There's a few days left until the senate votes on their version of the stimulus bill. As reported in this diary the vote will take place monday but it's my belief that both bills from the house & the senate don't go far enough in stimulating the economy. I have a few changes and a number of amendments in mind that would make right what is wrong with the current legislation.
Where do I start.. Well, for starters, lets talk about what is missing from the stimulus legislation that should be there.
- Hi-speed rail system that connects all the major cities between Los Angeles and New York, Tampa Bay to Seattle. Having this as part of the stimulus is a given, but it's not there for some reason. This will be a truly gigantic project that will involve nearly every state (minus AK/HI.) What I have in mind is a double-lane maglev system. As you can see in this video the maglev train systems are incredible fast & smooth
This will be an enormous undertaking involving tens if not hundreds of thousands of people. From the smartest engineers to the lowly grunt mixing cement, the economic impact will be huge. I estimate this project will cost, at a minimum, $1.9 trillion.
- Wind & Solar farms - This is part & parcel of the rail system I propose because the power requirements for maglev systems are rather large. It will require massive farms of wind turbines and solar power units to be built, where appropriate. I estimate the cost of this endeavor at $380 Billion.
- Mineral Extraction - Building a maglev rail system of this size will require a monumental amount of steel, copper and cement for its construction. Some of it can be imported, from Canada in particular (Inco mining has a bunch of sealed up copper mines in the Kirkland lake region that will supply the world 10 times over if they opened them up.) I don't know how much this will cost but I estimate over $400 Billion.
- Freedom Tower in NY city. If that's what they're still calling it (the intended replacement for the twin towers,) but here's the twist, build a second tower of the same design in Honolulu. It's a purely symbolic use of funds but will provide inspiration for those that look upon the nation from the outside. A small cost of $25-$40 Billion
- Lighting up every american home with fiber optic access to the internet. Even for those people living on the fringe of society, deep in the woods, a strand of fiber optic cable should be routed to their living space. Entire cities will need to be demolished and rebuilt for this to happen, zoning laws abolished and government owned & operated fiber optic glass plants will need to be built.
I estimate the cost of this project will approach $2.8 trillion but the dividends will pay back handsomely in the future.
- The legalization and regulation of marijuana production - This will make up for some of the costs incurred by the above projects. DEA agents will have to seek a new line of work (possibly building the rail system if their skillset is desired.) This will also stimulate a booming farming industry across the country that will generate tax revenue and intellectual expansion required for the next generation of inventors. Any costs of this undertaking are irrelevant.
- Life on Mars - We've waited long enough and the time is right for humans to travel to and conquer the planet Mars. Lets stop wasting time and get on with it. Let's do it before the Chinese or Russians get there first. I estimate the cost of this project will be above $3 trillion over the next 10 years.
I have a few other amendments that should be included in the stimulus package but I will leave it at that for now. I won't bore anybody will the small but important things that should be part of the package. At the end of the day the stimulus package that I advocate will probably cost the nation between $11-$14 trillion but it will be worth every penny.
Call your senator and congresspeople today, tell them we won't be satisfied with their weak stimulus plans. What we want is real economic expansion.