Day: February 22, 2006

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Help Stop Interstate 3!

Interstate 3 is a horrible conception and unless the public steps up to the plate and contacts their representatives billions of dollars will be wasted and the ecology of the Southeast forever changed! I was composing a lengthy opposition to I-3 when Blogger deleted my account so my research was lost. Fortunately, the Stop I-3 Coalition has stepped up to the plate to bring public awareness to this disaster that has been forming since 2004. Contacting your representative is EASY! Explaining to your grandchildren why the Great Smoky Mountain National Park died and why the Southeast no longer has a wilderness is HARD.

Billions of dollars are being allocated to build a road that reduces current routes by only 15 miles. This money should be spent to build electric rails along existing interstate corridors instead of irrevocability changing the landscape and environment of the Southeast. Modern trains can be equiped to transport cars like ferries so arguments that a rail system would be useless are invalid.

It is my personal believe that this is a military inspired route to expedite transportation of weapons from Oak Ridge to the coast (an unfounded and unproveable statement — but it is a straight line!).

Please click MORE to read the full email from Stop I-3. Please, if you contact your representative about nothing else, just contact them about this. Put a stop to Interstate 3!

Continue reading Help Stop Interstate 3!

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No more cashiers at fast food restaurants!

I’ve been saying we should be doing this for years!

As for the people that will cry out, "what will those people do for a living?!" Capitalism is not wellfare so it is not McDonald Corp’s (or in this case, Taco Bell’s) responsibility to see those people employeed. The U.S. Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that automation will cause job declines through 2014.

productivity gains, job automation, and international competition will adversely affect employment in many other manufacturing industries. Employment in textile mills and apparel manufacturing will decline by 119,000 and 170,000 jobs, respectively. Employment in computer and electronic product manufacturing also will decline by 94,000 jobs through 2014.

Automation will cause job declines.

Desktop publishers will be among the fastest growing occupations in this group, increasing by 23.2 percent over the decade. However, due to rising productivity and increased automation, office and administrative support occupations also account for 11 of the 20 occupations with the largest employment declines.
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The majority of the 20 occupations with the largest numerical decreases are office and administrative support and production occupations, which are affected by increasing plant and factory automation and the implementation of office technology that reduces the needs for these workers.
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Office automation will significantly affect many individual office and administrative support occupations. Overall, these occupations are projected to grow more slowly than average, while some are projected to decline. Office and administrative support occupations are projected to create 7.5 million job openings over the 2004-14 period, ranking third behind service and professional and related occupations.

The report also has positive numbers complete with an indication that food service will grow.

Accommodation and food services is expected to grow by 16.5 percent and add 1.8 million new jobs through 2014. Job growth will be concentrated in food services and drinking places, reflecting increases in population, dual-income families, and dining sophistication.
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Jobs will be created for many production occupations, including food processing workers…

I wonder if such automation as shown in the Taco Bell picture was considered in this report.