Ladywriter 7,783 Report post Posted November 13, 2008 really good article A large-scale stimulus program is the only action that can possibly do the job. excerpt: A Green Public-Investment Stimulus Recessions create widespread human suffering. Minimizing the suffering has to be the top priority in fighting the recession. This means expanding unemployment benefits and food stamps to counteract the income losses of unemployed workers and the poor. By stabilizing the pocketbooks of distressed households, these measures also help people pay their mortgages and pump money into consumer markets. Beyond this, the stimulus program should be designed to meet three additional criteria. First, we have to generate the largest possible employment boost for a given level of new government spending. Second, the spending targets should be in areas that strengthen the economy in the long run, not just through a short-term money injection. And finally, despite the recession, we do not have the luxury of delaying the fight against global warming. To further all these goals we need a green public-investment stimulus. It would defend state-level health and education projects against budget cuts; finance long-delayed upgrades for our roads, bridges, railroads and water management systems; and underwrite investments in energy efficiency -- including building retrofits and public transportation -- as well as new wind, solar, geothermal and biomass technologies. This kind of stimulus would generate many more jobs -- eighteen per $1 million in spending -- than would programs to increase spending on the military and the oil industry (i.e., new military surges in Iraq or Afghanistan combined with "Drill, baby, drill"), which would generate only about 7.5 jobs for every $1 million spent. There are two reasons for the green program's advantage. The first factor is higher "labor intensity" of spending -- that is, more money is being spent on hiring people and less on machines, supplies and consuming energy. This becomes obvious if we imagine hiring teachers, nurses and bus drivers versus drilling for oil off the coasts of Florida, California and Alaska. The second factor is the "domestic content" of spending -- how much money is staying within the US economy, as opposed to buying imports or spending abroad. When we build a bridge in Minneapolis, upgrade the levee system in New Orleans or retrofit public buildings and private homes to raise their energy efficiency, virtually every dollar is spent within our economy. By contrast, only 80 cents of every dollar spent in the oil industry remains in the United States. The figure is still lower with the military budget. 1 2 3 Next page » Look at the flowers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeathscytheX 9,732 Report post Posted November 14, 2008 How to end the recession, and national debt comes with 2 words. National Lottery. The End. GET A NEW FUNK ON BEFORE YOU GET DUMPED ON! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ladywriter 7,783 Report post Posted November 16, 2008 Lottery does well up here and NY is one of the states that participates in mega millions Look at the flowers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeathscytheX 9,732 Report post Posted November 16, 2008 The government could pocket 40% and use it to take care of problems within the country only. It would solve a lot of shit. Everyone participating could equal billions. The pots would be so huge, it would be hard to resist coughing up a dollar for a ticket. GET A NEW FUNK ON BEFORE YOU GET DUMPED ON! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites