The Forgotten Millions here in America and how to help them and the suffering municipalities

The world's attention is now focused on the tragic loss of life in Japan and the consequent spread of radioactivity throughout the Island.

The world's attention is riveted on the U.S. quasi-unilateral intervention in the Libyan civil war in an effort to stem Kaddafi's bloody battle to reassert his control over the rebels eager to depose him.

Long forgotten and relegated to second class status are the millions of Americans--nearly 1/6 of our workforce--those who can't find work and those working part time--who have been passed over.

According to Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "There are almost five times as many unemployed workers as there are job openings: the average unemployed worker has been jobless for 37 week, a post-World War II record."

But there is hope on the horizon.

In an editorial in The New York Times: "A Chance to Build Again," the editors outline a proposal presented by Senators John Kerry (D) of Massachusetts, Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) of Texas and Mark Warner (D) of Virginia. This is a proposal that would put thousands of our jobless citizens back to work. It builds on Roosevelt's 'pump priming' projects during the great depression.

In short, the plan outlined last week would help repair the crumbling infrastructure of our country. There are over 85,000 dams in the county; the average age is over 50 years . When one is repaired, two more become seriously weak. What is more, "cities far and wide are discharging billions of gallons of untreated wastewater into rivers and lakes, and more than a quarter of all bridges are either deficient or obsolete."

The senators envision creating an infrastructure bank to lend seed money to begin much needed repairs. Private investment would be encouraged and the initial $10 Billion from the treasury would be given as loans. Repayment would be facilitated by largely investing in projects that would return money to the cities, such as "toll bridges and tunnels, water systems backed by ratepayers and energy projects built by utilities, governments and corporations."


In an era when so many cities and states are cash strapped, this plan would be a practical way to jump start the economy.

The only question is why this plan was not conceived much much earlier during this severe recession?