The Economy

By Marta Jorgensen

Our Labor Force

I will work to promote the emerging "green collar" jobs being created by the new alternative energy industries; I will promote green collar training such as learning solar panel assembly; encourage local colleges to carry instruction in green collar jobs. National park training, forest service training, green building code training, promote legislation to make green retail easier to start.

A True Picture Of The Economy

http://www.truthin2008.com

"The federal government keeps two sets of books...the set the government doesn't talk about reports a more ominous financial picture."
--Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY

We've all heard about the federal debt. But most of us haven't heard the truth.

Politicians will tell you that the federal debt is around $9 trillion.

That sounds bad enough--but it gets even worse. Together with unfunded liabilities (all of the benefits that the government has promised to seniors, Baby Boomers, and other citizens) our nation is in the hole for nearly $54 trillion dollars.

That's more than $180,000 for every man, woman, and child in America, and it's growing every day.

What'd I do in Congress +

Work on plans that will create revenue and build up our bank account.

I am in favor of the Carbon Tax as a new source of revenue. We could help our struggling companies by taking away their payroll tax burden. Impose a carbon tax on all business and use the money on the programs we all want. Big polluters pay the most, small businesses pay the least. It will create revenue and force polluters to pollute less.

On Scrapping Our trade Agreements

According to international business leaders who I've talked to, say that is not practical.

We simply cannot walk away from trade agreements that are in place.

Here is what I would promote:

1.Fix existing trade pacts that limit import safety standards and border inspections.

2.Reject the 4 pending NAFTA expansion agreements until the current trade is fixed. These include Peru, Panama, Columbia and South Korea.

3.Ensure products must meet safety standards before they enter the market.

4.Better border inspections country of origin labeling of all imports.

5.Allow consumers to sue overseas manufacturers.

On The Future

The world is heading full-speed towards an era of global resource wars, as overcrowded countries full of hungry people begin to press outward to claim lands with needed water, soil and other resources. Desperate immigrants will also predictably be fleeing to safer havens, the US included. No mere fence is going to stop this flow of humanity.

So what affects the world, affects California. We have one of the largest economies in the world and a growing population.

We need to realize that it may be private enterprise that turns things around and not the government this time. Development of alternative energy, job creation can be done by the many resourceful companies and individuals that reside in our state. It should be the government's place to make it easier for them to flourish.

Government could be useful if it were possible for more people to participate in elections. More diverse intellectual field would make more diverse candidates and a more Inspired Conversation of Democracy.

Right now, we need innovative and inspirational leadership of a kind not seen in American politics in generations. We need a massive shift in thinking on the part of the American people, who will have to begin to see themselves as just another part of a global humanity. We are talking about threats and challenges greater than those posed by the Cold War, World War II, or even the Civil War.

Candidates running, presidential or congressional, must speak to American voters about what lies ahead. The public when equipped with facts and honest expectations can better prepare themselves. The American public and the California Voters are smart, determined and will make the right choices in the end. We need to help them not deceive them.