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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skywatcher who wrote (66830)	9/10/2005 7:03:25 PM
From: Dan B.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Hint a hint as to why I'm not at all concerned about Bush "lifting...killing" the rules, Re: "Ironically, free societies have a more even distribution of wealth than those which try to redistribute wealth forcibly! The reason is simple: free societies provide the best opportunities for the poor to work and grow rich. Conversely, a highly-regulated society creates poverty by destroying jobs, especially those of the disadvantaged. During the 1980s, I gained first-hand experience of how government destroys opportunities for the poor to earn while they learn. For example, while rehabilitating a dilapidated apartment building, a young man who wanted to better himself came by hoping for employment. He had some disabilities that made him less than an ideal worker, but suggested that I hire him for about half of the current minimum wage. With experience, he hoped that I would pay him more or recommend him to others. Fearful that our arrangement would come to the attention of the ever-present building inspectors, I declined. I only lost a potentially good worker, but the young man lost a chance to earn while he learned--thanks to the aggression of minimum wage laws. The very laws that were supposed to protect this young man from exploitation actually impaired his ability to get ahead. While well-to-do youths simply pay educators to train them, the disadvantaged are shut out of the work force, sometimes permanently." ruwart.com There are millions of examples like the above, all good reasons to get rid of many rules. Dan B.

To: Skywatcher who wrote (66830)	9/10/2005 8:50:10 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

You should have guessed why he passed such an order. Bush allies secure Post-Katrina rebuilding contracts Companies with ties to the White House and the former head of FEMA have clinched some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President George W Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast. One is Shaw Group and the other is Halliburton-subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR). Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton. Bechtel National, a unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp, has also been selected by FEMA to provide short-term housing for people displaced by the hurricane. Mr Bush named Bechtel's chief executive to his Export Council and put the former chief executive of Bechtel Energy in charge of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Mr Allbaugh is also a friend of Michael Brown, director of FEMA who was removed as head of Katrina disaster relief and sent back to Washington amid allegations he had padded his resume. Experts say it has been common practice in both Republican and Democratic administrations for policy makers to take lobbying jobs once they leave office, and many of the same companies seeking contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received billions of dollars for work in Iraq. Halliburton alone has earned more than $US9 billion. Pentagon audits released by Democrats in June showed $US1.03 billion in "questioned" costs and $422 million in "unsupported" costs for Halliburton's work in Iraq. The web of Bush administration connections is attracting renewed attention from watchdog groups in the post-Katrina reconstruction rush. Congress has already appropriated more than $US60 billion in emergency funding as a down payment on recovery efforts projected to cost well over $US100 billion. "The Government has got to stop stacking senior positions with people who are repeatedly cashing in on the public trust in order to further private commercial interests," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight. abc.net.au

To: Skywatcher who wrote (66830)	9/10/2005 11:42:06 PM
From: Dan B.	Respond to of 81568

Let me just say that this, Re: "1) hire locally to the greatest extent feasible. Specifically, contractors for non-construction projects would be required to meet local hiring goal of 50%, and contractors for construction projects would be required to meet a local hiring goal of 25%. 2) pay each employee a wage of no less than $6.55 per hour if that employee is currently being provided health insurance under a health insurance policy maintained by that employer, or no less than $7.75 per hour if that employee is not currently being provided health insurance under a health insurance policy maintained by that employer." ...is a recipe for poorer results than needs be the case. Dan B.