"2011-2012 Jobs Program"

Seen Any Factories Lately?

There are few times, like major presidential election years, to see what makes the good old USA tick!  All the rage right now is the President's "Jobs Program."  Now we don't have to agree with the content, to agree with the concept.  We are hurting and we need some leadership on the Jobs Front!  It's so much more than, "Let's fix our old roads and bridges..."

Seen Any Farms Lately?

I grew up in a factory town in the economic heyday years, following WWII.  Endicott, NY, was home to both the largest IBM manufacturing facility, as well as Endicott-Johnson Shoes.  We also had General Electric, Link Aviation, Ansco Film, and a host of others.  Everyone who wanted a job, with decent pay and benefits, could get one.

And then I blinked...  WE DON'T MAKE ANYTHING ANYMORE!  Chances are 95% + that the computer you are using to read this, the TV upon which you watched the morning news, the car you drove to work, the cell phone you used to check on your kids, the clothes you are wearing, and the orange juice you had for breakfast... are from Taiwan, Japan, Germany, India, China, and Argentina.

When times get really tough - "survival time tough," people get wildly creative, regarding the basics of "Food, Clothing, and Shelter"... which, by the way, includes the subsets of tools, transportation, and the items we need to make a living.  In other words, we need to start making and growing our own stuff again!

Seen Any Home Construction Lately?

Note to politicians:  You want a "Jobs Program?"  BRING BACK THE FACTORIES AND THE FARMS!  We used to be the envy of the world in this regard.  Is everybody now dead who knew how to do this?  Focus on breeding our own facilities - and allowing an economic climate for competition and growth - is where our efforts should reside.  We may live in a high tech, green conscious world, but every job can't be in computer chips and solar panels.  We need to make stuff and grow stuff, in order to equalize the balance of trade.  It really is the key element of our economic future.  Bill Clinton said it best:  "It's the economy, stupid!"