save the blue collar worker help save the economy

With the economy doing badly for most of the America right now, many states and cities are trying to find ways to bring jobs and business into their area.

Most of the time the focus is on bringing in higher paying/higher skilled jobs.

But looking at the states and cities that where hit the hardest by economic down turn, focusing on things like tech jobs may not be best place to start to focus on. This is not to say there shouldn't be focus on these jobs (there should) but giving that most of the cities that are doing the poorest right now tend to be in the rust belt. And most of the jobs lost in that area where blue collar. Focusing on bringing in jobs that demand skills they don't have will hardly help them.

Because their jobs are gone and nothing similar replaces them the ex-blue collar worker is left either not finding a new job or finding one that doesn't pay as much at their old job.

In either case that means they now have less money to spend in the economy or in taxes that they used to, and the blue collar Joe and Jane make up a big percentage of are work force, so that a large percentage of the American populous not making as much money as they used to.

So it makes sense for local governments to have policy that will make their area more appealing for companies to place blue collar jobs there.

For example tax credits to companies that bring manafraction or other blue collar jobs into their city/state.

it not as sexy as say trying to bring in high tech jobs and Hollywood to your state (like they are trying to do in MI) but you you will lower unemployment, increase your tax base and make sure the average Joe now has a OK job.

in other words it will give part of the base needed to make the states/cities that are looking bad right now, look good.

for example the increase tax base alone, should bring in enough money for those areas to improve their schools. if the local school board is smart they will make sure the kids coming up will learn the skills they need for the high skilled jobs of not only now but the future.

And business will be more willing to come into your area, either because of the educated pool now in the area or just because there are people with more spending money then they use to have.

Beijing Olympic opening ceremony and workers rights

we all enjoyed the Olympic games opening show this year.

it was a thing of beauty and was really aw inspiring.

but it coming out that to put on a show of great wonder that China put on a lot of people had to suffer and human rights of the performers where ignored.

For example 2200 tai-chi masters had to work 16 hours a day for 3 months in an army camp to train for what they would do for the brief time they would preform.

in July a 26 year old dancer feel 10 feet and may no be permanently paralyzed.

The Beijing Olympic ceremony's director had this to say to a local Chinese paper after visiting the dancer in the hospital

Performers in the West by contrast need frequent breaks and cannot withstand criticism, Zhang said, citing his experience working on an opera performance abroad. Though he didn't mention specific productions, Zhang directed an opera at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 2006.

"In one week, we could only work four and a half days, we had to have coffee breaks twice a day, couldn't go into overtime and just a little discomfort was not allowed because of human rights," he said of the unidentified opera production.

"You could not criticize them either. They all belong to some organizations ... they have all kind of institutions, unions. We do not have that. We can work very hard, can withstand lots of bitterness. We can achieve in one week what they can achieve in one month."

I think this shows us a lot in not only how working conditions are in China but for people that are anti-union this should give them something to look at to see how horrid things can be for the average American worker if the US does a way with unions and laxes to much on workers rights.

to show they will be good for the American economy Obama and McCain's VP should be a...

There has been much talk about who McCain and Obama will pick for their Vice President.

people of course throw out their picks, mainly because they think these are people that can help them win a state or two or because they cover a weakness on an issue that head of the ticket might have.

or people that have strong good will in believing that this person will be strong on an issue that most people think the nation is having a problem with.

one of the top of the list this election year (and pretty every election year I've been around) is the economy.

Now most of the time the people picked are politicians but giving that both Obama and McCain are running as outsiders or at least people who buck the system I think it would be a good ideal not to go that route and do something a little different.

Instead of picking another politician it might be wish ideal to pick an economist for the VP slot.

with the economy being such an issue it will give the person who does this more clout on the issue that they will do a good job on economy, since they will have someone high in the staff that knows more about they are talking about then the standard politician.

or at the very least we can feel a little better that the Prez will just let the VP handle the economic issues.


The only thing that might be a problem is the fact that there aren't many economist who's are household names. But if you can't find an economist known to the general public I am sure you can find someone that worked somewhere or one something that people will know.

Like pick a noble prize winning economist. Sure most people wouldn't be able to pick out say Robert Lucas Jr, Edmund Phelps or Roger Myerson. But just saying they have a noble prize will get the average Joe to think that they will be a wise choice when it comes to picking some one who can properly handle America's economic issues.