I recently stumbled upon an article on Fortune Magazine that interviewed Union Pacific's, the nation's largest rail operator, CEO, John Koraleski. He outlined a few things that he believed would contribute to a stronger U.S. But, I want to add on a few new ideas. Besides the campaign advertisements and such, I am here to offer a simple plan 6 point plan, yes, one more than your plan Romney.
1) Energy
Energy has been a huge part of the recent political battleground. There are a few things worth pointing out. First, the U.S. government needs to guarantee all U.S. business cheap energy, so we can better compete against other nations. However, we must do this sustainably. We need a variety of energy sources. And yes, that means we as a nation must put forth the effort to develop new energy sources. Its a fact that non-renewables are limited, so, we must be competitive in the green energy market. Currently, China and Germany are beating us to energy independence and we must not stand idly by.
We have natural gas for independence. However, we must be able to develop this energy source safely, meaning limiting extraction near wildlife or civilian areas. Preferably, the U.S. government will limit this just to North Dakota, where it satisfies these terms. But remember, there is a finite amount of this, so green energy is still a must. A guarantee that U.S. will remain competitive in energy prices is a necessity.
2) Manufacturing
We must bring high paying, high quality, manufacturing jobs to the U.S. We don't need a Foxconn here; we need more Boeing's, GE's, and GM's to help build a stronger and higher paying economy. The plan is to force all manufacturers (who build high tech or industrial goods) to make sure their products contain at least 10-20% of U.S. made parts or labor. Now that isn't a tall order at all. The iPhone already passes this test. All automobiles, including foreign ones, also pass the test. A regulation on high tech or industrial goods are beneficial and safe (to U.S. jobs) to pass. Also, any company that brings jobs back and is able to keep them through 2-4 years, should be one of the only reasons to receive a tax credit or break.
3) Education
So for all these high paying manufacturing jobs, we need higher education. The U.S. government must team up with private corporations to set up more job training and community college programs across the United States. This will make sure that we have an able workforce for the jobs that are available. K-12 needs a new boost of, not more money, but better teachers. That means shaving off under-performing teachers and hire in more educated teachers. The earlier education, the better. All colleges and universities seriously need to consider what they are doing and its effects on this nation. By hiking tuition to unimaginable levels, these institutions are choking the very heart of our nation, our students. These universities recieve billions a year in tax cuts and many receive large amounts of donations and stock options each year. For them to fatten their checkbook, while students are unable to get a life and world changing education, is unspeakable. A law or presidential executive order should be issued to force universities to prepare more students than to leave that money in their pockets.
4) Easy Tax Codes
Its time we cut the loopholes for everyone and make sure the government gets all the taxes it needs.
The current U.S. tax codes are way too complicated and have way too many loopholes. Simplification is a necessity. Look, businesses here get tax credits for moving jobs OVERSEAS. And in a economic environment, any amount of jobs lost can provoke sizable damage on the economy. Also, tax credits need to stop. There are about 280 Fortune 500 Companies who pay little or nothing in Federal Income Taxes. That's not too bad, a whopping 12 U.S. corporations pay a -1.5% tax on $171 Billion in profits for Federal Taxes. The U.S. government, in turn, writes them a check of $62.4 Billion. Instead of this, lets let the big business pay more taxes than the small businesses.
As we know from the presidential candidates, small business build the most jobs. Look, we must help, not Apple or Google, but the next generation of companies similar to them. If we want the U.S. economy to be sustainable, we must make sure we always have innovative startups that become real businesses over time.
5) Almost there... Infrastructure
Yes, we do have some of the best roads in the World, but no one can say, without lying, that our roads and bridges are falling apart. Instead of pouring money in tax breaks to already powerful companies and individuals, we need to make sure that this money goes into the very basis of our nation. Everyone, every business, needs the roads, airports, bridges or even rail that we use everyday. By building more and better roads, our economy can improve significantly. These investments are ones that amass huge dividends to our nation over time. The U.S. government helped build and provide loans to railroad companies. They built these rail lines and took advantage of them. Now, most trains can carry one ton of freight 500 miles on only one gallon of diesel. These investments have really showed that infrastructure investments are critical and they really do pay off.
6) The most important, one that no candidate has promised... Teamwork.
"In politics shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendship."
-- Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
Works Cited:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/56809745/12-Corporations-Pay-Effective-Tax-Rate-of-Negative-1-5-on-171-Billion-in-Profits
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-20129155/study-many-fortune-500-cos-paid-$0-taxes
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