DO I oppose the TTC? Boy what a question. DO I oppose what some people seem to believe it is ( an international roadway patrolled by foreign or international police agencies (the Federales or Interpol.) You better believe it. Do I think we should allow a foreign conglomerate to hold Texans hostage with a toll road? Again no. Do I think that Texas farmers and ranchers should have to lose their ancestral properties to this behemoth? Again not really.
Do I think we need improved infrastructure especially in the IH-35 corridor. YES. Do I think we need north- south rail lines that can run a full 65 miles per hour in express service? Again yes. I even believe there should be dedicated lines in EACH direction. On the argument that we would be subsidizing "private companies" (the railroad companies). I would say it isn't that simple. Why is IH-35 so congested? Is it the cars and pickups on pleasure and personal business? Nope, outside the cities, it is commercial trucks: Vehicles owned by "private companies". Even a majority of the light trucks and cars are traveling for business of one sort or another. SO even the free interstate highways are used for the betterment of business. So the rail component of the TTC is no more egregious than any other part of the TTC to me.
I do not believe we can finance these improvements either to the highways or the rail lines any other way except for a HUGE increase in taxes of some sort. So a public-private toll consortium seems like the best model to get it done. While there was some discord over property loss when the Eisenhower Interstate system was initially in the planning stages, it seems the bigger problem was the speculators buying up the property in its path and holding out for windfalls!
The real question is not whether we need the transportation capacity, it whether we believe that the goods it carries are desirable. I will talk more later about the goods carried on these lines and their impact; the alternatives to loss of huge amounts of farm and ranch lands; toll roads generically; and maybe with some questions, something different and perhaps worthwhile.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Slinging epitaths makes me sick!
I went to the Republican Party of Texas State Convention. What I saw was a party that was diverse and held limitless opportunities for women, racial, and ethnic minorities, and others. What the people on the outside saw was some idiot who had rented space selling at least one button with a terrible racial message. I am appalled that something like this had to taint a convention that has the Vice President of the state party as well as at least two members of the state supreme court who are both African-American and active in the state party. While the small group of Black Republicans may see trite, it is at least as many as the Democrats have to offer. The Texas Republicans ARE inclusive, we just don't believe in huge amounts of social programs that seemingly have solved little if anything and cost the taxpayers tremendous amounts.
My views on race are simple. Treat everyone the same as you hope to be treated yourself. In practice I was reared by my parents and grandparents. My grandmother who lived on the farm with us, was the child of a Civil War veteran (that in itself is yet another colorful saga. ) It took me a while to realize that some adjectives were as hurtful as opposed to simply (and not entirely accurately) descriptive. This said, my track record rearing my kids is pretty cut and dried. Our middle son was about eight-years-old. We were at the local ballpark waiting for one of the other kids' game to start. Our middle child and a black peer got into a minor tussle. That was fine UNTIL my kid called the other one a common racial epitaph.
When the other little boy came and told me , I whisked my son into my truck went home and screamed, hollered, and spanked him. I told him, you can tell him you dislike him 'cause he's stupid, you may hate him 'cause his hygiene is poor, you can just not like him because your personalities clash, but you are to NEVER EVER allow him to think you hold his race or anything else he has no control over against him. He got the message, as far as that goes, so did his brothers and they were not even there.
While some (perhaps even many) may stereotype people based on RACE, the real issue is class economics, cycles of poverty, and the education system's inability to bridge the education gap between the poor and the more affluent. I have already discussed the education gap in relation to international students capturing opportunities that US students should have. I will discuss the education gap more at length later on.
My views on race are simple. Treat everyone the same as you hope to be treated yourself. In practice I was reared by my parents and grandparents. My grandmother who lived on the farm with us, was the child of a Civil War veteran (that in itself is yet another colorful saga. ) It took me a while to realize that some adjectives were as hurtful as opposed to simply (and not entirely accurately) descriptive. This said, my track record rearing my kids is pretty cut and dried. Our middle son was about eight-years-old. We were at the local ballpark waiting for one of the other kids' game to start. Our middle child and a black peer got into a minor tussle. That was fine UNTIL my kid called the other one a common racial epitaph.
When the other little boy came and told me , I whisked my son into my truck went home and screamed, hollered, and spanked him. I told him, you can tell him you dislike him 'cause he's stupid, you may hate him 'cause his hygiene is poor, you can just not like him because your personalities clash, but you are to NEVER EVER allow him to think you hold his race or anything else he has no control over against him. He got the message, as far as that goes, so did his brothers and they were not even there.
While some (perhaps even many) may stereotype people based on RACE, the real issue is class economics, cycles of poverty, and the education system's inability to bridge the education gap between the poor and the more affluent. I have already discussed the education gap in relation to international students capturing opportunities that US students should have. I will discuss the education gap more at length later on.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Your friendly neighborhood college graduate.
Have you noticed that there is an increasing number of immigrant physicians and scientists? While we are complaining about poor immigrants or aliens coming in and taking jobs that we believe that the perpetually unemployed would take, aliens and immigrants come in and take highly coveted , well paid positions. People tell us there is a shortage of highly trained US workers to fill these positions. Why?
Part of it is that we make it difficult for middle income Americans to get a good graduate education. If you have been in many of the Universities around the country of late you have seen innumerable international students filling graduate assistant and research assistant positions. Why? Are they just that much better qualified than US citizen students? No. It often boils down to one thing. If they have a job in the university they pay resident tuition or even no tuition at all. The same goes for scholarships. Many colleges give students with as little as $500.00 per semester in scholarships resident status. I have even heard that if students live in on-campus residences they may also get resident tuition. Why can't these positions go to deserving US Students?
There is, in part an idea that an international student going home to help modernize his third-world country makes the whole world a better place. The problem is that many of them will never leave the US (see need for highly trained workers above). Even those that leave mostly go to countries that are far behind the US, but at the same time not poor countries nearing starvation (China and India particularly.) The bottom line is we subsidize international students education as much as we do those of US students and either they remain here and take US jobs or they return to economies that are competing against ours.
What happened to international students being a huge revenue stream? Even in private universities there is enough public financing to make it an issue of import to quit allowing this drain on our resources.
The bottom line is that IF we educated more Americans that we wouldn't need to allow untold migrant workers to take on significantly profitable jobs that native born Americans could and should be doing.
Part of it is that we make it difficult for middle income Americans to get a good graduate education. If you have been in many of the Universities around the country of late you have seen innumerable international students filling graduate assistant and research assistant positions. Why? Are they just that much better qualified than US citizen students? No. It often boils down to one thing. If they have a job in the university they pay resident tuition or even no tuition at all. The same goes for scholarships. Many colleges give students with as little as $500.00 per semester in scholarships resident status. I have even heard that if students live in on-campus residences they may also get resident tuition. Why can't these positions go to deserving US Students?
There is, in part an idea that an international student going home to help modernize his third-world country makes the whole world a better place. The problem is that many of them will never leave the US (see need for highly trained workers above). Even those that leave mostly go to countries that are far behind the US, but at the same time not poor countries nearing starvation (China and India particularly.) The bottom line is we subsidize international students education as much as we do those of US students and either they remain here and take US jobs or they return to economies that are competing against ours.
What happened to international students being a huge revenue stream? Even in private universities there is enough public financing to make it an issue of import to quit allowing this drain on our resources.
The bottom line is that IF we educated more Americans that we wouldn't need to allow untold migrant workers to take on significantly profitable jobs that native born Americans could and should be doing.
My first controversy (of many I hope)
I do not agree with many conservatives on immigration. I think we have to come up with a good way to protect our borders from those that actually intend harm to our domestic tranquility while allowing a good flow of ready; willing labor to fill jobs otherwise difficult to fill. Perhaps at some point in the future, terrorists will try to sneak in across our open borders with our neighbors, but at this point, the terrorists all have come in legally and usually overstayed their visas. Most of the ones sneaking across the border are poor Latin Americans seeking to better themselves through work.
With these poor immigrant laborers tend to come demands on our social programs. The solution here is not to keep out the potential liabilities from immigrant families, but instead to make the immigrants or their employers pay for the costs on society of this labor. Whether it is in the form of enforced insurance for immigrants or special excises on immigrant labor paid into the Medicare and Medicaid programs; this will erase some of the more egregious problems with this group of immigrants. First it will raise the cost of immigrant labor to more in line (if not above) that of citizens who seek or hold similar positions and it will pay for the
I will spend more time speaking about many of the problems I have personally with permitted immigrants in a separate posting. In yet another one I will discuss unemployed US Citizens, employed foreign nationals, and our domestic policy over both. Yes we have a migrant population. Many among us have not a clue.
With these poor immigrant laborers tend to come demands on our social programs. The solution here is not to keep out the potential liabilities from immigrant families, but instead to make the immigrants or their employers pay for the costs on society of this labor. Whether it is in the form of enforced insurance for immigrants or special excises on immigrant labor paid into the Medicare and Medicaid programs; this will erase some of the more egregious problems with this group of immigrants. First it will raise the cost of immigrant labor to more in line (if not above) that of citizens who seek or hold similar positions and it will pay for the
I will spend more time speaking about many of the problems I have personally with permitted immigrants in a separate posting. In yet another one I will discuss unemployed US Citizens, employed foreign nationals, and our domestic policy over both. Yes we have a migrant population. Many among us have not a clue.
My first post (who am I?)
Who am I ? I am a husband, a father, a grandfather (man am I too young for that one.) I was born at the end of the baby boom and frankly more closely resemble the next generation. I am moderate to conservative on almost everything. I have opinions on education, race, religion, immigration (and emigration too, but we aren't seeing a whole lot of that,) the economy, and the quest for full employment and practically anything else you bait me with.
I live an hour from Dallas and ten miles from the county seat (I still wonder how Andy Taylor was the sheriff when Mount Pilot was the county seat.) My parents live roughly an hour further from Dallas on the place my dad was born. Mother was born just a couple of miles away. My parents and both of their sets of parents were married for over 50 years. One of my great-grandfathers fought in the (un)Civil War. I have been married for over 30 years myself.
I live an hour from Dallas and ten miles from the county seat (I still wonder how Andy Taylor was the sheriff when Mount Pilot was the county seat.) My parents live roughly an hour further from Dallas on the place my dad was born. Mother was born just a couple of miles away. My parents and both of their sets of parents were married for over 50 years. One of my great-grandfathers fought in the (un)Civil War. I have been married for over 30 years myself.
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