March 09, 2009
Monday

Every one is losing their job. We have messed up our economy so bad. What happened? Being a contractor, I can see how we can not afford to hire help. I wish I could hire help but I hate the idea of putting so much money out to hire other people. I get so little in return. If they have an accident I end up paying. I lose by putting out so much for just the pride to be a employer. Maybe it's just a little guy theory, but if every one was responsible for their safety we would all work safer.

I found out a long time ago you are more careful with your own machinery when it's yours and you know how much it costs to fix. If you felt your job was unsafe, you could just not do it if you couldn't make it safer - some one else would and it might cost more. I think of three things as priorities: risk, experience and knowledge of what your doing as well as what you charge for. All these unions have gotten so strong and powerful with you're money. Maybe that's why Obama talked so much about putting so much money out for construction,. He is a friend of the unions and they know that most big federal contracts will be union jobs and they will keep putting that money in their pockets. The little small contractors are not going to see very much. It's the same reason the state will not break up the major jobs that need to get done. If they were done on a smaller, steadier scale more smaller contractors could afford to bid on them. Most smaller companies are not union. If the union was really fair to its operators, as a example only the more experienced operators would get top Davis-Bacon wages and the guy who just spent the summer learning how to push sand would be much lower scale. But that is just my opinion on that.

As a country we sold our soul. Free trade. We are hurting for jobs and the people to do them. But ship loads of round logs keep leaving our state. Sure we will sell our wood but it will be easier to ship because it will be in nice units all banded together. We could heat our schools with the waste. Our salmon will be in cans and frozen before it leaves the state if we only sell so much. At least there would be jobs for collage students -- if there are any young adults left that are willing to work. The forest service should be working with the state more on opening up forest land that will help south eastern Alaska grow. They could put timber sales out to get our roads connected -- not off in the wrong directions. If we had more industries we would have more people than the greenies trying to stop progress. Maybe if we cut back on government jobs, industry could come back. If you believe in this global warming theory, if it warms up all of southeastern Alaska is going to burn up so fast. We could never fight the fires as all land is inaccessible.

All of southeastern Alaska would so much benefit from a road to Canada from the Bradfield Canal. We should be putting in many hydro power plants and selling it to the rest of the U.S. Power lines are cheaper than gas lines. We could use the gas in our state to power electrical and heat villages.

Seems like all we think about are tourists. That is why Ketchikan did not get a bridge. They were afraid the ships would not get under a more appropriate bridge at a lower cost. Let's see how many people come now.

Used to be in the past we came to Alaska for the work. now we just show every one how it used to be, not how it should be when you have so many resources to create jobs.

Robert McRoberts
Ketchikan, AK

Received March 05, 2009 - Published March 09, 2009

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