Sites I Follow

Solar Shade Structure Over Parking Lots - Solar Power






Solar collectors that provide shade for parking lots while also providing clean power are a natural for city parking lots. Electric cars can be plugged into charging stations while they are left during the day.




Sustainable "Green" Economic Development

Sustainable "Green" Economic Development combines environmental improvement and traditional economic development into one discipline. Traditional economic development can be employed to increase employment while improving our environment. Economic Development and “Green” Development should be synergistic, improving our overall quality of life.

Click to read more:





Washington Dysfunction



On line poll from our Congressman.  Pretty much says it all.  I think most Americans are fed up, although we would disagree about who is at fault.

Our Washington dysfunction is terrible. Many of them are worthless. 

THROW THE RASCALS OUT!!


Tax Cuts and the Deficit


 





Several of my friends were very bullish on the Trump tax cuts and believed they would lead to sustained 5% or greater growth. I thought that was very unlikely. And of course growth has been far lower.

Why not make it an actual middle class tax cut and give some of the cut to us, the actual middle class?  


Or is there some economic reason for giving the upper 1 tenth of 1 percent a massive 10 percent increase in income while giving us, the actual middle class, a 1 percent increase? I can't see it. It seems to me that the same economic effect could be achieved with a broader distribution of the tax cuts.




Projections made by the  Non partisan Tax Policy Center.

Click to read the article.



Of course we never got close to 5% growth of GDP.

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The U.S. economy gained 2.9% in 2018, but only a fraction of that came from President Trump’s tax cuts, the Congressional Research Service said this week.

The nonpartisan group said the economy’s strong performance came largely from factors already in place.

Workers received only marginal benefits, with bonuses from companies amounting to just $28 per employee.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/29/trump-tax-cuts-did-little-to-boost-economic-growth-in-2018-study-says.html

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https://www.google.com/search?q=gdp+growth+graph&safe=off&sxsrf=ACYBGNTQuQgwDDEriPwXj21v6IjMVUXmxA:1571577136135&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=pyv7EjtLEqt02M%253A%252CHThr57MxfXu5lM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kSHL64Na8zBak-B6jqiJTw5OIZdAw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJzb6H9arlAhXnw1kKHcVpDWAQ9QEwAHoECAUQKA#imgrc=jGYD9MJLOwJ32M:&vet=1

Can't see much GDP growth from the Trump Tax cut.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States

Our national debt continues to rise rapidly.

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The 400 richest U.S. families now pay a lower overall tax rate than the middle-class, the first time that's happened in 100 years, according to economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/americas-richest-400-families-pay-a-lower-tax-rate-than-the-middle-class/

Hard to believe that we the people elected the people who pulled this one off.  The name for us is suckers chumps marks fools.
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We are spending too much and taxing too little.  We must get back into balance and start paying down our debt.  The Trump tax exacerbated the problem.  



Around the World in a Gyrocopter




James Ketchell flew around the world in a gyrocopter.

(CNN) — A British adventurer has become the first person to circumnavigate the globe on a gyrocopter, completing a six-month journey that saw him narrowly escape a lightning strike on Sunday. James Ketchell traveled 24,000 nautical miles on the miniature aircraft, whose cockpit is exposed to the elements.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/james-ketchell-gyrocopter-flight-scli-gbr-intl/index.html#targetText=(CNN)%20%E2%80%94%20A%20British%20adventurer,is%20exposed%20to%20the%20elements.



http://jamesketchell.net/



https://www.flyer.co.uk/british-adventurer-to-circumnavigate-world-by-gyrocopter/



Murder in Chicago Neighborhoods



A map showing murders in Chicago Neighborhoods. The light blue are very safe communities. The darker colors are much more dangerous.  Lots more sad information on the irreverent web site:  https://heyjackass.com/ 

My old neighborhood on the far southwest side is still very safe.  Police and Firemen have to live in the city, and every other household is a city worker. Very little crime.

The communities north and east of our old neighborhood are much more dangerous. A friend of mine - a high ranking Chicago Police Officer - took us for a ride in Englewood, which was and is a very high crime area.  Englewood was where we took the bus to transfer to the Elevated Transit Train to go to downtown when we were children. We listened to the tactical radio, and it was mayhem. And it was just for Englewood, not the entire city.

A sad state of affairs, and no one has any idea how to stop the violence.