Posted on 12/06/2008 3:11:56 PM PST by EagleUSA
CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama said Saturday he wants to revive the economy through a job-creating public works plan on a scale unseen since the building program of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.
He offered no price estimate for the grand plan, how the money might be divided or the effect on the country's financial health at a time of burgeoning deficits.
The ideas were outlined in the weekly radio address the day after the government reported that employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years. They are part of a vision for a massive economy recovery plan Obama wants Congress to pass and have waiting on his desk when he takes office Jan. 20.
The president-elect's address never once used the word "spend," relying instead on "invest" or "investments," and pledging wise stewardship of taxpayer money in upgrading roads and schools, and making public buildings more energy-efficient.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Obama’s priority is roads and bridges. Our priority is paying the mortgage and putting food on the table. If the GOP knows what’s good for it, it will make this an issue.
yeah because what we really need in the 21st century are more union guys pouring concrete everywhere. /sarc
I would say that is just about right.
Down here in Houston, about a lifetime.
He could reorganize every State Dept. of Vital Statistics to be like Hawaii's!
Allah Akbhar!
What about building a few mosques, with one on the Washington Mall, up from the Lincoln Memorial. That should bring a few bucks into the country.
Exactly, but this time, the fascists are in office here, aand not in Germany.
Mark my words.
Jonah Goldberg is right.
Keynesian economics is nothing new for Congress.
Everyone know it doesn’t work, but since it cements political power, it’s popular among Democrats and Republicans alike.
>>Hiways will never be built by people who don’t show up.<<
An ex-business partner of mine told me many times the story about how his grandfather hit the jackpot in the 1930’s as a government public works contractor during FDR’s administration. Grandpa’s company “worked” on projects throughout Southern Ohio, Kentucky, Western PA and West Virginia. Grandpa had 5 “ghost” employees for every real employee. Gramps made a killing, much better money than moonshine ever was.
Military, missile defense, border control.
All that surplus powdered milk, cheese, wheat, corn, etc. is GONE! Check it out - they still have a bunch of bales of cotton, some rapeseed oil (oops politically correct is Canola) and that's about it! We don't got no more credit, and we is eatin harvest to harvest.
See, all the more reason for the Ejército Juvenil de Trabajo (Youth Labor Army [EJT])that Castro used to harvest sugar cane and pick pineapples - oh, and to report on their neighbors too.
I wonder what makes Barry think that people will do actual manual labor? You know..the back breaking, hot in the summer, cold in the winter kind of labor. Will there be a “draft” for infrastructure jobs?
I'm also pretty intrigued with the broadband expansion (more digging ditches?) and electronic medical records (data entry?).
Thought we elected a leader, instead got a soup kitchen cook.
Yeah , we need big new bridges to no where for the 5mph wind powered cars ;-)))
All you software engineers, grab your shovel, we are heading back to a Kenyan economy.
The Obama guy came a little short in the brains sector.
More like robbing the bank to pay for a public works program.
Just wait until the environmental groups start the lawsuits to stop them too.
I wonder if Obama is aware that the PWA and WPA were the vehicles used to get such construction giants as Morris Knudsen and Kellogg Brown their start. Kellogg of course went on to become that purveyor of evil, Halliburton. Both companies became vibrant spokes in the so called military industrial complex. I’m sure his haloedness will take precautions to see that the companies that profit from his new old deal will be paragons of pacificsm and greeness.
Hey, he’s going to provide career opportunities with this infrastructure thing. The way I’ve seen some of these road crews work, many have made a career out of filling a single pothole! Not to mention all of the jobs that would be available providing vertical support to shovels. Those shovels just cant stand there on their own ya know.
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