddies a tax break in exchange for giving the unemployed some breathing space until jobs are available. Jobs that were lost due to irresponsible Republican Leadership. That is just plain WRONG. This bill was a BAD idea - period!
Government deregulation has done more to hurt the American people than any other single ideal in the last 30 years. In the beginning it looked like a great idea but what has happened is the lack of regulation has allowed the corporations to unfairly gobble up the competition an now we have fewer choices and we must pay higher prices due to the lack of competition. Additionally it allowed corporations to move operations away from America where labor is cheap and now our jobs have been peddled to the LOWEST bidder.
As far as Congress taxing the people it is absolutely constitutional: Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, is known as the Taxing and Spending Clause. It is the clause that gives the federal government of the United States its power of taxation.
My friend Darrel is mistaken about the Estate Tax: the new tax law provides an amount that is exempt from the tax at $5 million, and the tax on the rest, except for assets going to a citizen spouse or to charity, will be 35%. A lot of wealth passes through trusts, which we can't see because they are private documents. And without full disclosure of assets on an estate tax return, even the Internal Revenue Service won't know for sure how much decedents left behind.
As far as government provided child care is concerned there is pro’s and cons to the issue but generally speaking many experts agree that the benefits are greater than the cost but it is a controversial subject. My personal stance irrespective of any economic gains is that it seems to me the right thing to do to give single parents an opportunity to work and better themselves.(this is not only a woman’s issue because there many men that are single parents) If Republicans truly are compassionate then here is an area that seems to me is of noble value by making it possible to keep people off the welfare roles and provide for themselves while contributing to society. Here is some further reading on the subject:
Further Reading
Finally, I believe your sketch of the difference in the Dems and Reps is grossly distorted. Anthony Weiner view is closer to reality where Republicans have sold out to wealthy corporations and essentially are a do nothing party at present. They represent the interest of BIG BUSINESS and to hell with the small man. Even the passage of the this latest tax bill (that by the way will cost the American middle class $870 BILLION) was no compromise but held America hostage by REPUBLICANS to give their wealth buddies a tax break in exchange for giving the unemployed some breathing space until jobs are available. Jobs that were lost due to irresponsible Republican Leadership. That is just plain WRONG. This bill was a BAD idea - period!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Is China and Russia drilling within 50 miles of Florida?
Politician and Big Oil advocate Steve Pearce has tried to make this argument on April 4, 2010 prior to the Gulf Oil Disaster even before this latest post when he commented on one of his own post and I quote, ” the Chinese are drilling 45 miles from Florida but I am not seeing any nationwide protest against that. US companies may still get to drill off the coast but that is still undecided.”
It was pointed out then that information about the Chinese Drilling was completely false and nothing more than an urban rumor and proven to be false as far back as 2006 yet Pearce and other Republicans are still spreading lies as part of a misinformation campaign to further Big Oil interests and are even further embellishing the story by claiming that the Russians are also drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Let me make this perfectly clear - neither the Chinese nor the Russians are drilling anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico. These reports are completely false and have no substance at all.
All of this kind of rhetoric is an effort to justify further drilling in protected waters for profit without regard to safety and environmental concerns. Most petroleum analysts agree that the amount of new oil produced from additional drilling in the Gulf of Mexico would be too small to significantly affect world oil prices.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/20/new_offshore_drilling_not_a_quick_fix_analysts_say/
As far back as early April 2010 many of us and especially Florida residents stood up against drilling in Florida waters because we considered the risk too great. The ensuing Deepwater Horizon accident and the Gulf Oil Disaster is exactly the reason we objected to further drilling but as it turns out drilling in the Gulf is far more dangerous than even the most radical protesters imagined. My goal then was to simply keep drilling away from Florida shores because I had seen the destruction from normal drilling activity where I had once lived in the Galveston Bay area of Texas but now that we have witnessed the complete devastation of regional economies and the destruction of entire fishing and tourist industries and the ecological impact that will not be fully realized for decades we as a nation cannot and must not continue in this vain. Keep in mind this destruction comes from a single well drilled in the Gulf of Mexico.
Many of us were fighting tooth and nail to prevent drilling on Florida shores but the nation seemed hell bent on more drilling no matter what the consequences simply because of the high fuel costs. It seemed as though America's addiction to oil had no boundaries and that America was unwilling to compromise on its glutinous use of the stuff.
Even wishy-washy politicians that once stood for off shore drilling have effectively recanted and are now calling for a ban to drilling in Florida waters as the political winds are blowing the other direction.
Crist wants to ban offshore drilling
By Steve Bousquet, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
In Print: Friday, July 9, 2010
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday abruptly called for a special session of the Legislature to ask lawmakers to let voters consider putting an offshore oil drilling ban in the state Constitution. More...
Interior Secretary says he will impose new drilling moratorium
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans, Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday against the ban, which halted all drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevented new permits from being issued. The White House said it would appeal the ruling. More...
This is a six month moratorium to that would allow the Federal regulators to ensure that further drilling in the Gulf can be done safely and that no further harm should be done to the environment and that oil companies, in fact, have plans and preparations in place to deal with disasters like the Deepwater Horizon.
I agree with the moratorium because, just like 911, America must be sure that this kind of a disaster cannot happen again. After all, it was the oil companies that convinced politicians to relax all regulation so that they could drill more efficiently and it was the oil companies that convinced America that this could be done safely and that the oil companies could and would self regulate.
On each of these counts we now find that not only are the oil companies not equipped to handle a disaster of this magnitude but they don’t even have a plan in place should this occur much less a back-up plan should plan (A) fail.
Additionally we find out that the self regulation was a complete joke and not only have the oil companies not self regulated but they have colluded with what little regulation was in place.
A six month moratorium will give regulators the opportunity to better evaluate what went wrong through investigation and to take steps to increase the safety of these operations.
We had no problem starting two optional wars after 911 that, by the way, are still going on today almost 10 years later and spending big bucks to the tune $720 million a day give or take a few million and everyone knows these wars are about oil.
Yes, the job loss is adding insult to injury, however, keep in mind that BP is ultimately responsible for the consequences of this disaster and should be held responsible by compensating those injured including the loss of additional jobs although the courts have ruled that BP cannot be responsible for government actions and will probably get of the hook on this one.
Big Oil proponents are big on playing the “Job Card” in order to get their way. Any mention of regulation, taxation, cap and trade, or anything that would hold Big Oil responsible for its action draws out the threat of “Higher Prices” or “Job Loss”. I am tired of being held hostage by the oil companies while they rape us at the pump, walk away without paying taxes and all the while pollute our environment and hand us the bill.
That’s right we get handed the bill in terms of environmental impact, medical consequences of a polluted environment, higher taxes to pay for oil securing wars, and that doesn’t even mention climate change that could change our entire world as we know it.
It is time to invest in the future of America and begin the painful process of breaking our oil addiction. Get out of that gas guzzling SUV, insulate your homes, buy energy efficient appliances and support alternative energy development NOW!
If America would just pull together on this it wouldn’t be long before we could all tell Big Oil where to go and wouldn’t that be a change.
It was pointed out then that information about the Chinese Drilling was completely false and nothing more than an urban rumor and proven to be false as far back as 2006 yet Pearce and other Republicans are still spreading lies as part of a misinformation campaign to further Big Oil interests and are even further embellishing the story by claiming that the Russians are also drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Let me make this perfectly clear - neither the Chinese nor the Russians are drilling anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico. These reports are completely false and have no substance at all.
It has been pointed out that the source used to check the facts is in itself a biased organization supporting a left-wing agenda. The inference being that because of the said bias that the information is somehow not valid. In the interest of fairness I’m including Fox News as an additional source that is said to be a decidedly right-wing source or at the very least and in Fox's own words "fair and balanced". The point being that the drilling statement was proved in error over two years ago.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/20/new_offshore_drilling_not_a_quick_fix_analysts_say/
As far back as early April 2010 many of us and especially Florida residents stood up against drilling in Florida waters because we considered the risk too great. The ensuing Deepwater Horizon accident and the Gulf Oil Disaster is exactly the reason we objected to further drilling but as it turns out drilling in the Gulf is far more dangerous than even the most radical protesters imagined. My goal then was to simply keep drilling away from Florida shores because I had seen the destruction from normal drilling activity where I had once lived in the Galveston Bay area of Texas but now that we have witnessed the complete devastation of regional economies and the destruction of entire fishing and tourist industries and the ecological impact that will not be fully realized for decades we as a nation cannot and must not continue in this vain. Keep in mind this destruction comes from a single well drilled in the Gulf of Mexico.
Many of us were fighting tooth and nail to prevent drilling on Florida shores but the nation seemed hell bent on more drilling no matter what the consequences simply because of the high fuel costs. It seemed as though America's addiction to oil had no boundaries and that America was unwilling to compromise on its glutinous use of the stuff.
Even wishy-washy politicians that once stood for off shore drilling have effectively recanted and are now calling for a ban to drilling in Florida waters as the political winds are blowing the other direction.
Crist wants to ban offshore drilling
By Steve Bousquet, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
In Print: Friday, July 9, 2010
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday abruptly called for a special session of the Legislature to ask lawmakers to let voters consider putting an offshore oil drilling ban in the state Constitution. More...
Interior Secretary says he will impose new drilling moratorium
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans, Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday against the ban, which halted all drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevented new permits from being issued. The White House said it would appeal the ruling. More...
This is a six month moratorium to that would allow the Federal regulators to ensure that further drilling in the Gulf can be done safely and that no further harm should be done to the environment and that oil companies, in fact, have plans and preparations in place to deal with disasters like the Deepwater Horizon.
I agree with the moratorium because, just like 911, America must be sure that this kind of a disaster cannot happen again. After all, it was the oil companies that convinced politicians to relax all regulation so that they could drill more efficiently and it was the oil companies that convinced America that this could be done safely and that the oil companies could and would self regulate.
On each of these counts we now find that not only are the oil companies not equipped to handle a disaster of this magnitude but they don’t even have a plan in place should this occur much less a back-up plan should plan (A) fail.
Additionally we find out that the self regulation was a complete joke and not only have the oil companies not self regulated but they have colluded with what little regulation was in place.
A six month moratorium will give regulators the opportunity to better evaluate what went wrong through investigation and to take steps to increase the safety of these operations.
We had no problem starting two optional wars after 911 that, by the way, are still going on today almost 10 years later and spending big bucks to the tune $720 million a day give or take a few million and everyone knows these wars are about oil.
Yes, the job loss is adding insult to injury, however, keep in mind that BP is ultimately responsible for the consequences of this disaster and should be held responsible by compensating those injured including the loss of additional jobs although the courts have ruled that BP cannot be responsible for government actions and will probably get of the hook on this one.
Big Oil proponents are big on playing the “Job Card” in order to get their way. Any mention of regulation, taxation, cap and trade, or anything that would hold Big Oil responsible for its action draws out the threat of “Higher Prices” or “Job Loss”. I am tired of being held hostage by the oil companies while they rape us at the pump, walk away without paying taxes and all the while pollute our environment and hand us the bill.
That’s right we get handed the bill in terms of environmental impact, medical consequences of a polluted environment, higher taxes to pay for oil securing wars, and that doesn’t even mention climate change that could change our entire world as we know it.
Wake-up America before it is too late!
It is time to invest in the future of America and begin the painful process of breaking our oil addiction. Get out of that gas guzzling SUV, insulate your homes, buy energy efficient appliances and support alternative energy development NOW!
If America would just pull together on this it wouldn’t be long before we could all tell Big Oil where to go and wouldn’t that be a change.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
A Response To: Welcome to the Double-Dip Recession
RE: Steve Pearce U.S. Congress - Welcome To Double Dip Recession
Original Article
The article quoted is that of Louis Woodhill who is on the Leadership Council of the Club for Growth which is a 527 organization. A 527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after a section of the United States tax code, 26 U.S.C. § 527. A 527 group is created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office and is extremely biased toward GOP candidates.
"The Federal Election Commission filed a lawsuit on September 20, 2005, in U.S. District Court in Washington against the Club for Growth, the first case of its kind to arise from high-dollar fundraising during the 2004 elections. The pro-Republican group spent at least $21 million in the 2003-2004 election cycle. ... The FEC contends the club spent enough in federal races to require it to file with the commission as a political committee and to follow contribution and spending limits. It wants the court to fine the group and order it to comply with campaign finance rules."
--Associated Press, September 19, 2005
Washington, July 7, 2005 - A rift among the handful of millionaires behind the Club For growth for Growth degenerated into accusations of stolen donor lists and betrayed principles. More...
The Reagan tax cuts referenced in the article do not mention that by the end of Reagan's second term the national debt held by the public ballooned from 26 percent of the GDP in 1980 to 41 percent in 1989. By 1988, the debt totaled $2.6 trillion, due in part to both increased military spending at the end of the Cold War and according to some, the tax cuts. The country owed more to foreigners than it was owed, and the United States moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the world's largest debtor nation.
The article also ignores the most recent economic news that US markets closed sharply higher Wednesday. The S&P 500 finished up 3.13%, while the NASDAQ rose 3.13% and the DJIA gained 2.82%. Stocks Surge Most Since May, Dow Over 10,000. Tech Spending Is Back. And It May Even Last. Microsoft, Dell, Oracle, and others report sales gains as corporate customers finally upgrade.
http://www.businessweek.com/
NASDAQ
S&P 500 1,060 +32.21
DJIA 10,018 +274.66
NASDAQ 2,159 +65.59
Terry Riggs
A Wider Viewpoint
Original Article
The article quoted is that of Louis Woodhill who is on the Leadership Council of the Club for Growth which is a 527 organization. A 527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after a section of the United States tax code, 26 U.S.C. § 527. A 527 group is created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office and is extremely biased toward GOP candidates.
"The Federal Election Commission filed a lawsuit on September 20, 2005, in U.S. District Court in Washington against the Club for Growth, the first case of its kind to arise from high-dollar fundraising during the 2004 elections. The pro-Republican group spent at least $21 million in the 2003-2004 election cycle. ... The FEC contends the club spent enough in federal races to require it to file with the commission as a political committee and to follow contribution and spending limits. It wants the court to fine the group and order it to comply with campaign finance rules."
--Associated Press, September 19, 2005
Washington, July 7, 2005 - A rift among the handful of millionaires behind the Club For growth for Growth degenerated into accusations of stolen donor lists and betrayed principles. More...
The Reagan tax cuts referenced in the article do not mention that by the end of Reagan's second term the national debt held by the public ballooned from 26 percent of the GDP in 1980 to 41 percent in 1989. By 1988, the debt totaled $2.6 trillion, due in part to both increased military spending at the end of the Cold War and according to some, the tax cuts. The country owed more to foreigners than it was owed, and the United States moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the world's largest debtor nation.
The article also ignores the most recent economic news that US markets closed sharply higher Wednesday. The S&P 500 finished up 3.13%, while the NASDAQ rose 3.13% and the DJIA gained 2.82%. Stocks Surge Most Since May, Dow Over 10,000. Tech Spending Is Back. And It May Even Last. Microsoft, Dell, Oracle, and others report sales gains as corporate customers finally upgrade.
http://www.businessweek.com/
NASDAQ
S&P 500 1,060 +32.21
DJIA 10,018 +274.66
NASDAQ 2,159 +65.59
Terry Riggs
A Wider Viewpoint
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