Let me start off by saying that although my major was business in college, I do not claim to be an all knowing holy grail when it comes to macro or micro economics. Further, I do not claim to be an expert on all things financial in our economy.

You may ask, what the hell is a California Motorcycle Accident Attorney and Personal Injury Attorney doing writing about the recession and economy on a Biker Law Blog.

The answer is because I can 🙂  I sometimes write off topic articles that interest me, and that I think will interest my readers and cause debate.

Now let’s get to my simplified explanation for the recession and my solution.

The Problem

I firmly believe that the United States is in a deep recession because of the price of oil, bottom line.

You can read several articles I have written on the subject by clicking here, and by clicking here. At the time I wrote my articles, I predicted that the unprecedented and artificially high price of oil would destroy our economy. I was right.

I am not claiming that the outsourcing of jobs by traitorous American Corporations did not have anything to do with it, because it did.

You see the high price of oil, increased the price of everything in our economy because our entire economy is dependent on oil.

Once oil went up, we lost millions of jobs, people could not pay their mortgages, people lost their houses, etc. The bad loan situation was exacerbated by the fact that people lost their jobs.

Once the ball got rolling we had deflation in certain markets, especially home prices. (Deflation is the decrease in prices)

It all started with oil prices going up to an unprecedented level during the previous administration.

I say follow the oil money to find out what is really going on; this is the subject for another article.

The Solution

If you accept my premise that the artificially high price of oil caused our economy to take a dump, than it will be easy for you to accept my solution to the problem.

I am calling for every single building in the United States, including homes,  to be fitted with solar panels, and a solar charging system within 10 years. I am also calling for every new building to have solar panels and a solar system installed when it is built.

As part of my solution, none of the solar panels or solar systems can be manufactured in any other nation but the United States. This would include any and all components of said systems.

My solution would not only vastly decrease our dependence on foreign oil, it would also decrease demand, which would theoretically decrease the cost of oil exponentially if you believe that the market is free and driven by competition, which it is not.

My solution would put millions of American’s to work, help save our environment, and it would reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

If every building in the United States was fitted with a solar system, every building in the U.S. would be generating power for the grid.

My solution would have to be administered like Roosevelt’s new deal program, and the Manhattan project. We would have to approach this project like we did building the nuclear bomb.

There are many other green solutions that could be done to create jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and to decrease the cost of oil, such as ocean wind farms, land wind farms, ocean tidal generators, land solar thermal power plants, etc.

All it would take is a motivated people, and government, who are not taking kickbacks from big oil to NOT do such a project.

How will this be paid for? Well let’s see, how many billions of dollars have we spent in Iraq and Afghanistan to rebuild their countries? Most likely a hell of a lot more than it will cost us to implement my plan.

The cost can be privately paid with tax incentives, publically paid subject to low interest pay back from building owners, or publically paid for depending upon income levels of the owners of buildings. The public can be paid back for the investment by way of low monthly payments that are analogous to power payments to utilities.

The United States needs to start investing in its infrastructure, and its future to be economically competitive in the future. Why not start with my grand plan? Yes it will cost a bundle.

I wonder how many American jobs can be created by requiring solar systems on every building in the union. I wonder how much oil will be saved by requiring the same. I wonder how much cleaner our air and sky’s would be by requiring the same. I wonder how low oil prices would go, if within 10 years, our demand for oil was cut by 50-75%.

Hell a byproduct of my plan would be to require manufacturing here in the United States. Hell you never know, maybe we will learn to start making things again instead of outsourcing everything to China.

I hope that this article reaches the powers that be in this nation. Maybe just maybe, it will be implemented.

By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney, and Biker Lawyer, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2010

The post My Take on Why we are in a Recession; and My Solution to get us Out of the Recession. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

The following article was written by a long time Biker Law Blog member Sandra Lee Miller as a guest author. Her article is about how the bad economy is affecting her and her families life. As you read it you will realize that she poured her heart into this article. It makes me wonder what is happening to our nation.

I was born in Maysville, Kentucky, the number one tobacco market in the USA.
The last time I went home for a visit, I was stunned at how many manufacturing plants and jobs were gone. We had the Cotton Mill which ginned cotton. My great-grandmother, great-grandfather, two great-aunts and maternal grandmother all worked there. The business has since closed and the buildings have been torn down. Why? Because, we no longer gin cotton in the United States.

At one time there was the Pants Factory, located in Manchester, Ohio which made Haggar pants. It is now closed and a building stands vacant as it deteriorates with the passing of time. Why? The work that was once performed by hard working Americans with two eight hour shifts, five days a week has now been outsourced to Mexico.

Wald’s Manufacturing, also in Maysville, Kentucky made bicycles, was another place that my family worked. My paternal Grandfather worked there over 20 years. My Great Aunt and a Great Uncle worked there as well. The plant was closed and two shifts of both men and women are out of work today. Why? Inferior bicycles are now made in China with sporadic recalls and safety concerns an issue. I never thought that I would see the day that you would have to take a child’s bike away from him because of the lead in its paint.

At one time the pride of Ripley, Ohio was its Red Cross Shoes Manufacturing Company. This is yet another company that employed men and women who worked one of the two shifts, five days a week in order to fill the demand for quality and stylish shoes. The plant was closed in the late seventies. Why? The plant was moved to Mexico and has since gone out of business. Now the country of Mexico has unemployed workers as well!

As a teenager I remember there was excitement in Maysville, Kentucky when Blue Grass Industries built their state-of-the-art facility that was perched on top of a beautiful hill, surrounded by the renowned glistening blue grass. The company manufactured men’s t-shirts and underwear. They were of durable and fine quality then. You would recognize them as JOCKEY. Today, Blue Grass Industries is closed. Why? Their work has also been outsourced and production is now in Mexico.

Next is, Welded Wire of Manchester, Ohio which manufactured industrial wire. When I last returned home for a visit, Welded Wire was only running one shift with a skeleton crew. Today, as I fact checked, it appears that Welded Wire has fallen by the wayside and the property and building are now advertised for sale. I can only wonder what the two hundred plus men and women are doing for work these days. Why? Welded Wire is a victim of the times and American trade policies. This is a fact and not a political comment.

The four small river towns I have written about are dying on the vine, so to speak. The downtown areas where there were little retail shops, bakeries, restaurants, drug store, Doctor’s Office and beauty salons, to name a few, are all gone. Why? The hard working, honest men and women who were formerly employed by the manufacturing plants and facilities cannot support the small businesses that once thrived in those areas.

Today, I reside with my husband in Sebastian, Florida. Unemployment in INDIAN RIVER COUNTY is now 12.4 percent. By the grace of God, we are working. The jobs are not our normal line of work, but like so many of us, we are finding ways to bring in income and pay our bills. We have a 2002 Harley Davidson Fat Boy. This year due to economic times, the bike sits in the garage a lot more than days past. We used to look forward to our weekend getaways to beautiful Daytona. We would roll our clothes and fill the leather saddle bags and head for a motel. Sometimes we would order Papa John’s Pizza or head out for Seafood. Next morning we would rise, pack our gear and head out to breakfast. We used to stop at every Harley Davidson dealership to purchase one of their t-shirts and spent anywhere from $50 on up. We can no longer afford to patronize the stores. The gasoline, motel and food expenses add up quickly. We won’t even mention the purchases at the Harley Dealerships. I did not buy this years Harley Davidson Christmas Ornament. I did not shop at the Harley Dealership this year. Credit cards are not being used in my house. They are for an “Emergency”. WE are smart enough to know better than to make unnecessary debt. I do not want any extra bills in my mailbox. I no longer go to a movie when I feel like it. I go to a Matinee because it is cheaper. I eat before I go so I pass up the concession stand. A small popcorn is $4.75……too expensive for my budget. Then you have to have a $4.75 Small Soda to wash it down.

I now grocery shop where I can redeem coupons and have to watch every penny that we spend. Gone are the days of eating out two or three times a week. This past Christmas, the outdoor decorations were left in the attic to collect dust because of the additional $200 that would drive up the electric bill. I now consign clothing and buy clothes at Consignment shops as well.
We used to sit and count our dollars at the end of the week. Today, we count pennies.

Written By: Sandra Lee Miller
Sebastian, Florida
email: bobharlibob@aol.com

California Motorcycle Accident Attorney

The post The loss of the American Dream; The Recession / Depression hits home hard. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.