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If anybody has ever read my Yahoo! blogs or comments I think they would come to the conclusion that I am something of a Republican moderate. That being said I want to emphasize what I expect out of our leadership. These are strictly my expectations, and I realize I will not likely have them all met. I also leave room for people to disagree with me.
Our nation has a history of abusing its work force. While I believe the free-enterprise system is the greatest economic engine in the world, it does need to be regulated to prevent wrong doing. In the steel mills, the docks, the coal mines, and packing houses of this country rich entrepreneurs often treated workers poorly by giving them low pay, providing poor and unsafe working conditions, and making them work long hours. The former also had the bad habit of bringing in immigrants, both legal and illegal, to keep wages and costs low. Because of such conditions many workers decided to form trade unions. They wanted fair wages, proper treatment and respect, and a safer work place. Unions provided and encouraged apprenticeship programs so workers could be trained to provide their employers with greater productivity and efficiency. Non-union employers who recognized the potential of their personnel also encouraged workers to improve themselves. Education, self-improvement, and a safe, stable workplace provide employers and employees BOTH a greater chance of competing effectively in a free-market system. They also provide the customer with higher quality goods at a competitive price. Our country needs to get off the "cheap labor" band wagon and encourage North American workers to strive for greater efficiency and productivity! Our employers and government also needs to provide young and old workers training so they can perform a variety of tasks so they can be independent, self-supporting individuals. The revolving door in the work place needs to go!
Everything we do in this country requires energy, whether this comes from traditional carbon-based or alternative sources. Our country needs a comprehensive energy policy that allows for the use of both sources. We also need to encourage manufacturers to find realistically economic means of reducing emissions and fuel consumption. For example, General Electric is presently building railroad locomotives utilizing a 12-cylinder diesel engine that reduces both. Hooray! Wind turbines and solar panels can also help reduce carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, and particulate emissions. Also, conservation can help reduce the ever-increasing trend of energy dependence. However, this is not to say that coal-fired or oil-fired power plants are evil. We as people need to be aware that our activities and industrial processes affect the environment in which we live. Furthermore, we need to be aware that the automobile has seriously changed our cities drastically over the last fifty years. Rather than a central business district and industrial zone with outlying sub-burbs, we now have commercial, industrial, and residential neighborhoods scattered all over the place. It is much harder for people to use mass-transit networks because our places of employment and trade are in many different geographical areas. Our nation is heavily dependent on the automobile.
Twenty to thirty years ago I noticed there was trouble in both the banking and medical businesses. Banks began giving out home equity loans far in excess of an individual house's value. Wages were not keeping up with the cost of items, and people were finding it harder to live within their means. During the 1990s and early 2000s housing prices began to sky-rocket. Our government failed to regulate the banks and lending institutions, and as a result we are now experiencing the present economic recession. In the 1970s I can remember when hospitals began adding whole new additions so they could house the increasing number of administrative personnel. Also, an increase in malpractice law-suits started driving up the cost of health care. Our government, instead of trying to properly regulate these cancerous trends did nothing to properly regulate the insurance industry and medical community, and to stop the abuse of malpractice law-suits. Our government needs to streamline and improve medical regulation, and needs to cap medical expenses.
War is never a desirable or easy matter. Unfortunately there are always extremists who want to impose their will upon the rest of us. Our government leaders need to weigh our domestic issues with foreign issues and choose their battles carefully. I think they need to try every diplomatic means possible to resolve a conflict BEFORE they commit our troops to armed battle. I am not nearly as critical of either the Bush or Obama administrations over this matter as some pundits. However, I do believe our government has not done enough to secure our borders from illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
More: http://www.hsengine.com/s_immigration.html
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