Plan Bravo

Part One: The 'American Dream' Is Killing The American Economy

2010-07-22T21:40:00.000-04:00

The American Dream: half an acre, one and a half cars, two and a half kids. It started in the 1950's when the American economy was booming following WWII. Every generation since has tried to outdo the last and get their dream as well, but there's a secret to this dream, the cumulative cost. The 1950's were a different era and all the nostalgia in the world will not bring those days back because the world economic situation at that time was unique.

Briefly, here's how it came about, if you already know just skip the section between the dashes:

---------------------------------------------------

Prior to WWII, throughout history, nations that were victorious in war would force the defeated nations to pay for the cost of the war. After WWI, the most expensive in history, Germany was forced to pick up the tab. With most of their labor force lost to war casualties, most of their industry destroyed, and already severely diminished treasuries from war-making, Germany quickly went broke trying to pay their bills to the allies. They printed money, fell into hyper-inflation mode, and became politically very unstable. Hitler filled this vacuum and soon enough there was another war.

Wanting to avoid the same mistake, following WWII the nations of the world decided not to make Germany and Italy pick up the tab, but rather to have the most financially stable nation loan them the money to rebuild. The United States, unlike its allies, came out of WWII with all of its industry and economy intact, so the United States loaned money to Europe (not just the defeated nations but our allies as well) but with one caveat: they had to spend the money on American made goods. So American dollars began flowing into the devastated countries of Europe, they turned around and used the money to buy what they needed from the United States (food, clothing, steel, wood, etc.), Americans got jobs in droves creating this stuff and being paid to do it with American dollars by way of Europe.

This system created jobs and kept Americans employed without a hint of slowing down for the next 20 years, creating an economic boom in such a unique way that we will never see the like of it again.

---------------------------------------------------

The '50's created urban flight with cheap land to be had in the suburbs and cheap cars/oil to be used to get from the suburbs to the jobs at the factories and office buildings in the city. Property ownership, once a thing for wealthy people, suddenly became a viable prospect for the vast middle class. Two expensive urban modes of transportation were developed to cope with the urban exodus: regional rail service and multi-lane freeways. Although there have been economic recessions since the post-war boom, it has usually involved minor lifestyle changes such as driving one's car less or living at home with your parents for a few extra years before buying a house.

60 years later, Americans have now become entrenched in a needlessly expensive lifestyle where the best option for most middle class Americans is owning small piece of land and a mortgage and requires the use of a vehicle to get to and from their job as well as everything else. This lifestyle flows into what is considered a "living wage" and employers have to compensate their employees for these expenses to remain competitive in the United States.

This is a major reason why 'Made in America' usually involves a heftier price tag. American workers are expensive and they are expensive in large part because their living and transportation expenses are abnormally high compared to other advanced westernized countries.

According to a 2009 U.S. Department of Labor Survey the average American spends 17.6% of their adjusted gross income (AGI) on transportation and 34.1% of their AGI on housing. When wages have to be high enough that 50% of it can go toward housing and transportation it is no wonder that low and lower middle class employers in non-service industries had to go overseas and now increasing employers in service industries have been able to 'outsource' overseas as well.

There are obviously a plethora of reasons why industries find it cheaper to operate in other countries. Cost of labor is merely one of these reasons. But if America could lower the cost of labor even moderately, it should be enough to bring back a non-insignificant portion of these employers. The solution? A focus on new-urbanism with an eye toward how cities used to be built, not physically, but conceptually. We need to redefine the American Dream in a way that favors job growth and retention by lowering the cost of labor to a manageable level.

Stay tuned for "Part Two: How Livable Cities Can Save The American Economy" our nation's Plan B(ravo).

One nation...what comes next?

2010-07-01T19:05:00.001-04:00

A local billboard here in Charlotte, NC has become a national news story not because of what it originally said but because of the vandalism that proceeded. The billboard space was bought by an atheist organization that promotes secularization of the government and said simply "One Nation Indivisible". An honorable notion that was originally written in 1892 by Baptist minister Francis Bellamy and stated in full:

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The well known US President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed it into existence for the noble purpose of uniting the country and fostering patriotism. After all, it was the era of nationalism.

Due to increased immigration in the early 1900's it became relevant to denote the country to which one was pledging said allegiance, and in 1923 the words "the flag of the United States of America" replaced "my Flag", and congress officially recognized the pledge of allegiance on June 22, 1942. It stated as follows:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Where is God? Many people like to believe the references to God in the US Government hearken back to the founding of our country. If that were true, it would be a compelling argument to leave such references alone. But, sadly, most of these references were added in the 1950's for the little, ambiguous fact that communist governments tended to be atheist. And if communist governments were atheist, and the US was not communist, then we had to make it known that we were theists. This policy of one-up-man-ship was classic standard operating procedure for the Eisenhower administration and Senator McCarthy ran with it. So, alas, in 1954, "under God" was added to the pledge of allegiance.

Now vandals have added it to a billboard, proving that we are not indivisible as well as proving that the Sharia-esque laws of the McCarthy era are alive and well in the minds of my fellow Americans. I do not consider myself an atheist, my views are complicated when it comes to spirituality and I am sure I will elaborate in the future, but I do consider a secular government to be essential to freedom in the modern world.

Many of the founding fathers used phrases such as "under God" to denote the radical idea at the time that people were empowered from a source higher than any mortal could ever obtain. Hence, no monarch could tell you what rights you had and what rights you did not. In a nation of various Christians, such a phrase is secular in relation. But times have changed. There are many people in our country now who believe in entities that go by names other than "God", there are people who follow religions without gods, and there are people who have no religion what-so-ever. And in a country that grants freedom to all such law-abiding and patriotic people, a secular pledge of allegiance is long overdue.

Perhaps the phrase "one nation under no mortal indivisible" would be a good catchall? Or maybe, since we don't live in a world of nationalism like we did a century ago, and pledges of allegiance are an antiquated vestige of said days, we could get rid of the pledge altogether and accept the idea that we now live in a world where national distinctions are quickly disappearing in favor of a world of like-minded humanity.

People like to ask what Jesus would do? I didn't know him, but he would probably say: "Leave God out of Caesar's pledge and love your fellow humans without regard for his or her beliefs." Sounds good to me!

The last days of Rome?

2010-06-16T17:25:00.000-04:00

I was listening to a local radio station talk about wacky things in the news and a recent though not surprising development in Las Vegas concerning topless/adult broad daylight swimming pools at swanky resorts. I managed to find a relevant article here. I say not surprising because this is the sort of thing everyone expects of 'Sin City'. So, what's my problem? The radio DJ commented on this story by saying "we really are living in the last days of Rome." If you aren't familiar with this saying, it refers to the overly simplistic and thoroughly debunked myth that the fall of the Roman Empire was due to increasing opulence and decreasing morality. And, if you have ever been to Vegas, you'd know that no other city compares in sheer excess of glitz, debauchery, gambling, and sex. Although the comparison may draw ties of similarity, the accuracy of the comparison is highly circumspect. Being 50% Italian, an aficionado of history, and a scholar of both the Latin and Italian languages, I feel compelled to defend my brethren in heart and blood, the ancient Romans.

One of the most taboo forms of sexual conduct in the modern world (well, in the U.S.) is prostitution. It is widely known that such practices were common place in ancient Rome. But less talked about, is how common place it has always been throughout history. One of the earliest recorded references was in the 18th century B.C. in the Code of Hammurabi provisions were found that addressed inheritance rights of women, including female prostitutes. The practice was regular in ancient Greece and Rome alike. All of these cultures were pagan of course, so the advent of monotheistic morality must have done away with such barbarity, right?

The Roman Catholic Church (I know, still Roman and not always on the moral high ground) turned a blind eye to prostitution from the 'last days of Rome' all the way through the end of the renaissance when their bigger problem became Martin Luther. The official stance of the Church tolerated prostitution because it was held to prevent the 'greater evils of rape, sodomy, and masturbation.' Imagine that! Pope Sixtus IV (1471–1484) was the first Pope to impose a license on brothels. Now the jig was up! If anything, the final centuries of Rome were more moral than the preceding centuries by logical extrapolation of its conversion to Christianity. (That was tongue in cheek.)

The United States has often been compared of late to Rome in its final days. Although it is easy to say this is due to a decline in morality, that is far from the reason any society has ever collapsed. Or, at least since the days when God used to smite cities like Sodom or Gomorrah. Now-a-days, the only cities smote by the wrath of God seem to be the ones too poor to afford the requisite defenses to natural disasters. Not very God-like to smite the poor and leave the rich alone.

So, if we aren't in for a smiting for our immorality (and it is doubtful Rome was smote), why might these still be the 'last days of Rome'? Barbarian invasions? Maybe, at least metaphorically. Opulence and abundance of safety leads to complacency, and complacency leads to successful attacks and invasions that would have otherwise been deterred or prevented. (9/11 ring a bell?) Combine that with Rome's over-extension of resources used to conquer territories that yielded little of value to recover those expenses and Rome at most had a problem that has befallen every great empire in history. While the U.S. may wage varying worldly military campaigns, we usually do it to secure and protect economically beneficial commercial activity. In fact, the best argument in favor of the fall of Rome was its B.C.E. transformation from Hegemonic Empire to Territorial Empire. The difference is a Hegemonic Empire guarantees the safety and well being of friendly nations without actually seizing and controlling them administratively, whereas a Territorial Empire actually seizes militarily and administers foreign territories which vastly increases the cost and stress on the home territory without creating the requisite economic gain at home.

The United States of late has maintained a hegemonic empire, acting militarily out of economic interest rather than interests of conquest. This would make the U.S. more similar to the pre-imperial Roman Republic (circa 200 - 100 B.C.E.) rather than the 'last days' Roman Empire.

Bottom line. Opulence can breed complacency in any civilization, and complacency undermines security. People have throughout history been of varying degrees of morality, but immorality never killed an empire. (In fact, it has been proven time and again quite hard to build an empire without immorality.) Administrative bodies can become too big to succeed (as opposed to too big to fail) and a military is best used in defense of commercial and political freedom rather than subjugation and defense of territory. The 'last days of Rome' we should all fear, therefore, are the days when complacency replaces vigilance in the societal psyche and the days when bureaucracy becomes too extensive to run the country efficiently. By that standard, the U.S. may be encroaching dangerously close to the 'last days of Rome' and we should heed such a warning, but to say we are encroaching those final days because of opulence and immorality is an affront to the history of Magnus Senatus Populusque Romanus!

Wanderlust...

2010-06-08T16:20:00.000-04:00

I spent most of my childhood in and around Raleigh, North Carolina. It is a wonderful area that I still hold a great interest in and even though I now live in Charlotte I still frequent a Raleigh photo blog to see how the city is progressing. A recent post on that blog by the photographer Matt Robinson has various photographs taken on his recent trip to Italy. (It is an excellent photo series that you can view here.) I spent a couple weeks in Italy, Switzerland, and France back in May of 2006 and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Perusing the photos from the above mentioned series clubbed me with that sinking feeling of melancholy that every aficionado of travel gets when they've been sedentary too long; wanderlust.

I have briefly sated this feeling over the past few years with short trips to such exotic locales as Washington, D.C., Boston, and my honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean. But no trip or vacation will ever satisfy my desire to actually live and work abroad. The adventurous and nomadic lifestyle oft romanticized in film is hard come by in the real world. I see people who live in these far flung places and I envy their fortune in getting to live there. Most probably take it for granted as anyone would when you live in a place long enough. As far as myself, I've lived in six different apartments in two different cities over the past eight years. And it isn't merely a case of "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence". It is truly a seeking out of the next experience not yet experienced.

Sometimes I dream of winning the lottery and spending the rest of my life traveling around the world. Unrealistic, yes, that's why I call it a dream, but somewhat more realistic yet I would still consider akin to winning the lottery would be landing a career that allowed me to live and work in cities all over the world. What might that career be? I have no idea. What would I have to do make that career more realistic? Also not sure. If you have suggestions, leave them in the comments section so I may seriously consider them for Plan B.

Over-Running the Platform Could Save LYNX Money

2010-06-06T10:56:00.001-04:00

According to a recent WCNC report, the existing LYNX line is so successful that expanded service is already needed. Rush hour travelers are currently crammed into the two car trams because the platforms that were built can only accommodate trains that are two cars in length. A planning oversight? Maybe. A review of the station areas in Google Earth will show that most of the stations have land available for expansion on one or both ends of the existing platforms. The short, two-car platforms were likely deemed adequate for the foreseeable future to save on initial costs with space made available for future expansion. However, the need for larger stations has crept up incredibly quickly (only two and a half years following the opening of the LYNX).

The current debate is whether to expand service on the existing line at the expense of extending the line out to UNCC for the time being. This is an unpopular sacrifice considering the UNCC area has been deemed vital to the economic viability of LYNX Blue Line. According to the aforementioned report, apparently the overhead cables have to be upgraded in order to accommodate more trains. The extension of the platforms, however, is not necessary.

The station platforms are on average 180 feet in length. Two coupled LYNX cars are also 180 feet in length and 3 cars would be 270 feet in length. However, the distance between mid first car to mid rear car would be 180 feet. If the train were to overrun the platform so that the first car is accessible only through the rear car door and the third car is only accessible through the forward car door, the LYNX could provide access to three coupled cars on one 180 foot platform.

This would not be a permanent solution, but it could save a lot of money in the short term while the LYNX copes with these growing pains. Below are posted some pictures created for reference.

LYNX Blue Line Carson Station

LYNX South Boulevard Rail Yard

Plan Bravo Live!

2010-06-04T11:50:00.000-04:00

This certainly isn't my first foray into blogging, but with quite a bit of time on my hands this summer I'm hoping to make this one the exception that I regularly update. Unless you live in a cave and you can't find your way out, you know that the world in in the painful throws of an economic charlie foxtrot. (A phonetic alphabet abbreviation meaning essentially "really big mess"). I am one of the many who find themselves lost in the black abyss of uncertainty that is this unfortunate time, and I hope through this blog I might retain some semblance of sanity while sharing my musings, trials, frustrations, and eventually, hopefully, my successes.

To back-light the start of this endeavor, I will share a few things about myself. I graduated from high school 9 months after September 11, 2001. The first generation of budding adults to enter the downward spiraling world. Growing up in the '90's in the United States made a kid feel almost invincible. Suburbs were sprawling, there was a car, cell phone, and computer for not just every family but every member of those families. We were economically prosperous, technology was advancing with leaps and bounds, everyone was going to college, jobs were plentiful and wages were generous. Compared to today, it was like a golden age.

I went to college with strong intentions and unrealistic expectations. I was going to be an engineer, but I didn't know what engineers did. When I got into it and stubbornly applied myself for two years, it became apparent that I was not satisfying my intellectual passions with my intellectually lackluster academic pursuit. I changed my pursuit to the more stimulating liberal art of political science, where I flourished and even managed to minor in statistics.

Bachelor of Science in hand, my first Plan B(ravo) was a success! But the career opportunities by this time (2007) were less than enthusiastic and after temping for 9 months in the legal field, I decided to go to law school. Which is where I am today.

Law school has proven to be a safe harbor to wait out the economic storm which has only gotten progressively worse since I entered back in 2008. Now with only one semester left in my law school career, I'm faced with the very real prospect that I will need yet another Plan B(ravo). Our country, it turns out, has an over abundance of lawyers, and many of those lawyers are recent layoffs with lots of experience.

With this realization that even the perennial safety of legal services employment is sinking rapidly in this economic maelstrom, I'm left with a future as uncertain as ever! As I finish law school over these next 6 months, I will be frantically searching for future employment wherever and whatever it may be either in the legal field or not. Although, law is still Plan A, my hardest and most intensive search now is for Plan B(ravo).

This is my story. Stay tuned...