Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Watching your tax dollars at work and other talk about jobs
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
The other day I was meeting someone in the East ‘60s. While waiting in the colonnade of an apartment building I saw a burly no-longer-a-kid policewoman standing a few yards east of me, watching the traffic. Suddenly she marched off, briskly walking west, towards the crossing. I asked the young doorman, who had come out:”You got troubles on this block?” “No, she’s on cell-phone ticket duty. Look, look, she’s got one,” pointing to a white light delivery truck, stopped for traffic light, with the driver opening the window. The officer pointed to a free store front parking space, and the driver pulled into it, soon as the light changed. “That’s a hundred buck ticket. She catches five, six the hour she spends here every couple weeks. Neat, hah?” We talked some more of the increased ticketing he had observed, the action being developed as a NYCPD profit center (NYS ticketing has also increased). However we may feel about it, this policeperson was bringing in $600 an hour for the Mayor’s budget.
Objectively, cell phone use while driving is dangerous, for the driver and the surrounding world, and should be ticketed. Unfortunately, all this policeperson was catching were delivery drivers getting orders from their dispatchers. The first danger is the private driver, who should pull and stop, then talk. Second, non-stop cell phone talking cabdrivers, who have earphones or other concealed devices, hard to catch. Granted, they also get bread and butter dispatcher calls, for which they could pull over while cruising, but they do not. You will never see a cabbie cutting an incoming call short while you or I are in the car. By the way, observing cabbie earnings, the fares are worth $60 an hour, tips extra. Current style is to tip low, a buck a trip. In fact, cabbies may offer you a compassionate nod or word, if you mention that times will get better.
My last cab trip took me to a very efficient skin doctor, whose hourly rate appears to be $1000, not counting Medicare. It was not all going to him and his four assistants; the largest chunk was for biopsies, which he does copiously. He has caught and had me operated for two melanomas, detected early, so I should not complain.
Moving right along with the economics survey, the reason for my visit to the East 60s of Manhattan was to meet a friend, who was having a $140 haircut by a master barber in a private salon, not exactly legal in an apartment building. I’d estimate the master’s hourly rate to be $280.
Switching away from the individual to national job review, it appears necessary to do deep sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Although it contains only 2-3% of the world’s oil reserves, it would help establish our independence of the Persian Gulf, and help the transition to renewable resources (particularly wind, since solar is iffy in these latitudes) and nuclear, sine qua we are dead as a 1st world country, in the long run. President Obama has been for drilling, but pulled back to a six-month delay. The delay would cut employment in the US Gulf states, all heavily dependent on oil, with the people willing to brace the dangers, to earn consistent pay. There are stories of all active drill sites having passed the exposure tests before the April explosion, all but BP who have been consistently negligent. There is also talk of limiting the dangers of another eruption fast, by using high level explosives to cut the outflow quickly, as recommended in this column early in May, describing the five low-level nuclear explosions used by the USSR in 1962-85, to close the tubes emitting oil. We can do it without nukes, using other explosives, says the military. My letter to this effect to the President’s White House site was not acknowledged, not to speak of a reply. Back to pay levels, drill employees, no longer uneducated roustabouts, now earn $100K plus a year (even in coal mines, non-union miners are up to $70K/yr), and work stoppages affect the economies. Oil and soft coal jobs are significant, and their continuance is essential, while the US continues with the renewable energy efforts, and the President knows that. Renewable energy is where the jobs growth should be.
More interim energy saving news - even the haughty GM car people, recovered from near death a year ago, have finally implemented an electric car with a 40 mile charge in 375 lb. ion-lithium battery, and a gasoline get-home-safely electricity generating engine, good for 300 miles, excellent for commuters, rechargeable on house current. Fast charges at gas stations and exchangeable batteries are in the works, if all 10 hybrid car makers are made to agree to common standards. The GM car is the Chevrolet Volt, being road tested; production cars will be for sale in November. 2010. Electric energy, renewable and cheaper at night when demand is low, is responsible for 60% of the nation’s energy needs. We just have to continue developing renewables and nuclear resources. The oil giants are aware of their future demise, and are investing in renewables.
Amidst the disasters, it is really cheering to talk of good resolutions, energy and jobs-wise.
The other day I was meeting someone in the East ‘60s. While waiting in the colonnade of an apartment building I saw a burly no-longer-a-kid policewoman standing a few yards east of me, watching the traffic. Suddenly she marched off, briskly walking west, towards the crossing. I asked the young doorman, who had come out:”You got troubles on this block?” “No, she’s on cell-phone ticket duty. Look, look, she’s got one,” pointing to a white light delivery truck, stopped for traffic light, with the driver opening the window. The officer pointed to a free store front parking space, and the driver pulled into it, soon as the light changed. “That’s a hundred buck ticket. She catches five, six the hour she spends here every couple weeks. Neat, hah?” We talked some more of the increased ticketing he had observed, the action being developed as a NYCPD profit center (NYS ticketing has also increased). However we may feel about it, this policeperson was bringing in $600 an hour for the Mayor’s budget.
Objectively, cell phone use while driving is dangerous, for the driver and the surrounding world, and should be ticketed. Unfortunately, all this policeperson was catching were delivery drivers getting orders from their dispatchers. The first danger is the private driver, who should pull and stop, then talk. Second, non-stop cell phone talking cabdrivers, who have earphones or other concealed devices, hard to catch. Granted, they also get bread and butter dispatcher calls, for which they could pull over while cruising, but they do not. You will never see a cabbie cutting an incoming call short while you or I are in the car. By the way, observing cabbie earnings, the fares are worth $60 an hour, tips extra. Current style is to tip low, a buck a trip. In fact, cabbies may offer you a compassionate nod or word, if you mention that times will get better.
My last cab trip took me to a very efficient skin doctor, whose hourly rate appears to be $1000, not counting Medicare. It was not all going to him and his four assistants; the largest chunk was for biopsies, which he does copiously. He has caught and had me operated for two melanomas, detected early, so I should not complain.
Moving right along with the economics survey, the reason for my visit to the East 60s of Manhattan was to meet a friend, who was having a $140 haircut by a master barber in a private salon, not exactly legal in an apartment building. I’d estimate the master’s hourly rate to be $280.
Switching away from the individual to national job review, it appears necessary to do deep sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Although it contains only 2-3% of the world’s oil reserves, it would help establish our independence of the Persian Gulf, and help the transition to renewable resources (particularly wind, since solar is iffy in these latitudes) and nuclear, sine qua we are dead as a 1st world country, in the long run. President Obama has been for drilling, but pulled back to a six-month delay. The delay would cut employment in the US Gulf states, all heavily dependent on oil, with the people willing to brace the dangers, to earn consistent pay. There are stories of all active drill sites having passed the exposure tests before the April explosion, all but BP who have been consistently negligent. There is also talk of limiting the dangers of another eruption fast, by using high level explosives to cut the outflow quickly, as recommended in this column early in May, describing the five low-level nuclear explosions used by the USSR in 1962-85, to close the tubes emitting oil. We can do it without nukes, using other explosives, says the military. My letter to this effect to the President’s White House site was not acknowledged, not to speak of a reply. Back to pay levels, drill employees, no longer uneducated roustabouts, now earn $100K plus a year (even in coal mines, non-union miners are up to $70K/yr), and work stoppages affect the economies. Oil and soft coal jobs are significant, and their continuance is essential, while the US continues with the renewable energy efforts, and the President knows that. Renewable energy is where the jobs growth should be.
More interim energy saving news - even the haughty GM car people, recovered from near death a year ago, have finally implemented an electric car with a 40 mile charge in 375 lb. ion-lithium battery, and a gasoline get-home-safely electricity generating engine, good for 300 miles, excellent for commuters, rechargeable on house current. Fast charges at gas stations and exchangeable batteries are in the works, if all 10 hybrid car makers are made to agree to common standards. The GM car is the Chevrolet Volt, being road tested; production cars will be for sale in November. 2010. Electric energy, renewable and cheaper at night when demand is low, is responsible for 60% of the nation’s energy needs. We just have to continue developing renewables and nuclear resources. The oil giants are aware of their future demise, and are investing in renewables.
Amidst the disasters, it is really cheering to talk of good resolutions, energy and jobs-wise.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 11:14 AM 
