Why Every American should Support the Fight Against Climate Change

National Security

• The Pentagon has identified this as the key threat to our national security.
• Oil in the Middle East funds terrorist activities and wastes our resources trying to secure and protect various countries over there. This costs us American lives and billions of dollars every year. Clean Energy sources cut into the wealth of Middle Eastern countries.
• Migration and refugee crisis. As food and water shortages continue to get worse because of flooding and droughts people flee for other countries, creating a massive refugee crisis. This also increases global warfare which we can get dragged into.  Especially if were still reliant on oil.

Taxes

• With all the money we have been spending on disaster relief we could have put that towards something else, and its just going to get worse.
• We not only give fossil fuel companies enormous tax breaks, despite them making billions in profits, we also give them hundreds of billions annually in direct subsidies -corporate welfare.
• Public lands are being sold off at bargain prices to fossil fuel companies. Be nice to have them for the public!

Health

• Breathing and other problems are increasing in the country, especially among children and the elderly who are most vulnerable,
• American average life expectancy is going down, despite it being better in other countries.  Not all of this is due to climate change of course, we also have the most expensive and least effective health care system in the developed world.

Jobs and the Economy

• The renewable energy sector is the fastest growing part of our economy, even as we lose jobs in coal mining to the Natural Gas industry. Oil jobs are boom and bust with layoffs every time the price dips.
• Putting money into renewable energy, especially with some of the more Progressive campaign plans means a lot more jobs in every state. And they are good paying jobs! Senator Sanders plan for example will mean work for building contractors, plumbers, roofers, manufacturing, and more. Instead of trickle down economics its trickle up. Workers tend to spend their money, and much of it locally which spreads the wealth around more effectively than multimillionaires who tend to invest most of their money (often in shell and tax dodges). So more money spent, plus a larger tax base,
• Insurance prices go up as the companies need to make up for money spent covering claims related to climate change.

Farming

• Farmers have been hard hit the past decade and its getting worse with more drought and flooding. Farmers need predictable weather and steady water supplies, not the boom/bust cycle caused by climate change.
• Bees are dying as are other useful insects and this also creates problems for farmers, and others.
• Why does climate change create both droughts and floods? If you live in the South this should be easy to understand. Hotter air can hold more moisture (higher humidity) so as the temperature warms up more water is held in the air and it evaporates from the ground faster. Then when the temperature drops there is more water coming down as rain.  So we get extreme cycles instead of a more even swing between dry and wet spells.
•  As farmers go bankrupt then lose their farms we lose a valuable resource. Also food prices go up from scarcity and we may have to import more food, though the rest of the world is often even worse than we are at the moment.

Hunting and the Great Outdoors

• Places where we can do this get smaller and wild life less due to climate change and over development.

But the Cost!

Yes, addressing climate change is going to be expensive. If we had gotten serious about it in the 70's when the oil companies studies realized what was happening, or the 80's when it was more public knowledge it would have been cheaper and easier.  However the longer we wait the more expensive and harder it gets. Also we lose out on developing technologies if we keep stalling while other countries invest in those sectors. Instead of us making and selling stuff to other countries, we will be buying it from them.

Finally, when someone talks about the cost and how it will hurt the economy ask them these questions.

1. How much is your life and your children's life worth?  Because as it is now Americans are dying from climate change and it will only get worse.
2. Why should we spend money propping up oil and gas companies or bailing out farmers and people who lose their homes from severe weather?  How much does that cost us now? How much will it keep increasing?
3. Doesn't it just make more sense to spend our money on growing industries that make our lives better? On activities that increase our resiliency and stop rising sea levels and dangerous storms or drought powered wildfires?

The Green New Deal

The Green New Deal is getting a lot of talk right now, which is why the resolution was put forward. Its not an actual bill and if it had passed the Senate it would have done nothing. It is simply put a Mission Statement. If you work or have worked for a large corporation you'll be familiar with them. They are a statement of intent and purpose, often meaning little and being a marketing tool.
Thats what this resolution is, a marketing tool to get people talking about it and declare some peoples values and goals in a broad sense.
The Green New Deal basically says that Climate change is a recognizable and immediate threat to the world and the United States of America (something the Pentagon, NASA, and others have been saying for over a decade).
It purports that to combat it in time we need a national initiative on the level of FDRs New Deal.
So the goal is not just to reduce emissions but to avoid economic collapse, whether from ignoring the problem as we have been doing or changing things. The cost to change grows every year we delay or EPA regulations are rolled back and the economic growth potential grows slimmer as other countries take up the opportunities we have let slip through our fingers.

Jobs

The coal industry has been dying for awhile now as other forms of energy become cheaper and easier to get. The Conservative answer is subsidizing the companies, meaning taxpayers pay to keep them in business. The Progressive answer is to let the free market take care of the companies rather than prop them up and retrain the employees.  Ideally using the money that has been going to the companies. The difference is that as those workers get new jobs they generate tax and local revenue as consumers when they get new jobs instead of costing more money when they get laid off.

The oil and gas industry is still thriving, though we also subsidize them. This industry is not going away anytime soon, even if we cut back on emissions. However it will go away and living in Oklahoma I can tell you that workers are laid off all the time, then sometimes rehired. Its effectively seasonal work for many nonadministrative personnel. As the price of oil changes so do the number of employees!

Further we KNOW that the amount of oil and gas is limited and getting whats left costs more each and every year.  Also we leave our country vulnerable to threats from the Middle East and elsewhere. Oil funds terrorism in many countries and is a significant national threat,

Renewable energy sources such as wind, water, and solar power are getting cheaper each year (though the Trump administration is working to counter that trend by imposing tariffs on components and curbing research), and more people are working in these fields as well.

Look at the jobs data below, more people are working in green energy than oil and gas extraction

Environmental Costs

Every year we see huge costs for disaster relief efforts, both money spent and lives lost or uprooted. Besides the big tax bill were paying out, local economies suffer from lost revenue and even the national economy suffers. How much?  2017 cost the US $306 billion in 2017 and $91 billion in 2018! Think what we could do if we just cut that in half! And as storms get more severe, sea waters rise, and farmers suffer from droughts and floods because the weather is less predictable and keeps swing towards extremes the costs as taxpayers and consumers just keeps going up.

A dramatic effort now can slow and perhaps reverse the change, had we started in the 1970s when we first knew of the problem it would have been easier. But that is what happens when you keep borrowing money or procrastinating a problem, it just gets worse. Hiding our heads in the sand wont resolve the problem.

And for those hoping thoughts and prayers will solve the problem, why should God fix the mess we made for ourselves? God gave us a beautiful and wondrous planet, its sacrilegious what we have done to it regardless of what your Faith is.

Summary

The Green New Deal is a least a declaration of intent, until most of Congress and the President are replaced nothing will actually get done. Our politicians are bought and paid for and will just keep kicking the can down the road and let another generation deal with the consequences. Working now to resolve the issue means hard work, tough decisions, and sacrificing bribes by the oil and gas industry. As a voter it is up to each and everyone of us to check the policies of our representatives, and check where they get campaign donations from. Remind them they are supposed to work for American citizens, not international corporations. 

Its possible to lessen the impending disaster, it might even still be possible to prevent it, but every year we delay the chances go down and the costs go up.

The Green New Deal is simply patriotic, it proposes we help Americans and America itself by creating new jobs in energy, manufacturing, construction, and service sectors (boosting the economy far more than a billionaire or corporate tax cut) and including ideas such as safety nets for retraining, keeping our healthcare promises to those coal miners who sacrificed for us, and improving the quality of life for every American.

Relevant links

AWEA says 105,000+ jobs now
The Solar Foundation says 242,000+ jobs in 2018

Various Bureau of Labor Statistics

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey 2018

So based on those numbers in 2018 Oil & Gas extraction =784k. Coal Mining =78k

Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction: NAICS 21

Oil and Gas Extraction: NAICS 211 About 150,000 (Seasonal)

Careers in Wind Energy

Careers in Solar Power

Careers in Geothermal Energy

Green Careers

Industries by Supersector and NAICS Code

Green energy means LOCAL jobs!

Listening to an interview of Christine Hallquist, candidate for Governor in Vermont and she mentioned something I hadn't really considered from quite the same way before.
Most states pay other states, and even other countries for their energy needs.
Think about that a minute.
What if the money paid for out of state energy (coal, gas, oil, even hydro or nuclear) stayed in state and created local jobs?
Every state can provide energy see the Solutions Project for some options. Conservatives tend to prefer the old ways of doing things and many still do not think climate change is a serious issue. Those wanting to address the climate change system need to tailor the messaging to better reach the current audience.
If warmer weather causing rising sea levels, more severe storms, and billions in bailouts and recovery efforts for increasing natural disasters is not enough you can add jobs to the mix.
Fossil fuels will of course fight you, even if in another state but if you can create new permanent jobs, while lowering consumer energy costs (That means your utility bills) that should win some people over.

Summary

Clean energy is a practical and desired goal because...

• Reduces the damage were doing to the environment. This saves lives and money.
• Cuts down on health costs because the air and water will be cleaner.
• Increases USA national security due to less reliance on foreign oil.
• Increases our exports if we go green before most of the rest of the world.
• Provides local jobs which helps economic growth.
• Reduces the negative effect of seasonal layoffs in oil jobs as the price of oil fluctuates.
• Eventually oil and gas will run out, or simply become too expensive to use or sell. We already see this as a temporary problem whenever prices drop people get laid off till they rise again.
• Likely results in spin off technologies if we get serious and develop the tech before everyone else does. If were too late to the game we may have to pay other countries instead. China is making significant efforts to place themselves as the go to tech source in this industry.

I am Pro-American

Listening to some of the news pundits and I found some agreeing with the goals but hating the term of Democratic socialism. They are right, there is a lot of baggage associated with the term as we have seen. I mean most people d not even understand what the term means so its easy for those opposed to it to misconstrue it. Some are even confusing it with communism, either deliberately or through ignorance.

So how about a new term?

Its hard but so far Pro-American is the best I have. When someone attacks the platform by name calling turn it around (Pull a GOP tactic).

• I'm Pro-American, Americans should have good health care at affordable prices not ones inflated by insurance or drug companies. #Singlepayer
• I'm Pro-American, I dont want my taxes wasted on corporate welfare and donor subsidies, single payer will save at least 2 TRILLION dollars in overall health care costs compared to the current system over the next ten years.
• I'm Pro-American, I believe our kids should have access to quality education so that ALL Americans have the best chance at a better life and good paying careers.
• I'm Pro-American, I believe Americans should decide who our representatives are and have them be accountable to US, not corporations, special interests, or foreign governments. #NoPACMoney
• I'm Pro-American, I believe we should all have the right and opportunity to financial dignity and good paying jobs. Not struggling at 2 or even 3 part time jobs, or afraid of the next lay off.
• I'm Pro-American, Veterans deserve to be taken care of and helped back into the work force. Active duty service members should protect our country, not be used as fodder for corporate interests.
• I'm Pro-American, I want us to keep our national parks, have clean air and water, and curb the ever worsening weather due to out dated technologies.
• I'm Pro-American, I want Anerica to be the world leader in renewable energy sources and the job growth and other benefits that will give the country.

What the GOP really wants when they say smaller government is better

Big Government vs. Small Government?

Conservatives and Republicans exclaim that big government is bad and smaller government is good.  Look at some of the examples below and see if you agree...

• Equifax has had 3 major breaches in the last 2 years.  They engaged in Insider Trading before telling the public and are trying to force people to waive the right to sue them before they will tell you if your info was hacked.  Oh and if this damages your credit rating they will help to fix it for n additional fee.  Remember as a credit bureau they have your information even if you never agreed to it or signed up with them.
• Houston chemical plants are now being sued by first res-ponders because they stored toxic chemicals and lied bout it when asked, endangering their lives.
• Exxon has been revealed to hold onto climate change data from forty years ago that warned of problems.
• Financial Advisers are allowed to lie to their customers when recommending choices.  This is so they can recommend options with higher commissions or fees even if those are bad for their customer.
• Companies are allowed to dump things into our water and air without regard for the public safety.
• Banks can use account money in high risk investments so that they can get a higher rate of return at the risk of defrauding those with savings and checking accounts or taxpayers bailing them out again.
• Big corporations are allowed to buy or undercut smaller companies to drive them out of business.  Even though some of these companies use tax incentives to offset their costs.  We lose many small business each year this way and that overall depresses wages and consumer choice.
• Wages and Employee insurance. GOP stance is there should be no minimum wage or employee based insurance.

All those are results of trying to weaken or remove regulations and oversight.

Big government vs. small government is a red herring or false flag.  Inefficient government is bad because it wastes resources. However efficient government that is accountable to the citizens of the United Sates is good.  Further we need to be able to vote and choose our issues so that government gets back to being OF AND FOR THE PEOPLE.

Conservatives so full of hate there trying to kill each other now

This story on Rush Limbaugh is really crazy.
Once in awhile I will listen to parts of his broadcasts just to try to keep my news balance.  I never finish because he is so disgusting but at least I try to listen to the Right Wing Extremists side of things.
In this broadcast reviewed by The Young Turks we see Rush Limbaugh claim media coverage of hurricanes is a conspiracy by small business retailers and the so called Deep State. He actually encourages his listeners to ignore the news and not take shelter or stock up on emergency supplies.

Meanwhile Sheriff Grady Judd will be using emergency shelters to arrest people with outstanding warrants. Think about that a minute.
Having the police check everyones paperwork in the middle of a Cat 5 Hurricane will...

• Slow down access to safety for his local citizens.
• Put his officers at risk hauling people off to jail during the storm.
• Possibly scare some people away from safety who fear they may have a warrant.

If these people are really dangerous why not serve the warrants under normal circumstances?

This is just an easy way for him to look tough but his stupidity and reckless disregard for human life (Including public safety officials) is what really comes through here.

National Security and Climate Change

Climate Change is becoming serious and apparent enough that I think most people believe it exists at this point.  I am sure Senator Inhofe (Oklahoma's snowball Senator) is still in denial of course.
If your old enough  (or just google storm history) you get the feeling that we see worse and worse storms. I mean how many storms of the century do we have to have this century before everyone wakes up?

As the temperature warms up we get more rainfall from water evaporation and more sever storms as heat gives them more energy to work with).
We will have costly bailouts for our East and Southern coasts with them getting more frequent and more costly. Lowering emissions will help but we have waited so long were going to still have to deal with this even if we started reversing the trend today.  As long as the GOP is in charge I think any reversal is very unlikely.  So do we keep spending billions on patches?
If we were willing to spend significant money on infrastructure for flood walls, emergency dams (could be used for fishing or to help the power grid), regulating the flood plains and stringent building codes we can improve long term survival and probably save long term costs.

How Can We Pay For all these "Acts of God"?

I propose that by transferring up to 100 billion annually from the National Defense Budget we could do some serious improvements. We outspend everyone in the world, in 2016 the USA spent 611 billion and the second highest player was China at 215 billion.  So moving 100 billion still gives us the most expensive military in the world by a large margin.  A lot of this is  pork barrel politics so we would be transferring the wealth from some military contractors to civilian contractors.  The old contractors will complain but they can expand into the new markets. Aerospace could adapt tech for light rail for example.
Many of these companies build stuff overseas anyhow and at least some of this money will go to local job growth such as in construction.
This could be like the Apollo project but rebuilding America.
And as a bonus all those new jobs mean more taxes to offset our budget deficit.
If you like the idea tweet or share this link to this post to your congress person.

Seriously Imagine What We Could Do!

• Renewable Energy for new jobs, economic growth and energy independence.  We dont have to put the oil companies out of business, many sell overseas already!
• Create many small and medium sized dams used for fishing, recreation, power generation, and irrigation or water management.  These could hold some of the flood waters and reduce the damage to cities.
• Saving thousands of American Lives!
• Light Rail elevated transport for public transportation that is still usable even in flooded areas.
• Improved Public Transit for more jobs and better standards of living.  Improved Tourism too!
• Economic growth in short term jobs such as construction, mining, and manufacturing.
• Permanent new jobs in renewable energy and tech sectors.
• A safer and more prosperous America!

And really is hat not what money for National Defense is supposed to be for?

One thing I would love to see but would be a technical challenge is pipes from lower lying areas to the dams that act as sump pumps. That would be very expensive and technically challenging but if it works could further reduce flooding and speed recovery.

Some Links (Recent data is harder to come by and current data has been pulled by the Trump Administration).

• US Hurricane History (up to 2008)
• Decades worst hurricanes; 2000
• Decade of Destruction 2004 to 2013
• Hurricane Graphic Ten Years
• Historical Hurricane Tracks (NOAA)
• Hurricane strikes by decade (only up to 2004)
• Unisys site (up to 2013)
• Wiki List (Current as of Harvey but organized by state)

Take this snowball Senator

Senator Inhofe became infamous when he took a snowball onto the congressional floor and said that was proof climate change was a hoax.
Here is another graph showing  waht almost everyone can see for themselves.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/6/24/1673550/-DoE-head-displays-willful-ignorance-while-killer-heat-waves-broil-the-southwest?detail=emaildkre

What is most concerning is not just the upward trend but how sharply it goes up in recent years.
Even the oil companies wanted us to stay in the Paris Accords becasue they know climate change is real and needs to be addressed.

I personally dont see some of the most dramatic claims happening.
However just a few degrees overall temperature has resulted in rising sea levels, increased and more severe storm activity (heat helps drive storms, especially hurricanes) and harsher summers.

We need to do something about it and get people in government who think about the future rather than the next news cycle..
My page on The Environment

Another anti-PAC money candidate joins the fight for 2018!

From Roll Call Erik Paulsen will run as a moderate democrat and wont take PAC money.
That means if he wins he wont be owned by lobbyists.
He believes we need to worry about the environment, Health Care and Internet privacy from the article.
Good luck Minnesota!

What issue do you car about the most?

Everyone has their own priorities and most of us only have the time, money and energy to fight for a few, especially after taking care of our own lives and perhaps families.
So what are your top issues? Health Care, Environment, the economy, jobs, wages, national security, civil rights, First Amendment, Gun Control? References The US Constitution
In Alphabetical order the main ones I hear people talking about....

Civil Rights

Our Founding Fathers felt this was a vital issue and put in place a lot of specific protections. Freedom of religion, speech and the press. Right now our pres is under attack and open and public derision by the government, threats have been made to them and to our right to Free Speech. Below are excerpts from the Bill of Rights.

• Article the third... Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
• Article the fourth... A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
• Article the sixth... The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
• Article the seventh... No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
• Article the tenth... Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
• Article the eleventh... The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
• Amendment XIV, Section 1 All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
• And you might want to read the Declaration of Independence.

Climate Change

The overwhelming majority of scientists agree and frankly if your old enough or just look at records you can see for yourself that the world is warming. Melting icecaps and rising sea levels will have the largest impact on coastal regions but higher temperatures supply more energy for severe storms and we have seen more suffering and destruction from those already. The Republican party has proposed to remove the EPA on Dec 2018 and President Trump has proposed to cut funding, rolled back regulations and taken down information from the EPA website as well as issuing them gag orders. He even tried to prohibit them from talking to Congress. The main justification for allowing this to continue is that it will be bad for large business and the economy as it hurts Automotive, Oil, Gas and Coal industries. You can abide by that oversimplification and choose the Environment and your kids or those industries.  However we can strive for renewable energy and simply change the nature of those industries and jobs. Transforming and innovating could make us world leaders in new technology which would boost the economy while still allowing those industries to sell to other countries.  This group has some good ideas and an actual plan on the subject.

Another item is the Paris Accords, we already are ahead of the game here so backing out just hands over the credit and leadership position to other countries.

Economy

The GDP and overall productivity of America has gone up year over year (generally in terms of actual dollars) and this chart shows actual numbers in dollars, percentage and major events.

As you can see major tax cuts, recessions and banking or S&L failures led to drops. Deregulation led to gains though caused later losses such as the banking bailout due to excessive bad loans and investments. It is my position that we need to regulate Banks and other industries to keep them from defrauding their customers and needing another big bailout. Wage increases have been shown to increase consumer spending.  Infrastructure spending will increase growth, though I think it would only be short term so I oppose that if it also increases the debt. Trickle Down Economics has proved to be a failure and I oppose that.

Education

Section 8 of the Constitution address this in part "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" so apparently they thought Science and the Liberal Arts were important to a great country. 

The Department of Education was founded in 1979 by Jimmy Carter so getting rid of it is a predictable Republican goal. Personally I think the concept is good but the execution was poor and more authority should be left to the States and local communities. A good education is important to individual liberties and the pursuit of happiness and makes for more productive workers which benefits the overall economy.  How we achieve this is a good debate. Progressives want free college tuition, and Republicans want more private and charter schools, deregulate education so schools are not held to any standards or accountability.  Recently they even talked about restricting the GI bill for veterans.  You do not have to side with either extreme, for example I feel that the Department of Education should be a watchdog and reporting agency so we can see how well the schools are actually doing and make informed choices.

Government Reform

Our Founding Fathers were very concerned about this issue.  A Free Press and states being able to convene for constitutional amendments were considered vital to keeping government honest and working for the people.  I feel this is also a part of why they wanted a well regulated militia.

• Section 9 "No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."
• Article II, Section 1 "The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them."
• Article II, Section 4 "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

To me the biggest thing we can do to reform the government is get money out of politics. WolfPac is working on this, though they are opposed by Common Cause and of course politicians.

Health Care

The right to life is in the declaration of Independence and Health Care is probably the most talked about thing in politics.  President Trump even said Australia's system is better than our system. So apparently he favors universal health care or Medicare for all, which would be the only way to live up to the promises he made during the campaign.  The idea here is to take the insurance companies out of the equation and go with a single payer system.  So we see the same doctors but instead of fighting with insurance to pay we use government systems.  This would raise taxes, though that would be offset by no longer paying insurance premiums.  However some oppose it because they think insurance companies are better than the government and feel health care should be an individual thing you earn by having a good job, not a right.

Job Growth

I think everyone wants to see strong job growth, the trouble is people cant agree on how to make it happen. Republicans say that giving larger tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations will work. Progressives are for raising the minimum wage and improving education. Democrats want more infrastructure spending.  I lean towards the Progressive side.  History shows raising the minimum wage promotes consumer spending and businesses sell more stuff. History also shows the tax breaks just lead to more stock buy back, dividends and executive pay raises not new jobs. Infrastructure spending does create new jobs but there short  term. What we really need are new jobs and new industries.  Automation is decreasing jobs in many industries and it will only get worse over time. Eventually all the mining and manufacturing jobs will just be machine operators and a lot less of them.  Senator Sanders is the only politician I have ever heard even talking about that issue but if you work in those fields you have seen it happen and increasing.  We need to invest in new industries or else all of America will suffer.

National Security

We need a strong military.  However most of our spending is not on people but expensive systems and even more expensive maintenance programs. We outspend more than any other country by a significant amount.  Do we really need to spend so much? Cut $200 billion from the budget and we still outspend China by $226 billion, almost double what they spend!  Russia comes in at a 'mere' $44.6 billion.  Imagine how wonderful things would be if we spent that money on America! We could invest in Clean Energy  to insure our energy independence and not worry about the Middle East, Medicare for all, and invest in new infrastructure and technology.  We would be safer, more popular with tourist income (new jobs), live better lives (Cheaper energy and health care, better infrastructure) and who knows what kinds of benefits we would see with new technology.  Remember no other country can take over America, especially if we keep our own guns and a strong navy and Air Force to defend our shores and foreign interests.  NATO was founded in part because of our desire to prevent another world war and if one did happen it would happen in other countries not ours. Our Military industries already sell to foreign countries so they wont suffer unduly and they are positioned for moving into many of the higher tech industries.

Pollution

No one really wants polluted air and water so why is this even an issue?

The answer of course is that some business think it would hurt their bottom line.  It certainly does cost more to not pollute, though many companies are actually for reducing pollution and improving fuel economy.

Taxes

Republicans want to cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations, Democrats want them to pay more.
If you feel that wealthy people should pay lower taxes than middle class fine.  If you feel that corporations should be taxed less ok as well.  Just be clear on the results and expectations and dont fall for the lies.  Trickle Down Economics have been proven to fail so lowering these taxes will not improve job growth.

An Open Letter to President Trump

Dear Mr. President,

It is no secret that I am not a fan, however if the president suffers in office America suffers.  In the spirit of helping America above all else I want to offer you my opinions and advice.

Do not get Impeached

It is the belief of many Americans you are violating the law and your oath of office, using the presidency to line your pockets, and colluded with foreign governments. Some want you impeached right now, others are holding off hoping you will abide by your campaign promises.

Your greatest risk is that you have not expanded your approval beyond your base, and the rest of those who voted for you voted you in as an anti-establishment or outsider president because they believed you would really drain the swamp.

Your personal attacks and efforts have alienated almost every Democrat and some Republicans in Congress and this is where your greatest danger lies.  

• Republicans will have Vice President Mike Pence to take over if you are impeached. He is conservative and more of a party man so they will like him more than you.
• The Optics of impeaching your own parties President look bad so republicans will want to hold off as long as they can.  However as soon as a majority of the party feel that legislative losses and backlash against your actions risks them losing seats they will turn on you like jackals.
• Low popularity makes you vulnerable and also harder for you to accomplish the things you want. To protect yourself you need to raise your popularity above 50%, if you can get and maintain that rating they will be afraid and probably unable to impeach you.
• Work with the Democrats,  Senators Sanders and Warren are the most popular figures in politics t this time. You and your base will not agree with everything they stand for, however a lot of your campaign promises line up with their goals.  If you can work with them you will gain bi-partisan support for your legislative agenda and dramatically increase your popularity.

Fulfill Your Campaign Promises

• The Border Wall:A real physical wall will cost billions of dollars that America cannot afford. Fiscal Conservatives will fight you because of that. Progressives and Liberals will fight you because they feel it is racist and Un-American. Social Conservatives will be the only group supporting it and some of them are also Fiscal Conservatives so that base will be diluted. Once you start taking peoples land away through Imminent Domain to build that wall you will lose even more support.  My recommendation? Do not build a wall.  Build watch towers like the forestry department uses or even lighthouse like buildings in more urban or high profile areas. this will cost far less and do a better job of increasing border security than a physical wall. It will allow you to hire more ICE agents (job growth) and can avoid the problem of taking way people land or sections where a  wall is especially expensive because of the terrain.
• Imagine the image of a beautiful watch tower that uses surveillance drones to guard a large area. It will even please defense contractors.
• Tax Reform:  OK We understand you want to pay less taxes.  However lowering your taxes by increasing the National debt will cripple you politically. remember you want to avoid impeachment and Mike Pence will not pull a Gerald Ford and pardon you. Be more subtle about lining your pockets.
• Health Care: This is your biggest make or break issue.  However as you are finding out it is a very tough one. You promised to cover everyone and fro far less than they are paying now.  If you could deliver on that promise almost everything else would be forgiven and your popularity would soar! However no insurance based system will do that.  Cut out the middleman and work with Senator Sanders on Medicare for all. If it is budget neutral or even better budget positive you will win over many conservatives and anyone who votes for it will be reelected and those who vote against it will not.
• Great Jobs! The problem with manufacturing and mining jobs is that automation is a bigger threat than foreign labor. We need to invest in industries that will grow over time and give the middle class more spending money so they can buy more products.  That raises the GDP which makes your millionaire and billionaire buddies wealthier as well.  Think about it if more Americans can invest in stock your hedge fund managers will make more money, people buying homes or condos helps those in real estate, restaurants benefit with more people going out, etc.
• Raise the Minimum Wage: You may not like the idea but think about it and talk with knowledgeable people who run states where it happened. If you do this it will make you extremely popular, especially if you do it at least a year before an election so people have time to feel the effects. Increased wages means more tax money so it lowers the National Debt. They also increase spending far more than tax cuts so will make your numbers look great.
• Infrastructure Spending: Avoid short term jobs that raise the National Debt.  If they create permanent jobs and build on new technology to make America the leaders in an industry that is far better for all of us.
• Environmental Issues: Remember global warming raising sea levels directly puts many of your valuable properties at risk. America already spent most of the money to get ahead of the Paris accords, bailing out just lets other companies off the hook and lets them take a leadership role. The Solutions Project is one option that could be used to increase job growth, promote American leadership in energy growth and increase national security and energy independence.  Remember even as America needs to spend less on energy and buys less coal, gas or oil we can still sell it to the rest of the world. Failing to invest in these companies will mean we are eventually buying this technology from other countries instead of us selling to them.

Oklahoma should push for nonrenewable energy

This wont be popular with some Oklahoman's but here me out.  Because its a win for every Oklahoman.
We have some of the best energy companies around and by expanding their roles or new companies investing in renewable energy solutions we have a chance to get off oil and gas for our own energy needs.
As long as it lasts we can always sell the oil or gas to others so that is not a threat to our oil and gas industry.  However as many know the price varies and we see lay offs and rehires in the energy industry over and over again as prices fluctuate.  That is not job security, nor is it smart business to have all your eggs in one basket.
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Also we know there is a limited supply of these fuels and as it gets harder to dig them up they get more expensive.  Eventually if we stick with that as our primary industry we will eventually wind up like Detroit when the steel ran out.
Boom than Bust is simply shortsighted and not a smart plan.
the Solutions Project shows what we can do for ourselves.
That project would result in over 46,000 new construction jobs and over 20,000 operations jobs.
It lowers our health costs by 5.4 BILLION and saves 600 lives per year once complete.
It saves $17,699 per person per year in utility and health care savings once complete.

And imagine if Oklahoma companies were the most experienced in Wind power. Those companies and their employees could make money helping other states or countries build wind farms.
It is probably too late to be a solar energy leader but maybe we can do it with wind.

Renewable Energy

There is a great website called The Solutions Project that goes over specific plans to make the USA energy independent and get the whole world on renewable energy.

It is really amazing how fast and cheaply this could be done.

Of course the gas and oil companies are opposed but it is not like they have to be nor is it only up to them.  Companies that invest in renewable energy are creating new jobs and making money (Solar for example is growing fast) despite those fighting them. Those in the oil, gas and coal industry are vulnerable to losing their jobs to improved automation and every time the price goes down.

We need something with a more long term approach and value for America.