Jump to content

Usa Thread


TroyinEwa/Perv
 Share

Recommended Posts

:yeahthat:

 

HH

 

Another sign of the state of dysfunction of the political system of the USA:

 

 

Stalemate in Senate Leaves 4,000 Out of Work at F.A.A.

 

By EDWARD WYATTWASHINGTON — After dealing with the debt crisis, Senate negotiators tried and failed on Tuesday to end a stalemate over temporary financing for the Federal Aviation Administration, leaving 4,000 agency employees out of work and relying on airport safety inspectors to continue working without pay.

 

The partial agency shutdown, which began on July 23 and is likely to continue at least through Labor Day, has also idled tens of thousands of construction workers on airport projects around the country. Dozens of airport inspectors have been asked by the F.A.A. to work without pay and to charge their government travel expenses to their personal credit cards to keep airports operating safely.

 

NYT

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another sign of the state of dysfunction of the political system of the USA:

 

 

Exactly what one can expect when the people allow a Federal government to get involved in every initiative/issue in such a large and diverse country. The country isn't too large; the role of the U.S. government is positively too large; the slogan "Kill The Beast" is a good one. Starve the Federal government until it needs to take on only the most necessary of roles: defense, interstate highways/coinage,etc. Leave the rest of the stuff, such as education and charitable assistance to the states and local governments.

 

HH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another sign of the state of dysfunction of the political system of the USA:

 

 

Stalemate in Senate Leaves 4,000 Out of Work at F.A.A.

 

By EDWARD WYATTWASHINGTON — After dealing with the debt crisis, Senate negotiators tried and failed on Tuesday to end a stalemate over temporary financing for the Federal Aviation Administration, leaving 4,000 agency employees out of work and relying on airport safety inspectors to continue working without pay.

 

The partial agency shutdown, which began on July 23 and is likely to continue at least through Labor Day, has also idled tens of thousands of construction workers on airport projects around the country. Dozens of airport inspectors have been asked by the F.A.A. to work without pay and to charge their government travel expenses to their personal credit cards to keep airports operating safely.

 

NYT

 

 

Our airport infrastructure is a disgrace.

 

What we need to do as a country to is revitalize our infrastructure and reduce the military probably to the size it was after the Civil War (about 25,000 soldiers). If you look at what our military has done in the last 10 years it has a very similar 'accomplishments' as what they did in Viet Nam. If the USA never went to Viet Nam, Afghanastan and Iraq the country would have no deficits but would be operating in the black like China does and we would be paying a lot less in taxes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our airport infrastructure is a disgrace.

 

What we need to do as a country to is revitalize our infrastructure and reduce the military probably to the size it was after the Civil War (about 25,000 soldiers). If you look at what our military has done in the last 10 years it has a very similar 'accomplishments' as what they did in Viet Nam. If the USA never went to Viet Nam, Afghanastan and Iraq the country would have no deficits but would be operating in the black like China does and we would be paying a lot less in taxes.

 

Re-addressing the infrastructure part. Maybe the pols don't think its a 'sexy' enough sell to the American people. It can be told and sold to the American voter as us re-investing in ourselves. The jobs, materials, benfit would be all ours. The thing is its necessary. Its not even a choice anymore. I recall some talk radio show topic once where this guy was saying how many thousands...yes thousands of tunnels, bridges, dams, rail lines, etc. wouldn't and didn't pass inspection but are still being used because there is no choice. I know for a fact my own hometown Philly has some subway lines over some overpasses, bridges, etc that are a matter of when not if before something happens. The local papers were doing exposes on it when I was a kid so I'm actually amazed there hasn't been a tragedy by now (I pray to God it doesn't happen).

 

 

The hundreds of thousands if not millions of blue collar jobs these projects would create. Jobs that would go on for months and years. Not only the repair jobs but the highway, high speed rail lines, subways, etc, that needs to be built. Plenty of middle class jobs. Engineers, etc. Low and no skilled jobs. Someone is needed to wave those orange flags to tell drivers not to drive here or there. Clean up, someone has to pick up debris.

 

Its such a friggin' no brainer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

US borrowing tops 100% of GDP: Treasury

 

 

 

US debt shot up $238 billion to reach 100 percent of gross domestic project after the government's debt ceiling was lifted, Treasury figures showed Wednesday.

 

Treasury borrowing jumped Tuesday, the data showed, immediately after President Barack Obama signed into law an increase in the debt ceiling as the country's spending commitments reached a breaking point and it threatened to default on its debt.

 

The new borrowing took total public debt to $14.58 trillion, over end-2010 GDP of $14.53 trillion, and putting it in a league with highly indebted countries like Italy and Belgium. :cheerleader:

 

Public debt subject to the official debt limit -- a slightly tighter definition -- was $14.53 trillion as of the end of Tuesday, rising from the previous official cap of $14.29 trillion a day earlier.

 

Treasury had used extraordinary measures to hold under the $14.29 trillion cap since reaching it on May 16, while politicians battled over it and over addressing the country's bloating deficit.

 

The official limit was hiked $400 billion on Tuesday and will be increased in stages over the next 18 months.

 

The last time US debt topped the size of its annual economy was in 1947 just after World War II. By 1981 it had fallen to 32.5 percent.

 

Ratings agencies have warned the country to reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio quickly or facing losing its coveted AAA debt rating.

 

Moody's said Tuesday that the government needed to stabilize the ratio at 73 percent by 2015 "to ensure that the long-run fiscal trajectory remains compatible with an American Auto Association rating."

 

 

My link

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Marine Corps seeks award for first black Marines

 

 

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The top dog of the Marine Corps said Tuesday that he wants the first black members of the Marine Corps to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and hopes their story will inspire more black men and women to join the Corps and rise through its ranks.

 

Commandant Gen. James Amos told hundreds of Marine Corps officers at the National Naval Officers Association meeting that it was time for Congress to honor the group known as the Montford Point Marines.

 

About 20,000 black Marines underwent basic training in the 1940s after President Franklin D. Roosevelt integrated the Marine Corps. They were trained at the segregated Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, N.C., as racism continued in the Marine Corps and society.

 

The black guys were not allowed to enter the main base of nearby Camp Lejeune unless accompanied by a white Marine.

 

By 1945, many of the black recruits had become drill instructors and non-commissioned officers at Montford Point. The segregated camp was closed down in 1949 and black recruits were sent to Parris Island and Camp Pendleton like all new Marines. The Marine Corps was fully integrated during the Korean War.

 

The Congressional Gold Medal is awarded to a civilian or group of civilians as the highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions.

 

Amos said his goal was to cement the role of the Montford Point men in the Corps' 235-year history. His efforts are part of a broader goal in diversifying the military's smallest branch and sharing the legacy of the black Marines.

 

The story of the first black recruits will be part of the instruction Marines receive during basic training.

 

"Spread the gospel that the Marine Corps is a force that has changed," Amos told the officers. "We're not in 1942 anymore."

 

Amos said only 5 percent of Marine officers are black and that needs to increase, something he pledged to make a priority.

 

The Marine Corps, like all military branches, had high recruitment and retention rates this year and will be looking to downsize from 202,000 to 186,000.

 

Amos acknowledged stiff competition to get into the Marine Corps, but said that does not take away from efforts to boost minority numbers, especially among officers.

 

"I'm not out for quotas," Amos said. "I'm out to attract the best young men and women of our nation."

 

Amos has invited the surviving Montford Point Marine veterans, now in their 80s, to stay at the Marine Corps barracks and participate in a parade honoring them in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 26, which the Senate last year designated as "Montford Point Marines Day."

 

The date marks the first day that black recruits began training at Montford Point.

 

 

My link

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Marine Corps seeks award for first black Marines

 

 

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The top dog of the Marine Corps said Tuesday that he wants the first black members of the Marine Corps to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and hopes their story will inspire more black men and women to join the Corps and rise through its ranks.

 

Commandant Gen. James Amos told hundreds of Marine Corps officers at the National Naval Officers Association meeting that it was time for Congress to honor the group known as the Montford Point Marines.

 

About 20,000 black Marines underwent basic training in the 1940s after President Franklin D. Roosevelt integrated the Marine Corps. They were trained at the segregated Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, N.C., as racism continued in the Marine Corps and society.

 

The black guys were not allowed to enter the main base of nearby Camp Lejeune unless accompanied by a white Marine.

 

By 1945, many of the black recruits had become drill instructors and non-commissioned officers at Montford Point. The segregated camp was closed down in 1949 and black recruits were sent to Parris Island and Camp Pendleton like all new Marines. The Marine Corps was fully integrated during the Korean War.

 

The Congressional Gold Medal is awarded to a civilian or group of civilians as the highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions.

 

Amos said his goal was to cement the role of the Montford Point men in the Corps' 235-year history. His efforts are part of a broader goal in diversifying the military's smallest branch and sharing the legacy of the black Marines.

 

The story of the first black recruits will be part of the instruction Marines receive during basic training.

 

"Spread the gospel that the Marine Corps is a force that has changed," Amos told the officers. "We're not in 1942 anymore."

 

Amos said only 5 percent of Marine officers are black and that needs to increase, something he pledged to make a priority.

 

The Marine Corps, like all military branches, had high recruitment and retention rates this year and will be looking to downsize from 202,000 to 186,000.

 

Amos acknowledged stiff competition to get into the Marine Corps, but said that does not take away from efforts to boost minority numbers, especially among officers.

 

"I'm not out for quotas," Amos said. "I'm out to attract the best young men and women of our nation."

 

Amos has invited the surviving Montford Point Marine veterans, now in their 80s, to stay at the Marine Corps barracks and participate in a parade honoring them in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 26, which the Senate last year designated as "Montford Point Marines Day."

 

The date marks the first day that black recruits began training at Montford Point.

 

 

My link

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re-addressing the infrastructure part. Maybe the pols don't think its a 'sexy' enough sell to the American people. It can be told and sold to the American voter as us re-investing in ourselves. The jobs, materials, benfit would be all ours. The thing is its necessary. Its not even a choice anymore. I recall some talk radio show topic once where this guy was saying how many thousands...yes thousands of tunnels, bridges, dams, rail lines, etc. wouldn't and didn't pass inspection but are still being used because there is no choice. I know for a fact my own hometown Philly has some subway lines over some overpasses, bridges, etc that are a matter of when not if before something happens. The local papers were doing exposes on it when I was a kid so I'm actually amazed there hasn't been a tragedy by now (I pray to God it doesn't happen).

 

 

The hundreds of thousands if not millions of blue collar jobs these projects would create. Jobs that would go on for months and years. Not only the repair jobs but the highway, high speed rail lines, subways, etc, that needs to be built. Plenty of middle class jobs. Engineers, etc. Low and no skilled jobs. Someone is needed to wave those orange flags to tell drivers not to drive here or there. Clean up, someone has to pick up debris.

 

Its such a friggin' no brainer.

 

Yes it is. Just look at HH's opinion: he sees the FAA as part of big government, not as that essential for an industrialized country.

The shutdown has sidelined 74.000 government and contract workers and stopped dozens of construction projects at airports and is causing tax losses of 30 Mio USD per day.

 

Florida doesn't see a high speed train connection as important and has declined a few billion USD in government money. While in Europe and Asia countries like Germany, France, Spain, China, Japan, Taiwan, compete with each other in building the fastest and best high speed train networks, because they understand that this is an important part of contemporary infrastructure. And as far as I know, all these projects are mostly state funded.

While in the USA around the country bridges, schools, water pipes, e.g., are deteriorating.

 

By the way, the right sees government regulation of key industries as big government as well. You see it for example in the most essential part of the tech business infrastructure of the 21st century, the internet. In the US all people concerned know that the USA is falling behind in access to high speed internet, because very few major providers rule the market.

Compare this t to Germany: the government has forced the providers to open their networks to competitors (for a fee of course). This has forced the providers to compete with each other in every market. The result: you'll get a 50 MB glass fiber line, including 1-2 phone landlines (and unlimited calls to other landlines), no data caps at all, for around 60 USD. While in the US, as I understand, the providers keep their lines closed to competitors and now they are discussing data caps and data filtering (youtube, e.g.) and ask double and more USD for much less.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...