Monday, February 23, 2009

What Historians Think of 42 U.S. Presidents

It's official, we now have an objective criterion to determine who the best president was, and it is shown by clicking on this link: http://www.c-span.org/PresidentialSurvey/Overall-Ranking.aspx It shows the ranking of presidents according to a survey of historians.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

A Possible Problem with Obama's Stimulus Plan

Obama's stimulus package, which is in the congressional phase and is being debated as this is being written, is one that is in possession of grand ambitions. It offers trillions of dollars to at least save 3.4 million jobs. Money will go to such projects as repairing roads and "greenifying" our energy. It also includes grants to modernize our healthcare system by electronically storing our records. Money will be given to the U.S.'s public education system to prevent closures, cutbacks, and to repair school buildings and build new ones if this plan is enacted as is, at least from what this blogger last heard.

But the infrastructural provisions of the bill aside, the question of whether it will work arises.

The author of this post trusts that its readers have been to various stores at least once in their lives. Shoppers notice that there is a little label on many products; a label that states not that it is dolphin safe (well, unless maybe if it's a tuna can) or that the toy will not give children nightmare until they need therapy, but a label telling the shopper where the product was produced. The most common ones say that the inanimate commodity was made in China or Taiwan, with some saying they were made in India or Mexico.

"So what will happen if Obama's plan, one created in a country that has lost much of its industrial base, passes," asks some. The result is fairly obvious. Much of the money is going to be inserted into the paychecks of industrial companies, many of which will probably be foreign. Would it not be better to create a bill that will enhance America's industrial base and keep a maximum amount of tax dollars in their homeland?

I appreciate any feedback, critical or not. Maybe we can get a discussion off the ground.