Obama’s New Deal Could Tackle Recession
To help pull the United States out of the massive depression of the early 1930’s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed and implemented a “New Deal.” In addition to establishing a “brain trust” to assist with the recovery efforts and according to Wikipedia, their solutions to the economic crisis called for more extensive government regulation of the economy.
It appears that more government regulation of today’s economy may be in our future, as well. Like FDR, President-Elect Barack Obama is promoting the same type of work performed by the Works Progress Administration - shoring up some of our crumbling infrastructure, building schools, power plants, and energy-efficient homes. According to CNN Money,
Longer term, some argue that creating transportation corridors that bundle together highways, high-speed rail links, pipelines, utility lines and other infrastructure projects would prime the economic pump - not only by creating the jobs during construction, but by speeding up commerce afterwards.
The new Administration will also be looking closely at energy saving ideas (caulking windows, use of insulations) and alternative energy sources as part of the recession recovery.
America … used to lead in designing and building renewable energy systems, but has since lost that manufacturing edge - not to countries with cheap labor costs such as China, but to places such as Germany and Denmark where the government supports these industries.
My thoughts are that perhaps another focus should be on more public transportation. Cities like Chicago, Atlanta, and New York have it right with their train systems, but there are plenty of other big cities that could benefit from mass transport.
All of these programs will cost billions, but what price would we pay to do nothing?
Finally, if you’re looking to buy low right now in the stock market, perhaps you should give some thought to “green” investing… solar panels, wind mills, etc.



From discarded picture frame corners to old wine bottle corks, Phillips was standing right by the dumpster with his hand out to bring them back to home sweet home. While Phillips may represent the ultimate in recycling, he is by no means alone. There are countless stories of junk retrieved from dumpsters — some of which is not so junky. Think about all the people who are too lazy or busy to donate their junk or hold a yardsale after spring cleaning and/or relocating to a new house. There’s a lot of great stuff to be had, especially after a little elbow grease, creativity and bleach disinfectant!
I always thought of log homes as one of the least eco-friendly building options around. But one web site actually says they can be eco-friendly too. In fact, log homes are “actually the most natural, organic and environmentally sustainable dwelling in the history of homebuilding,” the web site states. Of course, the web site belongs to