Debt, Consumer, Democracy:Work for Money

The debt ceiling, spending cuts and raising taxes are in the news. That's putting it mildly. It's a simple problem in essence. People should work. People should get paid for work. When one person doesn't work then at least one other has to shoulder that undone work. Our economy is made up of app. 70% of consumers. In other words , effectively 70% of us consume more than they produce. That's not sustainable yet it has been going on for decades. How is it possible? Technology provides slave-like work . We ship the jobs we refuse to do to other countries and thereby enrich others. And debt covers the rest of the shortfall. We borrow as a nation so we don't have to work. America's currency is a reserve currency of the world. I.E. it underpins the worlds economy. Yet we borrow more than we produce. That's also unsustainable . So the reserve currency status is in jeopardy. Which means that if we lose that postion prices will rise. Which will further exacerbate the debt and lack of work issues.

In the future we will have to work more. At the least our economy will have to be 50% manufacturer and 50% consumer.

Mayor Newsom & Public Housing: How About A Near-Zoo For Near-Monkeys ?

Never let it be said that our hardheaded- Irishman, Mayor Newsom ever stopped trying. Sure he acts like he never learns but that doesn't stop him from repeating and extending mistakes with gusto. How about yesterday's latest example. He piled 50 S.F. department heads ( all earn over six figures per year) into a Muni bus for a day trip to the blighted Sunnydale Housing Project.

The Mayor was circulating his new idea for Sunnydale and other S.F. housing among the best ,brightest and most overpaid department heads. Gav's new idea wants to " ..treat public housing more like supportive housing for people struggling with homelessness , drug addiction and other problems". He wants on-site counselors, job training services, medical facilities and anything else any of the department heads can think of to add on.

Could this idea also describe a near-zoo-like facility for near-monkey-like residents? By definition, expanding the size and cost of bureaucracies will not solve the problem. Gav's condescension shows his soft bigoted attitude towards public housing residents. If he really wants to help those people then he will have to demand something in return from them so a work ethic and some sort of personal discipline is established. For starters, how about just keeping the place clean? And if they don't then kick them out for being a public health risk and move someone in who will keep the projects tidy.