Joe,
In case you missed it, I wanted to bring to your attention a Politico discussion that ran this week about the next economic stimulus package. Contributor Jeff Emanuel points out that China will be the real winner in the current stimulus proposals by providing the credit to fund the package, and reaping the real benefits through the influx of manufacturing and production business China will receive from it.
A better source of stimulus would be to fund projects that are developed and manufactured here in the United States. Projects like the F-22 fighter, whose future is hanging in the balance.
As you might know, Lockheed Martin, with offices in Bethesda makes the advanced jet fighter. GE also works on the project at their Germantown location. These facilities will be at risk if the program is not funded. Many other facilities in states across the country will be facing similar uncertainty. By passing over the F-22 fighter project, the nationwide impact risks 95,000 jobs that contribute $12 billion of domestic production to the economy. With the federal government looking to boost
economic activity and to stem unemployment, domestic manufacturing and production projects like the F-22 fighter are best suited to deliver maximum results on both fronts.
Besides, the F-22 is far more than an economic stimulus program. It’s a vital national defense initiative that is already updating our aging fighter aircraft fleet, and providing U.S. armed forces continued air dominance in the face of new generation aircraft being developed by other countries.
The Politico discussion, “The stimulus (including those tax cuts): Big Enough? Soon Enough?” by Jeff Emanuel, is at Politico’s “The Arena.”
http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Jeff_Emanuel_FBFB767E-2D76-4AE5-868A-DE08C6C8BD34.html
There was also another story posted yesterday by Marathon Pundit that touched on the domestic production of the F-22 as well.
http://marathonpundit.blogspot.com/2009/01/hey-obama-defense-stimulus-would-be.html
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
I know how to solve the current economic crisis with the Stealth F-22 fighter, just turn the project over to Burt Rutan's company, Scaled Composites, which is located in the Mohave Desert.
ReplyDeleteHe'll bring it in on time, at a fraction of the cost, with substantial technological enhancements. Why . . . one might ask. Because look at his track record verses the US Government.
I agree. If we must approve a stimulus package, the money has got to go toward creating manufacturing jobs that put people to work. Lots of them. What better things to manufacture but items that make us strong militarily in a time when the world is a dangerous place. It wouldn't be much different than what happened during WWII. People were put to work when the govt. put money into American manufacturing. That did more for the economy that any of the social programs initiated by FDR.
ReplyDeleteI'm not faulting FDR, Reese.....that's a different discussion. I'm stating that we need to get back to the basics. Give a man a fish......you know the rest. Let's help AMERICAN companies put people back to work.
And let's all face the facts. Peace can only be obtained through superior firepower.
Every illegal alien out there will come back out of the woodwork for the highway and bridge constructions. Look at the road crews now, almost all illegal aliens. This stimulous is a joke just like the last one was. States must start to sucede from the this crap union in order to survive. The federal goverment is dead.
ReplyDeleteoh yeah that will help who many ?
ReplyDeletebarney frank and obama wish to cut defense spending and f-22 will be among the first on the chopping block, right after our defense missiles.
ReplyDelete