[Since it’s such a nice day and I want to get out, I’m just gonna post a recent e-mail from a smart friend of mine, Doug Kortof from Seal Beach, whose specialty is electric cars and whose business is in solar panels. Enjoy! And for God’s sake, argue! – V]
Hi,
Pessimism about the future comes easily.
Surely another wave of foreclosures is waiting in the wings; too many people are living on savings or debt, unable to find jobs, perhaps subsisting on the dole, on relatives’ largesse, or Unemployment.
There’s a continuing loss of jobs, high unemployment, huge debt, and more than one imperialistic war we can’t afford.
At the same time, the number of millionaires is up this year, and there’s an unprecedented and worsening unequal distribution of wealth and income. The poor can only imagine the lives of the rich and famous, as depicted on their ubiquitous dream-tubes.
The effect that we see is a skein of insoluble problems, linked and binding each other, restricting any attempt at dealing with them. Congress and state government are paralyzed because of huge “special interest” lobbying, that precludes tax hikes or spending cuts. Over a billion dollars in California alone over the last 10 years, according to today’s LA Slimes article.
California is afflicted with a Governor so ignorant that he charged into power proclaiming that he would eliminate the “duplicate agencies” such as CAL-EPA (he thought duplicated federal EPA). This ignoramus and fraud wound up allowing a tiny lobbying group to stop needed tax hikes in California; a REAL governor would have broken the logjam and actually solved problems, instead of blowing hot air (and cigar smoke) from his “smoking tent”.
But aside from nitwits like Schwarzenegger, the underlying CAUSE of our effect is traceable to debt, “free trade” and other bad policies from Bush II. [Vern note – As I remember, Clinton was equally to blame on “Free Trade.”] We’ll be decades fixing the problems caused by faith-based nincompoops put into positions for which they were not in any way qualified during the reign of Bush II.
There are a few hopeful signs that we’re starting to revive manufacturing in this country. Manufacturing, actually producing goods, is the key to wealth generation and the source of meaningful jobs.
Service jobs do not an economy make: no amount of nail and hair salons, fast-food joints and financial services networks will actually produce things that are saleable.
Restaurants allow improvident people to avoid cooking their own food, and, at a very high price, allows those who are poor to pretend that they can afford servants to prepare and serve their meals. Such vanity doesn’t come cheap; families that cook their food can live on a week for the cost of one day’s MacCrap or TacoMako.
No recovery is possible without a revival of our manufacturing base.
That’s been eroded by the idea of predatory labor markets, which was repackaged as “free trade”. Under this false idea, countries that can’t support our pricing structure are allowed to compete unfairly with our own, honest manufacturing companies. This is what might be called “trade piracy”, stealing our standard of living and exporting our jobs for the enrichment of a cadre of scamming companies and middlemen.
What’s needed are high and protective tariffs to stop the importation of unfairly manufactured goods (a “misery tax” that stops trade pirates from benefiting from slave- and child-labor). We need, also, to start incentivizing manufacturing companies by tax breaks and subsidies for machine-tool construction in this country.
To do all this takes a strong political arm, because the “Trade Pirates” who are undermining our unions and eliminating the good jobs we used to have here are powerful and able to flood corrupt Congressional wimps with big money.
The other big problem that needs solution, without which no real progress can be made: we need to eliminate foreign oil imports:
We need an END TO OIL.
This is simple, technically: solar rooftop power and plug-in cars.
The unused rooftops of America, over 10,000 square miles, could more than supply all of our energy, even if all of our transport were electric plug-in cars and electric trains, trollies and buses. Just cover them with solar panels; millions of jobs would be created making and deploying these panels, taking people out of the offshore oil drilling industry and putting them into jobs with a future.
Producing plug-in Electric cars would also create millions of new jobs. We have proven that auto companies could, in a matter of six (6) years, produce viable plug-in all-electric cars, with batteries that last more than 100,000 miles and more than 10 years (we’re still driving them, cars that still have over 100 miles range).
After the batteries wear out, perhaps 100k or 200k miles, the SAME BATTERIES can be melted down and, using all the elements in the old batteries, processed into new batteries. More jobs, here in America, jobs that are sustainable.
The plug-in cars run on electrons made here in America; we don’t import any electric energy.
Fantasy? NO. The GM EV1, for example, used NiMH batteries made here in America, the cars were made here in Michigan, and they were powered entirely by U.S. electrons.
But it can’t be done without breaking the power of Standard Oil.
That’s a much bigger task than any other. One way to do this is to outlaw traitorous Big Oil executives, who are sending our money overseas to fund our enemies.
It’s our biggest issue; without dealing with manufacturing, wealth and energy, we don’t have much future.
There’s no “recovery” possible so long as we are importing 12 million barrels of oil per day, $1 billion US Dollars per day, which is exported to foreign countries, leaving us only the pollution from burning it.
Moreover, our War Department budget of over $500 billion per year largely goes to fund wars that protect oil supply lines that benefit Big Oil companies like Chevron, Exxon, Conoco, BP, Shell. Non-national, piratical organizations with no loyalty to our country.
Multiplying it out, that’s $2 billion dollars per day for wars to protect wasting $1 billion dollars to import oil.
Another way of looking at it: the price of gasoline, $2/gallon wholesale, is burdened with a hidden $4/gallon War Tax, paid for by borrowing money from China.
If we continue losing manufacturing jobs, shifting from good, high-paid manufacturing jobs to low-paid, non-sustainable jobs doing pedicures and selling cheap Wal-Crap, and continue subsidizing cheap gasoline with debt, we’ll just continue on the road to ruin created by Bush II.
Ironically, the Bush family got its start in Ohio, working for Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company (and his Remington Arms unit) back in WW-I. Guess they still work for Big Oil to this day.
You had me up until “we need to end foreign oil imports”. After that, you careened off the cliff.
If, and i say if, the American people want electric cars, there will be electric cars. Gas stations would put in electric charging stations.
(as I run Chevron’s Properties and Facilities LAN site for the western hemisphere, I know most stations do not make a profit. companies would do ANYTHING to keep them solvent)
Unfortunately, that is not the case. And dictat that tells them they are going to buy electric cars is a terrible, indecent leftist impulse. Do not listen to it.
We have enough oil in this country to run our industries for 100 years, not to mention all the oil shale and other sources for energy. You cant run all those “green” energies without exhausting the world supply of Rare Earth Elements. It just wont work.
Make me a car that performs like a regular automobile, where I dont have to worry about where to charge it, and I’ll be on the waiting list.
But this “hey, let’s make everyone put solar panels on their rooftops, that’ll solve everything!” attitude is just bad. Leave me out of it, and anyone else who wants to ignore you, and then tell me it works. If you have to MAKE people join, its not going to solve anything anyway.
I’ll try to have Doug over here to argue, it’s his article and he’s very knowledgeable on these subjects.
But this article doesn’t mention forcing anyone to do anything. There are ways government can ENCOURAGE things, it’s called policy. And there are also ways citizens can encourage each other to do things, and this is the latter.
Hey Vern! I’m full of crap. You’re the greatest.
Terry, there’s no free market in oil!
Oil prices are set in a “managed market” similar to DeBeers control of the diamond market; there’s never a shortage, but you have to pay the price that they post.
You, and everyone else, were DENIED the chance to choose an electric car!
Chevron and GM bought up the patent rights to the only proven battery (GM bought in 1994, and tried to suppress it; they failed, and handed it off to Texaco on oct. 10, 2000; six days later, Texaco announces merger into Chevron; 2001, Chevron funds lawsuit to stop Toyota from using its NiMH to produce plug-in cars; Nov., 2002, Toyota kills the program, pays $30M, and gains the right to use NiMH only for cars that can’t plug in).
yes…well if it’s going to take decades “fixing the problems caused by faith-based nincompoops”, i suggest you get on the phone and tell pelosi, reid, obama and his 10% private sector experienced cabinet to get on the ball and do something about it. Let me know how that goes. Because i just know that the left is so business friendly and they really want to help *sarc*.
and about solar rooftop power and plug-in cars… i don’t know where to begin. the entire article is nonsense.
Solar top roof tops can be done and we must end oil imports to begin to balance our long term trade deficit.
The knowledge exists for electric cas and also for fuel cell cars, hybrids and other options for those who want them are coming.
Manufacturing has to be restored to some degree to create wealth, we cannot just keep printing money to cover both the Federal and trade deficits.
I think Doug is on to something here.
“Green jobs no help to California unemployment this year”
Anderson Economic Forecast
http://www.dailybreeze.com/business/ci_14742889
A partial list of products made from Petroleum (144 of 6000 items)
http://www.ranken-energy.com/Products%20from%20Petroleum.htm
an end to oil…what a freaking great idea.
Allow your mind to soar, middleground. Breathe poetry. “An end to oil.” Doug is talking mainly about moving to solar power and electric cars. Obviously this will free up a shitload of oil for the making of these thousands of products, if there’s really no other way to make them. Let’s look at this list…. solvents, ink, bicycle tires…
Oh that’s clever. Bicycle tires. I suppose later in the list it’ll get to automobile tires. Truck tires. Tractor tires. Airplane wheel tires. Stroller tires. No wonder they list hundreds of items.
“Mops.” Oh right, can’t make mops without petroleum.
Didn’t want to get distracted by the list. The point is, if any of these things really require petroleum, then it’ll be good to free up more petroleum by the two big methods my friend Doug is championing.
“Mops.” Oh right, can’t make mops without petroleum.
i didn’t make the list. i report you decide.
you know the real problem i have with these unicorn and rainbow stories? it’s that they mislead the simple minded. and i’m not trying to be rude. but come on man…millions and millions of jobs by going solar and electric…please. besides your friend doug saying it, is there anything else to back it up? does your friend doug know that bp just shut down a maryland factory making solar panels and moved those jobs to china? it’s true, you don’t need to look it up. what a surprise huh? and who’s going to install these panels? same people getting paid cash to put shingles on a roof? wonderful.
electric cars? any idea which country(s) well be indebted to for the raw materials to make the batteries. hint…one of them is a great big one.
it’s better to write something like “we need to go solar and electric AND here are the problems we face. And here is how we will get around these problems.”
or keep doing it your way and breathe poetry…i suppose it works for some.
“Mops.” …i didn’t make the list. i report you decide.
Disingenuous of you bro. You put up these links as authoritative rebuttals to me and Doug, and boasted “144 out of (allegedly) 6000 items.”
“Breathe poetry” – that was silly of me, I was getting slap-happy from arguing with you all day. What I meant of course was that a polemic title like “An End to Oil” shouldn’t be taken strictly literally, given that some essential products – most notably pharmaceuticals and some computer components – currently need oil.
OF COURSE “we need to go solar and electric AND here are the problems we face…” Any transformation this huge will have wrinkles, and I’m fully aware that some of the materials currently needed are only available in China. But this is a blog post, an inspirational blog post, not a book. And the sooner we accept and start planning for and implementing changes that are after all inevitable, the better off we all are.
Millions of green jobs = unicorns and rainbows? I don’t think so. That can be debated. But I’m moving on. Maybe Doug or someone else will get into the green jobs with you.
…bp just shut down a maryland factory making solar panels and moved those jobs to china? it’s true, you don’t need to look it up.
Can’t help it, I was just thinking about that point of yours, and its pretty irrelevant. It shows:
There ARE lots of green jobs; AND
We need policies to keep those jobs from being outsourced. That’s all.
We need policies to keep those jobs from being outsourced. That’s all.
yeah…that’s all.
don’t fall off your unicorn. those rainbows are high.
See, I answer everything in detail and constructively with good points, and all you’ve got is snotty little “no you can’ts”
I guess you’re implying that there’s nothing we Americans can do, thru our government, to keep jobs in the US, or to foster domestic green industry. Maybe there was nothing that could be done about BP’s decision. But fortunately we have grownups in the majority in Washington right now, who are working on just this problem, and we should be supporting them.
Your BP anecdote (which I’m assuming is true) tells me that there is a future here for green jobs if we pursue it. If I am riding unicorns over a rainbow, then you are wallowing facedown in a mud patch, muttering “No we can’t” through gulps of muck.
Your BP anecdote (which I’m assuming is true) tells me that there is a future here for green jobs if we pursue it.
if we pursue it. that’s the real trick isn’t it. and do you me “we” (govt) or “we” (private sector). the green thing only works if govt is picking up the tab (subsidizing it). i don’t know of anyplace in the world where this is not true. and i seriously doubt we’ll be hearing much more about “green” for sometime to come. obama and the grownups have pushed us off the financial cliff.