Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Cascading Effects of Our Economic Mistakes
This is just one more lesson--as if we needed another lesson, and apparently, many still do--that the disastrous and deliberate de-industrialization of America is a major threat to the survival of our Country.
So-called "free trade," and economic and financial deregulation have bled out millions of jobs from America, and the hemorrhage will continue so long as America continues to embrace these failed and insane policy mistakes. The recessions we continually experience as the result of lack of sensible and necessary government oversight of business always result in job losses--and most of these jobs never return.
The terrible effects of unemployment strike at all age groups. Older people know that when they lose their jobs, it's highly unlikely they will find another. So they file for Social Security as soon as they are eligible, and cease to become contributors to the system when they could otherwise be productive for several more years. This puts the Social Security and Medicare system into a severe downward spiral.
Young people can't find jobs because there aren't any in recessionary times. As a result, this puts an economic burden on families supported by mid-life working people, and a social burden on our Country as a whole as the crime rate related to unemployment rises.
We must reverse the disastrous policy mistakes of the last thirty years and move America back to a full employment economy. In Congress, I will do all in my power to make this happen.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Already a supporter?
Time for Energy Independence
Per BTU of energy contained in the fuel, yes, gasoline is "cleaner" than coal in terms of air pollution and CO2 emissions than is gasoline. But that is not the whole story.
A car burning gasoline, diesel, or even renewable biofuels in an internal combustion engine employs only a fraction--somewhere around 25% or even less--of the energy in that fuel to move the vehicle down the road. The rest is lost in idling and waste heat and friction of the internal combustion engine.
But an electric vehicle charged from the output of a coal-fired power plant is much more efficient in terms of energy used to actually move the vehicle. There are no idling losses in an electric motor, and waste heat and friction are extremely low compared to a fuel-burning vehicle engine.
The net result is that, per mile of vehicle travel, the amount of air pollution (and CO2 emitted) is actually less for an electric vehicle than for a gasoline-, diesel-, or alternative fuel-powered vehicle--even when that electricity comes from a coal-fired power plant.
Of course your electric bill would be higher if you owned and charged a plug-in hybrid or full electric vehicle, but you wouldn't be paying for other fuels to run that car.
Let's look at the savings versus the additional electric costs:
Consider a family paying $300 per month in Kentucky for electricity. If this family runs two cars 1,500 miles per month each (about 50 miles of driving per day per vehicle), and averaged 20 miles per gallon of gas costing $2.50 a gallon, this would amount to a monthly auto fuel bill of $375, or $187.50 per month per vehicle.
Suppose one of these vehicles was replaced with an electric car. To charge the electric car for a day's driving would consume about 30 kwh of electricity, at a current cost of about 9 cents per kwh.
That means a cost of electricity "fuel" for this vehicle would amount to about $81.00 per month added to your electric bill--resulting in a net "fuel" savings of over $100 just for this one vehicle--and with the added benefit of reducing pollution.
This "fuel" savings might be offset to some degree by the higher cost of acquisition and (possibly, but not certainly) long-term maintenance of an electric vehicle.
However, in the future, gasoline prices will continue to rise. And when--not if--gas gets to $5 and even $10 per gallon, your net savings on "fuel" will be even greater from an electric vehicle.
Also, most in-home charging of electric vehicles would be done at night, during "off-peak" demand times for electric power, when costs per kwh is lower.
And when--not if--renewable electric power plants and nuclear power plants come on line, the pollution from use of electric vehicles will drop dramatically.
There are two other points which are important:
First, transforming the majority of our personal transportation fleet to electric vehicles would just about eliminate that fraction of oil we import from Middle Eastern countries, enabling us to achieve independence from Middle Eastern oil, and disentangle ourselves from the Middle East political and military troubles which go with that dependence.
Second, production of electric vehicles would allow the U.S. automakers to re-establish dominance in auto manufacturing, and help create millions of good-paying, stable jobs for Americans.
In Congress I will introduce legislation to bring about these types of changes in American energy production and personal transportation.
Please ask your family, friends, and neighbors to support and vote for me in the May 18th Democratic Primary.
--Jim Holbert www.holbertforcongress.com
Friday, February 19, 2010
"The McCreary County Record" Survey Response
I was recently pleased to be asked to respond to a candidate survey sent out by "The McCreary County Record" newspaper. Due to space limitations by the paper, my responses were summarized, but I've elaborated on some of them here:
Background:
My wife's name is Cindy, we have 3 children and live in
What are your priorities for the 5th Congressional District? For
Throughout our region, we need to secure the type of industrial development which creates secure, stable, long-term employment. In Congress I will work to bring coal gasification plants with CO2 sequestration to
What are your views on the health care debate?
I support single payer health care because the American people need better and more secure access to health care.
Single payer health care will make American-produced goods and services more competitive in world markets.
Single payer health care is a system which works well for the people in many other democratic countries around the world.
There is no shortage of people who want you to believe that for some strange reason single payer health care won't or can't work in
Don't be fooled: The only reason to keep private insurers as middlemen in American health care is to ensure that corporations continue to make record profits at the expense of the American people, aided and abetted by the politicians in Washington who've sold out the interests of our people in exchange for "campaign "contributions" from health care insurers, big pharmaceutical companies, and medical equipment manufacturers.
What are your views on education? Our national economy? The War on Terror?
Our #1 domestic priority must be to bring jobs back to
Endless, politically mismanaged wars destroy our military and bankrupt us. We should immediately bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, take proper care of veterans, and remove America from Middle East involvement by ending dependence on Middle East oil.
Please see more about where I stand on the issues at: http://holbertforcongress.com/issues.html
Sunday, February 14, 2010
My Response to Freedom's Heritage Forum Candidate Survey
Like so many "surveys" from issues groups, the FHF survey was composed entirely of one-dimensional leading questions stemming from inflammatory wedge issues, used to cynically manipulate "values voters" into supporting the kind of right-wing agenda that works against their own economic interests and endangers the future of our Country.
I declined to complete and return the FHF survey, and because I think it's highly unlikely that my views will be shared in any unbiased way with those on the FHF mailing list, I'm blogging my reply to Mr. David Logsdon of FHF. Here is my response to FHF:
Attn: Mr. David Logsdon, Freedom's Heritage Forum February 14, 2010
Hello Mr. Logsdon,
Thank you for your interest in my campaign to bring better representation to Congress for Kentucky's 5th District, and for America.
I will not be participating your organization's candidate survey for the reasons stated below. However for the record I would like to make a few statements to you about where I stand, what I believe, and why I believe it.
My background is that of a teacher by education and training, a career military officer in two of the armed services, and a working person. I am acquainted first-hand with the military and economic issues we face today, and I stand for common-sense action to solve these real and pressing problems, not manipulation of the voters with wedge issues.
For the last thirty years, we have seen partisan political battles and distraction of the voters and cynical manipulation of issues pass for leadership in our region and our Nation. The results, I think, speak for themselves, but for anyone who hasn't noticed, our Nation is at its lowest ebb since the Great Depression and we are mired in two politically mismanaged and apparently endless wars that are grinding down our military, bankrupting our Country, and strengthening our enemies. And the economic well-being of our once-strong middle class and once-prosperous working people has been sacrificed for political power and enrichment of elites who care nothing for America.
I refuse to get bogged down in frankly useless wrangling over wedge issues that have been used to distract the voters, without any action to address the concerns that were used to inflame, divide, and polarize.
It's well worth pointing out--in case you hadn't noticed--that the so-called "conservatives" supported by your organization, and other organizations like yours, have bloated the size of government, run up huge national debt and budget deficits, involved us in endless wars, and brought us to the brink of another Depression, all the while refusing to take any real action on the issues you're so concerned with. And this inaction has occurred, most recently, when these so-called "conservatives" not only held power in both the White House and Congress, but were able to appoint a number of Federal Judges at all levels who openly held to their viewpoint.
Let me speak plainly: I stand for an immediate end to foreign wars and a drawdown of the military establishment, in order to provide the funds we need to help our our people and our own Nation. I stand for reversing the policies that have sent American jobs overseas. And I stand for establishing energy and economic policies that will serve our Nation's future, create jobs, and remove us from entanglement in Middle Eastern political conflicts.
I feel sure that FHF will not endorse a candidate with my frankly stated viewpoint in the Democratic Congressional Primary, and that you will again endorse Hal Rogers in the November General election. And that you will do this despite the fact that after 29 years of Hal Rogers in Congress, southeast Kentucky remains at rock bottom economically and in terms of the education, health, and well-being of its citizens.
You will endorse Hal Rogers because he has given lip-service to the wedge issues that concern you (though he and others like him have failed to bring about any of the changes you claim to desire), while I prefer to focus on the real problems that are destroying America.
It's really too bad that the voters who will receive your sample ballots and your voting guides won't hear what I have to say. I think your organization does a great disservice to our democracy and our electoral process by your process of filtering information and precluding an open, honest, and direct debate of the real and serious issues that are holding southeast Kentucky back and bankrupting our Country.
Sincerely,
Jim Holbert
Democratic Primary Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives
Kentucky 5th Congressional District
189 Clay Lucas Drive, London, KY 40744
Telephone: 606-682-9337
Website: www.holbertforcongress.com
Paid for and authorized by Jim Holbert for Congress Committee
Monday, February 8, 2010
Why Should Southeast Kentuckians Vote for Jim Holbert?
A better question seems to be, why shouldn't they?
Of course many, many folks in Kentucky's 5th District--and quite a few Washington lobbyists and their clients--just love Hal Rogers' pork-barreling, piecemealing, earmarking ways. After all, these are the tactics by which our democracy has been warped in order to enrich a few, at the expense of the rest of us.
Still others--including lots of folks who have never been, and never will be, on the receiving end of the pork-barrel largesse--are for Hal because of the excellent propaganda machine and network he's built up over the years. But as I often have occasion to advise, "Don't be fooled."
Hal Rogers is the standard bearer for the policies that have failed us and the "ideas" which have been tried in the balance, and found wanting.
Hal Rogers has been a reliable water-carrier for the "new economy," "free trade," "supply-side," "American exceptionalism," "free enterprise," "limited government," and "tax-cuts-for-what-ails-ya" ideas that were supposed to provide Americans with jobs, peace, and prosperity--but which have instead bogged us down in (so far) two endless, politically mismanaged wars half a world away, and put us on the brink of another Great Depression here at home.
If we want something different, we must do something different.
We've got to turn our back on the misbegotten mindset of empire and return to the roots of our Republic. In plain English, this means beginning to get our own house in order and stop attempting to mind the business of other nations--bringing our troops home, taking care of our veterans, and doing the many other things that need to be done here at home, for our own Country and our own people.
We've got to move toward an energy economy which not only liberates our Country from Mideast oil dependence and the Mideast involvement that goes with it, but liberates our region from the stranglehold of the extractive industries that have taken so much and left so little--which have done so much damage while leaving our people to bear the scars and the costs.
And we've got to reverse the policies that have deliberately de-industrialized America, left us up to the eyeballs in debt and trade deficits, and cost us millions of jobs.
We can do these things. Don't let anyone tell you we can't. And if doing these things sounds good to you, then you should vote for Jim Holbert in the May 18th Democratic Primary for U. S. Congress in Kentucky's 5th District.
On the other hand, if you're happy with an economic mess at home and endless mismanaged and widening warfare that's bankrupting our Country and strengthening our enemies--well, a vote for Hal in November will be a vote for more of all that.
If we've become convinced that a law degree and career politician ambitions are prerequisites for Congress, then God help our region and our Republic. And if we confuse statesmanship with a candidate's willingness to align himself with a corporate anti-people, anti-America agenda--thereby filling his campaign coffers to overflowing--then our democracy is sunk.
I'm not a career politician. I'm a family man, veteran career military officer, and working person. I was certified as a secondary school teacher. I understand first hand the military and international and trade and employment and educational problems we face.
I hate partisanship and I despise the pointless posturing that passes for political leadership. Hal and most others in Congress--on both sides of the aisle--have not only been fiddling while Rome burns, but have poured gas on the fire.
I'm not controlled by any special interest and I won't be a mouthpiece for any Party or any establishment that seeks to perpetuate its own power or influence at the expense of our Country, our people, and our future. I offer common sense, straight talk, and an alternative to the corrupted, "business-as-usual" career politicians that have failed us.
And I ask you to remember that I was the only one with the courage and the conviction to oppose Hal Rogers and run for Congress in Kentucky's Fifth District in 2008.
Doing more of the same things we've been doing for the last three decades (and even longer) is not going to get us out of the hole they've put us into.
And this is why you should vote for Jim Holbert in the May 18th 2010 Democratic Primary for U. S. Representative for Kentucky's 5th District.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Madness of Illegal Immigration
Millions of Americans are out of work, and the hemorrhage of American jobs continues.
In the best of times, scofflawing illegal immigration does great harm to our Country and destroys respect for the rule of law. But in our current situation, it is absolute madness to continue our current course--and much more madness to consider exacerbating the problem through any form of amnesty program.
Illegal immigration displaces 12 to 20 million Americans from employment, drives down wages, skirts taxation and increases our national debt, and drains billions of our currency to foreign countries annually.
I stand for vigorous enforcement of existing laws against illegal immigration. We must begin to aggressively and comprehensively prosecute those who employ illegals. When these criminal employers begin to face a real prospect of severe fines and prison terms, the "jobs" for illegals will quickly evaporate--and the illegals will deport themselves.
Don't be fooled by the vacuous and self-serving arguments of the political establishment on both ends of the political spectrum.
The dirty low-down fact is that the right wing ignores the problem because illegal immigrants weaken the American labor movement and keeps wages down, and the left ignores the problem because it is kowtowing to a voting bloc.
America, American jobs, and the American future are more important than these self-serving motivations of the political establishment.
We can and must stop scofflawing illegal immigration, and in Congress I will work to make this happen.


