It’s not that there’s a shortage of good ideas. It’s not even that there’s a shortage of funds. It may be that there’s a shortage of willpower, of determination or even a shortage of hope. But if we are willing to take an idea from here and mix it with some funds from there and a volunteer or two, then maybe we will solve this thing. Not with a big WPA project. Fighting the political battle to win approval for such a massive undertaking would deplete our resources. In the end, the problems would remain the same. We would have won the battle and lost the war. I have some ideas – they are ideas and organizations that are already out there. Some have Federal funding already, some have private funds and some would need Congressional approval. All would, in small but very significant ways, bring us together to solve community problems. Lets start with the smallest folks.
School Upgrades
Our economy is frozen because Wall Street is sitting on trillions of dollars afraid to invest. Let’s invest in our schools. Once schools were safest place in town.Where community gathered in crisis. It’s time to rebuild schools and use local labor, so that the children of those who build the schools will attend them. When you renovate the schools, you invigorate heart of a community. You give it a sense of pride. At the same time you give all our kids a 21st Century place to learn. Give them schools that are equipped with WiFi, that are Energy Efficient, a Disaster Safe Zone, and a Community center.
We don’t have to look very far to see what happens when you send your children off to dilapidated or shoddily constructed buildings. They are our most valuable asset and we have short-changed them long enough. Thow some money at these schools, thirty years of neglect is long enough.
- The terrible earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan province in 2008 resulted in the deaths of many children, often due to the collapse of their shoddily constructed schools.
http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/2010/10/eco-schools-usa-attends-first-ever-green-schools-national-conference/
http://www.ncef.org/school-modernization/
Homes for our Heroes
What if we buy up the foreclosed homes that are eyesores and bringing down the value of the surrounding homes – renovate them and make them ADA compliant for our disabled Vets. These men and women have given the best of themselves for us and it is our moral responsibility to look after them. Regardless of how you feel about the wars, our warriors do not have the luxury of questioning orders. The Commander-in-Chief, regardless of party, tell them the mission is a go – and they go.
Some have suffered traumatic brain injury and will need care and assistance for many years to come. As a disabled person myself, I know a bit about this. The most difficult part is finding suitable housing. If a house is ADA compliant I am more independent and less of a burden both physically and financially on family and government help. 
The eyesore of foreclosed homes drags down the property value of most American cities and towns. Maybe what’s left of the TARP funds could be used to buy up these homes and allow our Disabled Vets to purchase them. Funding already exists to refurbish them. It is another way a problem could become a source of pride in a community as they welcome these heroes into their neighborhoods. win win.
They could be single family homes or make them group homes w/ caregivers for those who have significant injuries. It’s the very least we can do for these guys. #Homes4heroes.
http://www.homesforourtroops.org/site/PageServer
http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/sah.asp
Paying Down the War Debt
While we are busy cut, cut, cutting, we ignore the biggest reason for the deficit – OUR WARS! Unfunded War that Bush kept “off book” . It wasn’t until President Obama ended the use of “supplemental budgets” that Bush used to hide the burgeoning deficit that we realized how deep in debt the nation was. Because of the secret cost, we have failed to pay for the wars the way other generations have.
We were promised that this war would “pay for itself” with lower oil prices. IT DID NOT! In fact the Big Oil companies took the oil and jacked up the prices again. They use oil prices as a campaign tool to ensure that only “oil men” live in the big White House. If we tax petro products (not just gas) til this war is paid for then we will never again be fooled by the promise of “cheap gas!” We easily ignore the cost in blood but when it hits our wallets, we’ll notice.
It would also be a means of defunding the terrorists – both domestic and foreign. Most of the Petro products are manufactured by the Koch brothers cabal.
Cost of War to the United States | COSTOFWAR.COM.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/161/end-the-abuse-of-supplemental-budgets-for-war/
http://inspirationgreen.com/koch-brothers-products.html
The Medicare Option
I know the Progressives hate the idea. But why should I fund medical insurance for Rupert Murdoch? If we “means test” Medicare and allow people to enroll on a sliding scale fee. People would join because it would still be cheaper than other insurance because Insurance charges an extra 25% for profit. The extra funding in the Medicare program would help put it in the black. The program would thrive because – as you probably know – anyone on Medicare would rather die than go back to the hunt for private health insurance. It is one step closer to open enrollment. which I prefer because I just hate mandates.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/15/obama-medicare-means-testing_n_899839.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/09/robert-reich-explains-the_n_280639.html
There! American Pragmatism. When times are tough, and the Lone Ranger, Cavalry, Superman and the WPA are no where in sight – we do it ourselves. One school, one house, one dime and one patient at a time.
