Another Promotion For Oil (yabadabadoo!)

God, I hope I don't make some people mad, but I just read Obama's latest plan for economic recovery, made today, and I don't agree with it, even though I like him.

First of all, it's true that the recession will get worse before it gets better. You don't want to give people false hope and everyone needs to shore up.

But the plan to create a big federal highway program is sheer...I don't know...I'm just not feeling it. We're supposedly eliminating our need for foreign oil, not creating more excuses for it. With every new road and repair and bridge, it profits big corporations, not the average worker. Short-term, it will give more jobs to even blue collar workers, but only those in construction, and in the long-run, it's not a good idea.

Why are we investing in the highways when we could be using the money on public transportation? We should be investing in more subways, not highways.

As crazy as it sounds, it sounds like a Republican plan. The whole deal. The money being given to the auto industry, and roads, and bankers--is one big Republican Welfare Plan.

This is still trickle-down ideas Obama.

I read that Putin was able to get their economy going by injecting more into the system, and for roads and jobs, but the U.S. has been overspending and overextending too long, with the wrong policies in place to begin with. Not to mention, Russia can afford to spend their oil--they have some of the world's greatest natural reserves. We don't, and this is only going to put us into further debt.

Instead of giving money directly to banks and large corporations, including those in the automobile industry, he should be trying something new and put those loans into the hands of the people. But, the average American is assumed to be too stupid to know what to do with the money, so we'll let the same corporations that screw the people with their policies, decide how to allocate the fortunes.

In the book "American Theocracy", written a few years ago, the author devotes an entire section to the problematic policies and how it was steering the U.S. towards a depression. This was written before our new depression. He wrote about the unwise practices on wall street and even with banks. It's not like no one knew...it's that no one in high places was LISTENING.

As for the automobile industry, I hear the sound clips about how manufacturing affects dealerships and jobs and then how "billions" go to paper providers and office supplies, and they try to make a food chain out of the American car that spawns elephants from tadpoles and vice versa. If you listen to the auto industry, the kind of toothpaste you use may go out of business and be unavailable if the car industry collapses.

This is the dawning of a New Age.

To be successful, you must adapt. You have to be adaptable. You don't keep manufacturing spinning wheels when something better is available for weaving cloth.

We have an alternative to the automobile industry, and that is subways and public transportation. An undignified and unpleasant idea to most White House appointees perhaps, who can't imagine taking the subway and train, but building new roads increases mileage available to vehicles, which increases the need for oil.

Don't tell me these wars aren't about oil anymore. Not after this. If the U.S. was really interesting in eliminating dependence, they would put the money into electric vehicles only, leave the roads as is except for the worst, and develop public transportation. Just as many jobs could be developed by pumping efforts into public transportation, as they could be in the auto industry. And in the long run, EVERYONE would be saving more money because they wouldn't be spending as much on auto insurance, gas, cars, and everything that goes along with that. In the long run, Americans would have MORE money in their pockets, not less.

But who is really pushing for the auto industry? Ummmm...Sorry, it's not the paper pushers and office supply purveyors. It's Farmers', State Farm', Prudential, Geiko, Safeco ..and ummmm...every other MAJOR auto insurance company (big business) that makes their billions off of charging premiums and then pulling out the rug from under people when they get into an actual car collision.

Funny how the spokespeople for the auto industry aren't really eager to talk about all the poor insurance companies that would be at risk.

Why can't we survive without an auto industry? Because we sucker up to the corporations whose policies continue to form what we have of a "justice system", who hand out a few bread crumbs from their massive bread and butter accounts.

This is all going the wrong direction. I am sure I'm not the only one who thinks this. Sure, it "stabilizes" short term and fast, but it sets the U.S. up for further future problems.

Money should be injected into organizations who will reform the justice system, and into public transportation, and if any cars at all--electric ones. I'm sorry, but anyone who votes for this new highway plan and for bailing out the auto industry, is placing a vote for future wars over oil and for drilling in Alaska. Which is just great for this generation, and has zero foresight for the future generations.

America is not going to survive by pumping money into the spinning wheel. I'm sure a lot of people were mad when spinning wheels were replaced by machines, and took away jobs. Now we have machines that are archaic and unnecessary, and we're putting money into this instead of futuristic models.

We need a Jetson era, and all I keep thinking about is Fred Flintstone, yelling "Yabadabadoooo!" as he rolls out in his stone-age car. Every single one of these auto execs is a Fred Flintstone. "Yabadabadoooo!!!!"

Yabadabadoo as they roll out with their dough, yabadabadoo as they go to their construction site jobs...yabadabadoo as they tell others to fight in their military fatigues in Iraq...

I feel like Wilma, who has to put up with her stupid pea-brain husband. I am relegated to the house when I'm the one with the ideas. My husband comes home to pick up his bowling ball and celebrate with Barney down at the alley, over a couple of beers. I'm wearing a tattered animal skin dress and have bones Fred was gnawing on for supper last night, to hold up my hair. Nothing better in sight. Men and money rule the world.

Yabadabadoo.