What the Oroville Dam Spillway Fail Says About California's Priorities

About 200,000 people near the Oroville Dam were evacuated as the nation watched to see if hundreds of homes and businesses would be destroyed in a full breach of the dam's emergency spillway.   In the meantime, we find out that there were past warnings that it was unsafe.  According to a story in the Washington Post, the fix to keep the spillway safe would have cost about $100 million 11 years ago.  But, the State of California had other priorities.

Instead of taking care of its huge infrastructure problems, the state opted to build a high-speed bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco.   The original cost projection for that was $98.5 billion. Already, the easiest part of the "build" -- the Central Valley -- is seeing a 50% cost overrun (as being reported by the LA Times).  To put the original cost of the bullet train into perspective; it is more than 1000 times the money needed to fix the spillway.  By one estimate, California will have to spend $500 billion dollars over the next 2 decades to fix, expand, and maintain the State's infrastructure.

Instead, the priority was to build a bullet train to save the world from climate change, by getting cars off the roads and planes out of the air; even though some studies have concluded that the impact on climate change will be negligible. In the meantime, thousands of people are left at risk in Oroville. How many more are at risk from unfunded infrastructure hazards in California because of "climate change" projects like a bullet train?

References:

The government was warned that the Oroville Dam emergency spillway was unsafe. It didn’t listen: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/02/13/officials-were-warned-the-oroville-dam-emergency-spillway-wasnt-safe-they-didnt-listen/?utm_term=.2812180ddd0c

Taking California's bullet train to a greener future - LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-kelly-california-high-speed-rail-20140129-story.html

High Speed Rail Won't Impact Climate Change - California Policy Center: http://californiapolicycenter.org/high-speed-rail-wont-impact-climate-change/

California's Bullet Train to Cost $98.5 Billion: What Else That Can Buy: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Californias-Bullet-Train-to-Cost-985-Billion-What-Else-That-Can-Buy-133041823.html

California's bullet train is hurtling toward a multibillion-dollar overrun, a confidential federal report warns: http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-cost-overruns-20170106-story.html

California’s Crumbling Infrastructure: An Urgent Priority: http://www.westerncity.com/Western-City/February-2014/PresMsg-CA-Crumbling-Infrastructure/

Shocking rain damage is wakeup call to fix ailing roads, infrastructure, experts say: http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news/20170218/shocking-rain-damage-is-wakeup-call-to-fix-ailing-roads-infrastructure-experts-say 

Hillary's Claim: "America Never Stopped Being Great"

In contrast the  Trump campaign slogan to "Make America Great Again", Hillary Clinton keeps telling her crowds: that "America Never Stopped Being Great". Of course, her supporters all cheer wildly.

But, most Americans understand that our country's greatness has been declining since the 1970's. This is why Trump is doing as well as he is. Here are some of the facts that support Trump's claim:

• In 1970, 61% of Americans were in the middle class. Today, only 43% can make that claim.
• In the 1970's, America was the best educated country in the world. Since then, we are now ranked 27th in the all-important category of mathematics.  We rank 17th in reading with an astounding 19% of our high school graduates unable to read. Additionally, we now rank 20th in science.
• The poverty rate in the 70's ranged between 11.7% to 12.6% of the population.  As of 2014, it stood at 15%; up from 14.5% in 2013. Obviously going in the wrong direction. Also understand, that beyond the percentages, the U.S. now has a record number of people living in poverty -- 47 million --  since President Lyndon Johnson declared his War on Poverty more than 50 years ago.
• Our Federal debt in 1970 was just $398 billion.  Sadly, it is now near $19.5 trillion.  48 times higher and setting a new record everyday.
• Today, our national infrastructure needs between 3 and 4 trillion dollars worth of  repairs, while, in 1970, it was fairly maintained.
• Dozens of cities and municipalities are facing bankruptcy.  Others, such as Detroit, have already gone bankrupt.
• A record 95 million are not in the labor force. 
• In 1980, nearly 20 million workers were in the manufacturing sector.  By 2014, that number fell to just 12.3 million. 

Now, I could go on an on with things like Medicare and Social Security facing insolvency, and how parts of our military are smaller now than before World War II, but I think you get the point.

References:

Hillary Clinton: 'America never stopped being great': http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/03/06/hillary-clinton-america-never-stopped-being-great-sot.cnn

The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground. No longer the majority and falling behind financially: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/09/the-american-middle-class-is-losing-ground/

Boomers Once Led the World in Education. What Happened?: 

United States: Program For International Student Assessment: https://www.oecd.org/unitedstates/PISA-2012-results-US.pdf

Illiteracy Statistics: http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/

Is the poverty rate higher now than in the 1970s as Jeb Bush says?: http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2015/may/07/jeb-bush/poverty-rate-higher-now-1970s/

2014: Poverty Facts | Poverty Rate, Poverty Thresholds & Census Information: http://www.povertyusa.org/the-state-of-poverty/poverty-facts/

1970 Debt: https://www.google.com/search?q=u.s+debt+in+1970&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

National Debt Clock: http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Don't Expect Hillary's Infrastructure Plan to Boost the Economy: http://cuttingthroughthefog.blogspot.com/2016/06/dont-expect-hillarys-infrastructure.html

Bankrupt Cities, Municipalities List and Map: http://www.governing.com/gov-data/municipal-cities-counties-bankruptcies-and-defaults.html

A Record 95 million not in the Labor Force: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/record-94708000-americans-not-labor-force-participation-rate-drops

Army shrinks to smallest level since before World War II - Army Times: http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2016/05/07/army-shrinks-smallest-level-since-before-world-war-ii/83875962/

The Navy's Hidden Crisis: It's Too Small - and Getting Smaller: https://www.pacificcouncil.org/newsroom/navys-hidden-crisis-its-too-small-and-getting-smaller

Social Security, Medicare Face Insolvency Over 20 Years, Trustees Report: https://www.google.com/search?q=Social+Security%2C+Medicare+Face+Insolvency+Over+20+Years%2C+Trustees+...&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Manufacturing Job Loss: http://www.epi.org/publication/manufacturing-job-loss-trade-not-productivity-is-the-culprit/

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Don't Expect Hillary's Infrastructure Plan to Boost the Economy

Hillary Clinton claims that she has 5 ideas that will fix the economy.  Of course, implying that it needs fixing may be a shock to President Obama who is proud of his managing of it. At the top of her list is to "create jobs with a big government investment in infrastructure."  Thus, she is proposing that, in her first 100 days as President, she would enact a $275 billion infrastructure spending bill.  Apparently on her own; as if Congress would have nothing to say about it.

While $275 billion sounds like a lot of money, it won't create a lot of jobs because most of the money spent on infrastructure goes to materials and land acquisitions, not labor.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 316,780 workers are employed in the Highway, Street, and Bridge industry with an annual average wage of $52,750.  But, understand, that wage number is high because it includes executives, managers, and engineers who are paid more than double that amount.  Highway maintenance personnel are only paid, on average, $38,440 a year. Even so, if you do the simple math of multiplying the number of workers by the higher average wage, you will find that, at best, a total of $17 billion goes to wages.

On the other hand, according to the Congressional Budget Office, $416 billion was spent on infrastructure in 2014.  Therefore, the cost of labor represents just 4% of all infrastructure spending.  

The reality is that we do have an infrastructure problem in this country that sorely needs to be dealt with.  Estimates are that between $3 and $4 trillion will be needed to repair our crumbling streets and bridges. However, lets not mislead people into thinking that the repairs will create some type of big jobs program because it won't.  Also understand, that infrastructure projects provide, by design, short term employment that won't sustain the economy.  We have a $17-1/2 trillion economy.  Spending $275 billion over 2 or 3 years is "sofa change" when compared to the big picture.

This is just another example of how Hillary has no idea how to grow the economy.  Another one of her "5 ways" is the increases taxes for the rich.  As if that will result in some kind of an economic boost.  I really have to scratch my head on that one!

References:

Hillary Clinton's 5 ideas to fix the U.S. economy: http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/22/news/economy/hillary-clinton-economy-5-ideas/

Highway, Street, and Bridge industry: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_237300.htm

Highway Maintenance Industry: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes474051.htm

Trends in Federal Infrastructure Spending: https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/trends-in-federal-infrastructure-spending/

Biden: the Middle Class Is Being "Killed"

Recently, Vice President Joe Biden, said that the middle class is getting "killed" and we need constant and reoccurring infrastructure spending to restore it:

He's right about the middle class getting "killed".  Just look at this chart of real (adjusted for inflation) median household incomes:

As you can see, the so-called Great Recession took its toll.  But, it is also true that 6 years of Obama (and Biden) has not done one thing to improve the median income.  This despite a near trillion dollars in "Stimulus" spending and other programs that were supposed to help the middle class.

So, this brings us to the question as to whether or not Biden's (and Obama's) insistence that infrastructure construction spending will strengthen the middle class.

Well, the answer to that question is no.

In order to raise median household income above the $52,000 level (as seen on the above chart), you need to create a lot of jobs that are well above that number.   Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen with infrastructure projects.  The best paid job on any site is the construction supervisor.  The average construction supervisor salary is about $49,000; or, $3000 below $52,000. The next best paid infrastructure jobs are the heavy equipment operators.  Their average pay is around $41,000.  From that point on, it is down hill until you get to the low-paid individual that controls traffic by flipping around a "stop/slow" sign all day long.  Also, understand that infrastructure construction jobs only make up a small percentage of the workforce.  For, example, there are only about 400,000 equipment operators in this country out a of labor force that is made up of 157 million.  That's less than 2-tenths of a percent of the labor force.

The only reason that Biden and Obama are pushing infrastructure spending is to benefit their union voting block because most heavy construction work in this country is unionized.

The kind of jobs that would strengthen the middle class are managers, lab and medical technicians, research scientists, nurses and nurse practitioners, engineers, programmers, and so many more jobs that have nothing to do with infrastructure.  But, these jobs are being hurt by the heavy hand of government regulation under the Obama Administration.  The best proof of that comes from the massive growth in independent contractors and freelancers.  Right now there are 42 million of them, but that number could be more than half of the salaried workforce of 135 million by 2020.

By hiring independent contractors and freelance workers, companies avoid all kinds of federal and state mandates such as the matching FICA payments, minimum wage, paid family leave, salaried overtime pay, and, especially, not having to pay the fine for not providing healthcare.  Instead, the contractor or freelancer must pay for their own health insurance and prepare for their own retirement.  This is what most Democrats don't seem to understand as they keep boxing companies in with increasingly burdensome regulations.


References:

Construction Equipment Operator Quick Facts: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/construction-equipment-operators.htm

Salary Data: Construction Supervisor: http://www.indeed.com/salary/Construction-Supervisor.html

Browse Average Salary Ranges for Middle Income Level Jobs: http://www1.salary.com/Middle-Income-Salaries-7.html

The Shifting American Workforce: Growing Legions of Freelancers and Independent Contractors: http://www.inquisitr.com/1419404/the-shifting-american-workforce-growing-legions-of-freelancers-and-independent-contractors/

We're all becoming independent contractors: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-were-all-becoming-independent-contractors-20150224-story.html

Yes, Mr. President, Our Infrastructure Is In Disrepair. Why Punish America's Businesses?

On February 27th, Obama unveiled a $308 billion dollar program designed to fix and repair our aging road and rail systems.   Last week, he treated some construction workers to a burger lunch in order to, once again, hype his infrastructure bill.

To pay for it, he would stick American corporations for the bill; as if they, alone, are responsible for the problem.   By doing so, he will avoid the bad politics of increasing everyone elses gasoline expenses by increasing the federal gasoline tax; which, by the way, is supposed to cover the cost of these repairs. Instead, he can then blame businesses for the higher prices that they are sure to pass on to us. And, the biggest benefactor?  The labor unions.  A fact that he insured when, by executive order, he mandated Project Labor Agreements for all federally funded projects.

OK, maybe we need $300 billion to fix our roads and rails. But, keep in mind that this nation built its entire interstate highway system for only $425 billion (that cost being adjusted to 2006 dollars).  Before we spend billions of dollars on selectively chosen projects that might be politically expedient (and that's all Obama ever cares about), lets fix the broken funding system that is supposed to maintain this country's infrastructure.

For 20 years, the federal gasoline tax -- the one that's supposed to fund transportation (infrastructure) spending -- has stood at 18.4 cents per gallon.  Never once was it adjusted for inflation.  Right now, it should be about 30 cents a gallon, but no politician is willing to hike it to that rate with gasoline prices already so high.  At the same time, fuel efficiency has increase by nearly 12-1/2%, with the current average being 23.6 mpg. So, by adjusting the fuel tax to reflect that change, it should be at least 36 cents; or, double what it is today.

But, funding is only one of the problems.  "Going green" is another.  Instead of using the federal gasoline tax for fixing or building new infrastructure, much of it was diverted to build seldom used bike paths and to purchase too many single deck, double-deck, and flex buses that run on lightly-used, unprofitable routes.  Then, too, a lot of money has gone to replace conventional diesel buses with those that run on a much greener fuel: compressed natural gas.

So, in order to fix our infrastructure, we are faced with two simple tasks.  First, raise the gasoline tax.  It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It could be raised gradually; say by three cents a year until parity with inflation and fuel efficiency is achieved.  Then, permanently index it to inflation. Second, let's put a moratorium on "going green" and focus on fixing what is currently broken.  After all, a double-decker bus with only a handful of riders isn't very "green" now is it?

References:

Obama hopes Congress will fund $300b for roads, rails: http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/02/27/seeking-money-for-aging-infrastructure-obama-looks-tax-changes/dFwOuSren5NNvUrkTZEzxM/story.html

The Gas Tax Doesn't Work Because Politicians Broke It: http://www.forbes.com/sites/taxanalysts/2013/10/24/the-gas-tax-doesnt-work-because-politicians-broke-it/

Executive Order 13502: Project Labor Agreements For Federal Construction Projects: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ExecutiveOrderUseofProjectLaborAgreementsforFederalConstructionProjects

Wikipedia: Interstate Highway System: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System

Cars in the U.S. are more fuel-efficient than ever: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/13/cars-in-the-u-s-are-more-fuel-efficient-than-ever-heres-how-it-happened/

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