A nation in denial -- Tuesday's open thread
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A nation in denial -- Tuesday's open thread
I’m starting the new year with the sinking feeling that important opportunities are slipping from the nation’s grasp. Our collective consciousness tends to obsess indiscriminately over one or two issues — the would-be bomber on the flight into Detroit, the Tiger Woods saga — while enormous problems that should be engaged get short shrift.
That's Bob Herbert, who really emerged over the last couple of years as our national voice of reason; unfortunately reason is a very, very scary place in 2010. Here's the reality based world that we're trying so desperately to avoid as we focus on other things:
This is a society in deep, deep trouble and the fixes currently in the works are in no way adequate to the enormous challenges we’re facing. For example, an end to the mantra of monthly job losses would undoubtedly be welcomed. But even if the economy manages to create a few hundred thousand new jobs a month, it would do little to haul us from the unemployment pit dug for us by the Great Recession. We need to create more than 10 million new jobs just to get us back to where we were when the recession began in December 2007.
What’s needed are big new innovative efforts to fashion an economy that creates jobs for all who want and need to work. Just getting us back in fits and starts over the next few years to where we were when the recession began should not be acceptable to anyone. We should be moving now to invest aggressively in a new, greener economy, leading the world in the development of alternative fuels, advanced transportation networks and the effort to restrain the poisoning of the planet. We should be developing an industrial policy that emphasizes the need for America to regain its manufacturing mojo, as tough as that might seem, and we need to rebuild our infrastructure.
Socialism? Hardly. As Philly homeboy Atrios points out today, we already do manage the living daylights out of the U.S. economy, but we do it rather stupidly and unfairly. This is our real war -- against joblessness-- and it's good to think about the current rise in spending that way; we had to invest billions to save the planet during World War II and it was paid back in the prosperous decades that followed; it may not be possible for a lot of reason to exactly duplicate the economy of the 1950s but we do need a second "Greatest Generation" to step up here.
Remember, this is an open thread so all topics are on the table, even Swify's never-ending review of "Exile on Main Street." Someone needs to talk me off of the Eagles' ledge and convince me to at least watch this game on Saturday night.
TPS - if you want to obey the law to the letter I would have to answer yes to that - you might also want that documentation because it is also illegal to anyone under the age of 14 and with all that winter gear on it may be difficult to determine age. And TPS since adhering to these laws is so important I'll remind you that children age 14 and 15 can only work 4 hours per day - I have no idea how long it takes to shovel Casa TPS - and they can not work between the hours of 7pm and 7am. Better safe than sorry.— bird11
Comment removed.
---} I have no idea how long it takes to shovel Casa TPS - {--- Just bought a snowblower. My driveway is a b*tch, and I'm expecting heavy snow for the foreseeable future - "global cooling" and all. Thanks for the tips, birdie. Next time that kid rings my bell at 6:00 AM to ask to rake my leaves, I'll be sure to tell him I'm legally forbidden from doing so.— Talking point sleuth- Comment removed.
- TPS - I hope the kid already raked the leaves for this year. After a snow fall like we had in December if the leaves are still on the ground it can really have an adverse effect on your lawn for the following spring.— bird11
- "if the leaves are still on the ground it can really have an adverse effect on your lawn for the following spring." How so? just moved to a new house with a fair sized lawn. Leaves all over the place. Between the holidays, weather etc, I havent had time to rake/mulch the leaves. Plus, I need to buy or borrow a lawnmower.— RG
- --} How can one profit in the long term if they kill their customers? Its not really a viable business plan. {-- LOL! You got me on that one, RG. Knowingly marketing toxic substances before FDA regulations never happened- because companies realized it wasn't a good long-term business plan. Talk about Shangri-La! Obviously, knowingly marketing toxic substances still happens. But check out the record of the meat processing industry under the Bush and Clinton administrations. Clinton's administration was also influenced by the meat industry lobby - but under Bush's mantra of the benefits of deregulation, a decline in regulation lead to more toxic meat being marketed. Funny, I guess the meat processing industry didn't get that memo about long-term profits, RG.— Talking point sleuth
- I don't have a lawn, birdie. I'd rather read batboy's posts than mow grass. My property is full of plants, and protect them through the winter. No more raking until spring anyway.— Talking point sleuth
- sorry - should have typed ".... and leaves protect them...."— Talking point sleuth
- "But check out the record of the meat processing industry under the Bush and Clinton administrations." Yeah, gov agencies gave the a-ok for the meat to be sold, giving false security to consumers. And they even let it be sold to schools for the lunch program. Keeop believing in government solutions, though.— RG
- RG don't know the whys and hows but if you leave your lawn leaf covered over the winter you tend to get very spotty grass in the spring. I might not be the best person to seek advice from on this one - I had the big lawn for a decade and hated it. Happiest day of my life was when I moved back to Center City and gave every rake, shovel, hedge clipper, lawn mover, etc to my friend.— bird11
- ---} Yeah, gov agencies gave the a-ok for the meat to be sold, giving false security to consumers. {--- Like I said, RG. Democracy is an imperfect system, but it is better than the alternative. Clinton sold out to lobbyists also. There was a circle-jerk between his administration and the defense industry, for example. But the fact remains, less regulation under Bush's administration - in service of the "free market is Nivana," "de-regulation solves all worries" mantra - resulted in more toxic meat being marketed. Because, you know, the meat processing industry didn't get your memo about the long-term drawbacks of making hundreds of millions from selling bad meat.— Talking point sleuth
- thanks bird. my father in law knows this stuff and hasnt said anything yet. I've got woods in my back yard, and it was a foreclosure, so it wasnt inhabited for awhile. I need a weekend with decent weather and no family events.— RG
- "Because, you know, the meat processing industry didn't get your memo about the long-term drawbacks of making hundreds of millions from selling bad meat." Bad meat given government approval, so the consumers aren't aware. Ahh, the false sense of security. And its not like th meat was poisoned. Ammonia was used to kill off ecoli, etc but it had a bad smell, so they cut back. the ammonia processed was originally used by the gov because it was the cheapest.— RG
- ---} Bad meat given government approval, so the consumers aren't aware. {--- And the less government regulated, the more bad meat was sold. ---} Ammonia was used to kill off ecoli, etc but it had a bad smell, so they cut back. {--- Right. And companies made the decision to risk lives for the sake of profit. Thanks for proving your point about how companies self-regulate because of their conviction about long term profits. How anyone can still believe in the myth of the regulatory effects of long-term profits - after the past few decades where company after company made decisions purely on short-term profitability - is beyond me.— Talking point sleuth
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