tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post2093187216865729983..comments2024-01-22T18:22:29.391-08:00Comments on hedera's corner: Gas Taxhederahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01696592301686568456noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post-58250651807839215392008-03-28T07:20:00.000-07:002008-03-28T07:20:00.000-07:00April 02, right around the corner.Our local roads ...April 02, right around the corner.<BR/><BR/>Our local roads are literally crumbling under our tires. <BR/><BR/>I grew up during a building boom. Booming housing. Booming office buildings. Booming schools. Booming new highways, super highways. Dams, bridges and airports. <BR/><BR/>Sometime during the 1980's-'90's, the engine began to slow down. Frankly, the "infrastructure" in the U.S. has been decaying steadily for about 30 years. <BR/><BR/>One of the symptoms of a decadent society is the gradual breakdown of its grid. You don't notice it right away, perhaps, but over time things begin to change. Money has steadily been flowing OUT of America now for three decades. What that means is that there's less money for government at all levels. When big business moves overseas, that has real consequences. Moving almost the entire automobile manufacturing economy away has consequences: Thousands and thousands of people no longer pull down middle-class salaries, and that has a "ripple effect" throughout the economy at large. Then, the profit derived from the overseas business is moved offshore so the taxmen can't get their mitts on it. <BR/><BR/>The state legislature may seem like they're spendthrifts, but that's an illusion. The fact is that the revenues in inflation-adjusted dollars have been falling for a long time. <BR/><BR/>America moved from an agrarian economy in the 19th Century, to a manufacturing economy in the 20th Century, to a "service" (non-manufacturing) economy. What that means in practical terms is that most people--the blue collar, white collar and laboring classes--earn between 1/5th and 1/4th what they did 50 years ago. It becomes clearer when you factor in just what these new "service" jobs carry in the way of "benefits." A man who might have worked at GM in the 1950's and 1960's for an adjusted annual salary of perhaps $75,000, with full benefits and pension, now may expect to find a job paying $30,000, with NO job security, no health plan, no pension. And in some cases he'll be treated as an "independent" contractor, so he won't even get disability, worker's comp or social security coverage.<BR/><BR/>So, yes, roads. The larger question is how to generate home-grown investment. Obviously the Republicans mantra of "tax cuts! tax cuts!" won't do the trick. The rich are smart; they know domestic investment isn't encouraging, so they put their money where the growth is. Even if high tech looks attractive, and thrives, most of the cash flows overseas, where all that "stuff" is produced, much of it sold back to us at inflated prices. <BR/><BR/>Roads are a symptom. Look around, folks. The evidence is everywhere. We're watching the beginning stages of a long term decline. The public purse is shrinking. That means less money for all the things a democracy depends upon, like schools, police & fire, judicial and prison system, public works, infrastructure, welfare, parks & rec--everything. The rich are making sure that shrinking pie is cut their way. That's why lobbying has become so important to our political life: Capital is playing to win. Are we?Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.com