"Where America Stands"

With the construction industry in the toilet across all aspects and across the country believe me I know what this country has been ignoring, we have a big problem with doing that on a whole host of issues {like sending military into invading then long occupations and not listening to them thus not caring for many when they return}, for decades should have been at least more than just started to be taken care of {some states and communities did use stimulus monies for just that but once no money preventive maintenance, or replacement, once again stops} as the collapsed economy started and those with the wealth {that's how most of theirs is made with breaks given on taxes enhanced development packages just to attract companies and much much more} should be main contributors to upgrading our Deteriorating Infrastructure, and it ain't just bridges and roads!!

{this pic could be used for so many issues about this country at this time, so many! js}

America's Failing Infrastructure

Fri Sep 03 16:22:34 PDT 2010

The American Society of Civil Engineers issues a report card every 4 years on the state of America's infrastructure. In the last two report cards, the nation got a D. Richard Schlesinger continues the series "CBS Reports: Where America Stands" with the state of America's infrastructure. {read the news report}

Ignoring infrastructure preventive maintenance, everything built can't just be left alone and ignored, costs tons more to fix then any costs related to that ongoing preventive maintenance, much much more as it breaks down, roads, bridges, utilities, buildings, homes you name it it all needs ongoing preventive maintenance.

It seemed some of this was once recognized but as this so called new capitalism was implemented during the last some three decades wealth to the top leaving them the only capitalist, everything that is common sense and good business practice has been thrown to the side just so investors {who really have nothing to do with that they're invested in nor know much about} and those in the executive suites can reap from the growing bottom line {growing as money isn't invested in needs, we saw exactly that with the gulf oil spill}

Theirs the other side of the coin, the worker is apart of that infrastructure, especially in this new type of capitalism where they're treated more as bodies or even mechanical beings, not human, and pushed to breaking points to just replace as they break down. Companies grew into corporations once by caring for name, quality of product, customer care and customer service while treating their employee's with at least some level of respect, understanding that without them not only producing that quality product but improving on as they produced and developed better ways. There's always been a need for the worker to fight for some of that respect, wages for demands on them as they recognized the growth, personal safety in producing the quality needs, a piece of that bottom line pie, i.e. capitalism shared.

We now see corporations or companies growing by buying out each other for billions, not millions, we see those in the executive suites reaping tens of millions in compensation yearly, even if they fail, instead of tens of thousands, we see comany and corporate writeoff perks grow with new ways sought thus making it so these executives or business owners don't really need to purchase much except the expensive toys, and some of those toys become writeoffs, they seek for vanity, those writeoffs are paid by everyone who actually works, so the capitalism is there to share, Real Capitalism, Real Sharing, Thus Real Growth! Instead our economy and money is based on what happens at the big casino on wall street and damn the rest!

This short piece speaks well to not only whats going on now but has been growing in these past decades and greatly contributed to the collapse our economy may never recover from, or at least recover to even be close to what the new capitalist want once again.

SUMMARY As part of his ongoing series of reports on Making Sense of financial news, Paul Solman's reports how economic woes aren't just hard on the unemployed. As the recession drags on, many of those who are employed say they're overworked and underpaid.

JIM LEHRER: Now to another part of the labor story. It's about those who have jobs, but are being asked to do ever more.

NewsHour economics correspondent Paul Solman reports on the rise of the so-called burned-out worker. {Transcript}

We are treating employee's, as we supposedly advance as a society, once again like robots or mechanical beings not humans. We've sold the higher education meme into an industry with assembly lines and created titles etc. to make all with those pieces of paper of intelligence, smarter then those without, feel superior as they are also put into the mill of demand more of and are as disposable.

We are ignoring our once envied infrastructure and someday it will all collapse not just what's been going on and rapidly growing in occurrences that most times causes great delays. We already have started the destruction of our once envied workforce as we've destroyed our once envied production of quality products and services. We ignore the experienced who found the cracks in the systems and the mistakes and developed the fixes and can recognize quicker when somethings wrong, putting them out to pasture, for the younger inexperienced but supposedly more intelligent and most important supposed more stamina so as to work better with the growing work loads demanded. In the ever growing American Arrogance and Apathy, we still think we are better then all others, we ignore what our parents and grandparents had worked so hard and already built for us and those lessons as we took advantage of it all and then discard it for the personal not the community wants and needs!

We're destroying the society from the inside out and top down like so many who did so before us!!