Obama needs to modernize this nation

[ck4829]

* Improve our infrastructure
* Reduce usage of the death penalty
* Put money back into science
* Take pseudo-science out of schools
* And more

Our next President needs to bring our nation into the 21st Century.

[Locrian]

1. fiber

We are what? 20th or lower in broadband? We need a communications structure better than anywhere in the world. NOT CONTROLLED BY THE FU*ING companies like ATT, Comcast etc.

That would rock. Good for schools, businesses, small businesses, information, everything.

[UnrepentantUnitarian]

2. Agreed!

I'd like to see him assemble a "summit" immediately of creative, progressive thinkers, to find ways to finally take this country into a new century.

(A "jobs summit" would also be an excellent idea, seems to me.)

[KharmaTrain]

3. Now Which Ones First?

And how do we pay for it?

I firmly agree that money needs to be put back into our infrastructures...from roads and bridges to schools to healthcare to energy independence. There's quite a list there...all in desperate need...but which one moves first? You can't introduce all these things at once, so which one requires urgent action.

The mindset needs to change a bit from campaigning and trying to gain power into one of governing and getting things done. If you work things right, all of your goals can be met and more, but now you have to put the meat on the bones.

Cheers...

[liberal N proud]

4. Rebuilding those things and more could be the key to economic recovery

[izzie]

5. I am with you on this.

One hates to point it out but once we took Japan and Germany down they re-built in a new way. Heck we are still using water pipes put in 100 years ago and no one wants to do it over. Guess it may cut into the bottle water business of some thing. What people need to live, like water in a town, is controlled by the people who use it and it is brought up to date. That is just one thing. Like RR that carry goods cheaper and are better than trucks in use of fuel. Just building new air ports is not doing us that much good.

[marmar]

6. From interviews, he seems very big on infrastructure.....

and is quite the high-speed rail, transportation infrastructure enthusiast.

[Romulox]

7. Our weakest infrastructure is in health care, not transportation. nt

[stoge18]

8. Electrical grid

Remember that blackout in the Northeast several years ago? Experts blamed it on an outdated, outmoded electrical grid. To my knowledge, nobody has done anything to get the ball rolling on a fix. I'm hopeful that this will now be a priority.

[RedLetterRev]

9. Solar, not nukes

There are bazillions of square miles of available rooftops.

I've been checking into trying to go off-grid for a couple of years now. There are incentives for big businesses, tax breaks for small businesses and municipalities (none of which take advantage of it) but (wait for it!) none for consumers.

This is a simple and fast way to relieve some of the pressure on the grid while we put our efforts in to healthcare (which I think we desperately need -- a healthy nation is a productive nation) and education.

NO nuclear generating plant has ever paid for itself. Not one. They always produce toxic waste that we've never figured out what to do with. There's no such thing as "clean coal". Think of the folks who would welcome a helluva lot cleaner, safer, likely better-paying, less-dangerous job in green-energy technology. I know I would, if I had to choose between danger and discomfort or make the same money without that. There are millions of roofs to cover; somebody's got to make, sell, install, certify and regularly maintain all that. A whole clean, green industry and nobody needs to get hurt.

The US used to lead in silicon technology. When the RW dismantled schools and sent R&D offshore, our place has steadily fallen. Now the French (for goshsakes, the French) are ahead of us in solar technology. There's no reason we can't best anyone in the world at energy independence -- except for the single big reason of payola from energy companies.

Our bridges and roads have rotted out. I can't get broadband where I am in the country at any price. It's a shitty satellite connection or nothing. There are a million worthy projects to get America working and prosperous again. Hell, pick any two or three and it's a start. The rest could easily follow.

Just hopin' out loud here.