Crossposted from Hillbilly Report.
As Republicans and the Corporate Democrats who support their agenda continue to try and "starve the beast" and keep America from investing in itself their reckless cut at all costs mentality does come with a cost. You see, to cut many of the things these folks want to cut you bring about consequences. Not only increased poverty, but at a time when there are five jobseekers for every opening you eliminate much needed jobs. Now, in proposing huge cuts to Transportation programs the Republicans seek to kill jobs and keep us all stuck in traffic wasting fuel that comes directly out of our earnings. Yes, after all their fanfare about "job killing" bills, they have an "Act" that would really kill real, good jobs.
In a post at the National Journal Transportation Blog the President of the Transportation Trades Department, Ed Wytkind takes aim at Republican hopes to slash billions in funding that creates and supports jobs in the transportation and rail industries while helping ease road congestion and conserve fuel:
It is ironic that the Republican Study Committee’s proposal to slash vital transportation investments was unveiled on the very day that we learned that Americans spend as many as 70 hours – or nearly 3 solid days – a year stuck in traffic. The Texas Transportation Institute’s national study also revealed that congestion wastes 3.9 billion gallons of fuel and costs $115 billion nationwide on an annual basis. If passed, the RSC’s proposals will add to the woes of commuters and travelers and destroy good jobs.
http://transportation.nationaljourna...
He goes on to detail how not only would these cuts cost untold dollars in lost time, wasted fuel and productivity but these proposals are simply put job killers. Good, middle-class jobs:
Hundreds of thousands of jobs would be eliminated by the proposed cuts to transportation programs alone – at a time when nationwide unemployment struggles to stay below 10 percent. These proposed cuts – to mass transit development, Amtrak, high speed rail, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Essential Air Service program, and more – would deal a major blow to millions of Americans who want more transportation choices, not fewer.
Approximately 85 percent of all transit agencies across the country have been forced to cut service, raise fares, lay off employees, or all three during this economic downturn. Slashing funding for transit development – and for service in the Washington region – means that public transportation will struggle even more to provide the service that Americans want and need.
And how it will also move America backwards and make us less competitive in the emerging global economy:
High speed rail is in the process of ushering in a new era of passenger transportation in America. It will help to keep America competitive in an increasingly global economy. Cutting this investment in America’s transportation future means saying ‘no’ to progress, ‘no’ to competitiveness, and ‘no’ to jobs.
But of course as always with modern Republican Party all of this is not only designed to keep from investing in our own country and balance the budget on the backs of workers as the rich and Corporations reap huge tax cuts for crashing the economy but it will also serve to do what they do best, cut wages for those lucky enough to have good jobs:
The public grows weary of transit service cuts, delayed expansion and modernization of airports, air traffic control and rail systems, deteriorated and traffic-choked highways and bridges, and underinvestment in port and maritime systems that are crucial to an aggressive export agenda. With the proposed repeal of prevailing wage requirements on federally funded construction projects, the wages of transportation construction workers will be eroded. And the proposed massive cuts to state aid will make it virtually impossible for states to fund their share of transportation programs and other vital services.
But that is not all. Looking at the summary of some of the things this proposal would do reads like a wet dream for the greediest and least patriotic among us and an American nightmare for many of the rest of us. Just look at some of the ideas and cuts designed to insure that the wealthy do not have to invest in the country or people that made them wealthy:
Federal Workforce Reforms: Eliminate automatic pay increases for civilian federal workers for five years. Additionally, cut the civilian workforce by a total of 15 percent through attrition. Allow the hiring of only one new worker for every two workers who leave federal employment until the reduction target has been met.
Repeal the Medicaid FMAP increase in the "State Bailout" (Senate amendments to S. 1586). $16.1 billion total savings.
http://rsc.jordan.house.gov/...
Just look at some of the other programs that help working Americans on Main St. targeted for death by the Republicans:
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Subsidy. $445 million annual savings.
National Endowment for the Arts. $167.5 million annual savings.
National Endowment for the Humanities. $167.5 million annual savings.
Community Development Fund. $4.5 billion annual savings.
Essential Air Service. $150 million annual savings.
Department of Energy Grants to States for Weatherization. $530 million annual savings.
Appalachian Regional Commission. $76 million annual savings.
Applied Research at Department of Energy. $1.27 billion annual savings.
Prohibit taxpayer funded union activities by federal employees. $1.2 billion savings over ten years.
Eliminate fund for Obamacare administrative costs. $900 million savings.
Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. More than $1 billion annually.
Doing away with the Davis-Bacon act of course fits into their hidden agenda. Republicans are chomping at the bit not only to slash programs Americans really depend on, but to get that added benefit of insuring that workers will get paid less. You see, they think our government should treat their workers just as bad as Corporate America does, slashing pay and eliminating benefits so the rich get to horde even more of the wealth:
The Davis-Bacon Wage Determinations contained on this web site are wage determinations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor under the Davis-Bacon and related Acts. The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor determines prevailing wage rates to be paid on federally funded or assisted construction projects. It is the responsibility of the federal agency that funds or financially assists Davis-Bacon covered construction projects to ensure that the proper Davis-Bacon wage determination(s) is/are applied to such construction contracts(s).
http://www.gpo.gov/...
America just cannot afford these job killing Republicans. When you add to that the fact that in those jobs they do not kill Republicans want workers to make less and less money and you can easily see how these ideas which are designed merely to punish workers are just bad for our country as a whole.
While we all know that spending, waste and deficits need to be reigned in there is a right and wrong way to do this. In the last several decades workers have lost more and more ground, seen our jobs disappear and our wages stagnate. In that same time the rich have gotten way richer, crashed the economy, been bailed out and gotten even richer off what turned out to be no-risk investments.
The working class has been sucked clean and has nothing left to give. We simply cannot balance this budget and do away with the debt caused by supply-side policies on the backs of workers and expect America to survive. It is far past time that the culprits of our debt and deficits, the wealthy who have horded the money realized that it is time for them to give back and help us solve the problems their greed has caused.
They were perfectly willing to use the American system to create their wealth. Since they love creating jobs in China, why do they no move there and see how long they would be so rich?? The greatness of America is that such wealth can be attained and those that have done so should be glad to invest in a system they have done so well in. They have reaped the rewards, now it is their turn to live with the consequences.