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Stimulus and Jobs
Last February, Congress passed a $787 billion bill designed to create (and save) jobs and jump-start the economy. Nearly a year later -- with President Obama making jobs the centerpiece of his State of the Union and his visit to Tampa -- we look at what the federal stimulus has done in the Bay area. And we’ll examine the jobs that have been created with the influx of money -- and how many more might be coming our way in the form of construction on a high-speed rail link between Tampa and Orlando.
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Stimulus and Jobs
I am appalled at a statement made by Professor Michael Loewy during this show. The statement started at about 25:55 of the broadcast after a question about regulation.
Dr. Loewy's assertion was that "Too much regulation was a bad thing" and "All regulation does is cause the person being regulated to seek to find a way around the regulation." His defense of the statement was that the stock market dropped because investors were concerned about the announcement of increased financial regulation.
Although Dr. Loewy's analysis may be valid from a macroeconomic perspective, it certainly does not provide a valid reason to eliminate all regulation. Business wants profit, businesses are run by people who are first interested in ensuring their personal financial success, and these motives do not necessarily reflect the best interest of society.
The old statement "What is good for General Motors is good for the country" no longer seems to apply in the 21st century, when jobs are exported to other countries to save labor costs.
Carson Cooper's failure to follow up and question this assertion was unfortunate. Dr Loewy's statement suggests that he believes everything business wants is "good," and any business regulation is "bad." This is an interesting ethical question, and certainly warranted a follow up.
I did not hear Dr. Loewy qualify his statement to limit its scope to just financial regulation. It is certainly fair to suggest "All regulation does is cause the person being regulated to seek to find a way around the regulation."
If we extend this assertion to other regulations, then we can logically suggest "all regulation is bad," including the prohibition of theft, murder, rape etc. Since government is in charge of regulation, we should have no government.
I always defend public radio as "fair and balanced" (unlike the TV station which has made this their trademark). A radical statement like this demands a follow up.
Perhaps you could set a follow up interview where you analyze society's ethical needs for regulation, how this contrasts with Dr. Loewy's support for financial deregulation, and how far Dr Loewy would extend this zest for deregulation to other areas of our society. Dr. Michael Oesterholm or someone from the USF ethics department could offer an interesting contrast in opinion.
Craig Frethem
[Received via e-mail. Posted by Florida Matters staff.]
jobs and high speed rail system
I would like to know why our governor Scott turned down $2 billion in federal funds offered to our state for the high speed rail project already getting underway, before he put the brakes on it. I thought he was supposed to be a "jobs, jobs, jobs" person and bringing business to our state! I understand that this project alone would have provided in excess of 20,000 jobs! Not to mention conserving the oil it takes for individuals to make that horrible commute! Anyone who has had to depend upon commuting to Orlando or Tampa knows what I mean. It would spare our environment as well. It seems to be a patriotic endeavor for these reasons alone.
Say what you will about Charlie Crist, but he was smart in taking the stimulus money, which saved many jobs, including those of several of my colleagues. He didn't let his political pride get in the way of what was good for our citizens. He was also a visionary with the high speed rail system, which would give Floridians something special that other states do not have and we would have been a model for more states to follow suit. The high speed rail is something which is sorely needed in Florida with our huge population. Europeans know the importance of a high speed rail system and public transportation. It seems that Scott is holding us back from this progressive initiative and actually COSTING us jobs, instead of creating them.
Could the reason that Scott turned down the federal money be that taking these funds would mean he was accepting something from a Democratic president, who visited our state, showing much support for building this high speed rail? It smells like rotten politics since any progressive thinking person can see the positive results this system would yield for Central Floridians. Just considering the jobs alone, beyond those it would create with the building and operating of the system, think of the possibilities for people living in Gulf Coast counties to work anywhere in the Orlando area, and visa-versa. And those many people in Polk County who could go either east or west for employment in these cities. This would be an enormous asset to our citizens and businesses in many ways! I would like Florida Matters to ask our new governor why he refused to accept this gift to our state and not allow him to "skate" on the answer.