America in Jepordy

Well here we go again. the controversey surounding the building of the muslim center in NewYork. Why not show our true tolerance for all religions and belief's. We propose that the mosque be built - along with a Jewish cultural center adjoining the building on the right side and a gay bar and pork-rib smoke house on the left side. That way everyones views would be respected and tolerated, And they can all give each other big hugs as they go and come to the neighbor hood.

Whats next with our government

How are you doing with Obama-nomics so far? I don't know about you but I am not to pleased with the way things are heading. Look back at the history of the Wiemar republic and we will soon be repeating what happened there. get your wheel barrows ready to carry the cash that it's going to take to buy a gallon of gas ( by design?) (forcing the passage of cap & tax?) It looks mighty suspicious to me. How about you?

Taxing Drivers per Mile

Many people may or may not have heard about the latest proposal in the United States to tax drivers based on how many miles they drive a year because less tax revenue is being generated due to more people driving hybrid and alternative energy vehicles. This idea on the surface sounds like a good idea for governments, but with a small scratch of the surface it is very easy to see that this is a ludicrous idea. U.S. Governments need to help promote the use of alternative energies and not penalize people for it.

Luckily the Obama administration has stated that it will not seek to do this. However, there are ten states that are willing to pursue this unfair tax. The governments that want to do this will no doubt cause people to keep using gasoline powered vehicles instead of seeking cleaner and greener solutions. This tax is a horrible idea in all shapes and forms.

Government Bailout

All the talk about bailing out Wall Street and other large firms truly makes me sick. The people who run these companies will just mismanaged their funds again through high risk investments. The real people who need to be bailed out are the home owners who cannot afford their mortgages anymore. The government should be taking over their loans and giving them fixed-rate, affordable loans so the home owners will not lose their homes, the banks will be saved because they are not losing money, and the government will not lose money in the end because the home owners will still be paying off their loans.

This makes perfect sense yet most people do not see this.

A Mandate for New Home Building

Various local governments have different housing standards and codes for how homes should be built. It's now time for the U.S. government, or at least state governments, to add to the codes for the betterment of the nation and in a small part help improve the world.

The change that is needed is to mandate that all new homes being built should be able to generate a percentage of the energy they use in a year. The amount of energy should be calculated based on the average consumption for a house in a range of sizes and geographic locations. The percentage of energy that must be produced by the home should be around 25-50% of what is used. I feel this is reasonable, but the percentage would truly need to be determined by a panel of scientists and researchers. In addition to producing energy, each home that is connected to the electrical grid should be built with the capability to sell back the energy they do not use. This eliminates the need for an energy storage system.

To make this transition less painful, I feel that the government should not monitor how much energy is being produced after the home is sold. We do not need "energy police". The benefit to the owners of saving money on their energy costs should be enough incentive to keep using and maintaining their systems (solar, wind, etc...).

There are two ways to make this solution work. A home can produce a large amount of energy, or it can consume a small amount of energy so the required amount to be produced can be small. The heavy use of materials and devices that conserve energy will be extremely beneficial for everyone.

One Way Out of America's Economic Slump

One of the major reasons for America's economic slump is the rising cost of fuel. The price of crude oil has dropped significantly over the past few weeks (even though gasoline and diesel have not dropped much), however the lower prices will not last. It's time for a major overhaul, and the technologies already exist to do this.

I typically believe in smaller more efficient government, however there are times when this strategy needs to change. Similar to the Tennessee Valley Authority that was established by the U.S. government in 1933, we need a similar government owned company to handle alternative energy production (among other projects that the TVA were involved in). It's time to spend money to create jobs, and launch the U.S. towards a hydrogen fuel based economy. The first steps will be hard, but the long term affects will be tremendous.

The apprehension by the government to do this is apalling. It also appears that whether Obama or McCain win the presenditial election that neither will do enough to make this drastic of a change. The change can be much easier than it sounds.

This change can either be made drastically or gradually. To break out of the economic slump it needs to be made drastically. Gradual change has not been working, and promoting the use of ethanol (while it seemed good at first), has been a contributing reason as to why food costs have increased. People in the government need to step up and move forward. Enough with short term patches and minor solutions because they are getting us no where. We need the change now.

Oil Company Profits in America

There is something seriously wrong with American oil companies making record profits when the cost of fuel is so high. The logic does not make sense. When the cost of crude oil increases doesn't this increase the supply costs for some of these oil companies? Are these companies profiteering at the expense of everyone?

American oil companies have had tax breaks, and it's time to remove these "gifts". They definitely can cover their expenses because they are making record profits, so there is no fear that these companies will pass on the expenses to the consumers. If they do, then the government should look into this further and try to prevent it.

The next smart thing to do with the extra tax revenue is to invest it in alternative energies. More money needs to be put into these types of programs, and in my next post I will explain a basic idea of how to help the United States out of it's economic slump.