Carmageddon…………NOT!!!!!!!!!
As Los Angeles braced its collective self for a doomsday scenario of turning into one massive
Traffic-Free 101 Fwy Approaching 405 Fwy Interchange Carmageddon Saturday Morning
parking lot this weekend as the 405 Freeway closed for construction, it appears these nightmare predictions have not come to pass.
Just like in 1984 with the Olympic Games being held in Los Angeles and the fear of gridlock strangling LA freeways turned into one of the few times motorists could drive traffic-free throughout the area at any time of the day.
And, just like the Y2K warnings that everyone’s computer was going to implode when the clock struck 12 o’clock on January 1, 2000 and then nothing happened.
Carmageddon 2011 appears to be headed to that same place in history, an event that never happened.
Some might say that this is just another case of government crying wolf. I have to disagree. I believe that it is only because of government officials going to the airwaves and literally scaring the bejesus out of us all that people stayed off the roads and we’ll apparently avert this disaster.
Another clear example to counter Tea Party lunatic’s hysterical claims that government is good for nothing.
Assuming that the 405 reopens on-on time by Monday morning and everything goes back to
our normal everyday freeway packed traffic, props have to go out to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LA County Board of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and all the transportation agency officials who have seemed to pull this off better than seamlessly.
Of course it also shows that when governments officials want to, they can sound the alarm and maybe should be doing this more often on issues such as Republican threats of blocking the raising of the debt limit that will have direct dire economic consequences for us all.
The people of Los Angeles may be facing the biggest traffic jam they ever faced as the city prepares for the shut down of the 405 freeway this weekend. The big question is whether motorists will heed the warnings of government officials to stay home, get out of town and, by all means, stay away from the area. That would mean that the 500,000 who travel that route during that time will have to pick one of those options to avoid the pending ‘CARMAGEDDON!’
And what could Carmegeddon look like? How about this.
In the interest of a bit of comic relief, here are some witty videos on the pending disaster. They are all good, but the best, hands down, is the Hitler rant, which puts me in stitches each time I watch it. Nevertheless, I for one, am staying home.
Republicans & Taliban Tea Partiers May Cause Mass Evictions By Refusing to Raise Debt Limit
As Republicans & Taliban Tea Partiers bring the country and world to the bring of an economic catastrophe with their insane actions of holding the raising of the debt limit hostage as a way to cut the nation’s safety net programs, one of the potential impacts have not been talked about.
What would all this really mean to you and me? Well, interest rates would soar, meaning credit card charges would rise sharply for any unpaid balances, mortgage rates would jump sharply, depressing housing prices even more, the U.S. dollar’s value would drop which would hike the price of gasoline and other imported goods, imported goods being most of what we use, and our savings would lose their value.
On top of this President Barack Obama told CBS News yesterday that he cannot guarantee that Social Security checks will go out as planned if Democrats and Republicans fail to reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling by August 2.
“This is not just a matter of Social Security checks,” Obama said. “These are veterans checks, these are folks on disability and their checks. There are about 70 million checks that go out.”
Nearly half of all government checks won’t go out: The Treasury Department would be unable to pay between 40% and 45% of the 80 million payments it needs to make every month, according to an analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
This includes checks to 29 million Social Security recipients, as well as everyone from active-duty soldiers, veterans, taxpayers due refunds and federal workers.
Every legitimate economist, financial analysts and government official agrees to the pending economic doomsday scenario, yet head up his butt House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday said ‘I don’t know’ what happens if debt deal isn’t reached. What????
ARE MASS EVICTIONS ON THE HORIZON?
But one big question that needs to be asked is what happens if seniors, the disabled, veterans, families of those serving in the military, federal workers and others don’t receive their checks on time? How are they going to pay the rent and mortgage? Will another part of this disaster be the mass eviction of the poor, disabled and working people from their homes?
Responsible government bodies and elected officials should be acting quickly to take precautionary measures to ensure that this does not happen.
The Los Angeles City Council, for one, should be exploring passing a temporary eviction moratorium on those dependent on federal payments to pay their rent.
Other measures should be taken to prohibit banks, who got their checks in the form of the huge federal bailouts, from foreclosing on people who can’t pay their mortgage because their federal checks have not arrived.
These actions need to be taken decisively and they need to be taken now.
Let me know what you think.
How I Shop At Ralphs These Days
These days when I go shopping at Ralphs, these pictures show what my shopping cart looks likes.
It’s so important to show your support for the workers when you shop at Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons. When I go down the aisles with my shopping cart dressed up with support signs, the workers are incredibly appreciative. It means a lot to them to know there is community support for them. Going out on strike would be a huge sacrifice for them and theirs families. They need to know customers will stand behind them and not shop at these store if they should strike.
According to the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, with 62,000 grocery store workers in Southern California entering their fifth month without a contract, Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons workers are ready to walk off their jobs if contract negotiations continue to stall over the issue of health care.
Recently, a Ralphs’ spokesperson acknowledged that employees’ out-of-pocket maximum would go up under the company proposal but said the top amount would be $8,000. But, when you include the additional $2,000 deductible and premiums of $1,196 per year that the employers are proposing, the total health care costs an employee could be forced to pay is $11,196 per year.
This is totally unaffordable for the average grocery worker who earns about $25,000 per year and that is why they are standing together to keep their health care affordable.
Ralphs, Vons and Albertson falsely claim they can’t meet union demands, yet the companies but all three obtained profits in the range of $5 billion last year, and paid out $500 million in dividends to Wall Street and investors! These are some of the most profitable corporations in America.
If there is a strike, the call for a boycott of Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons must be supported. It is incumbent on every shopper to never cross any picket line. It is the only way economic justice will be achieved for all.
So, next time you shop at Ralphs, Vons or Albertsons, let the workers their know that you will stand with them.
In an effort to build community awareness and solicit community support, members of UNITE-HERE Local 11, who are housekeepers at Andaz West Hollywood Hyatt Hotel
Linda Lopez, Cathy Youngblood, CES Lead Organizer Carlos Aguilar, Sandra J. Miranda, CES Executive Director Larry Gross, CES Tenant Organizer Joel Montano, Martha Pacheco, Margarita Ramos
recently visited the office of the Coalition for Economic Survival and meet with some of it staff.
The workers were soliciting support for their campaign to win a just contract with fair wages and benefits. No doubt, CES provided them with unconditional support.
UNITE-HERE has been battling with Hyatt Hotels Corp. over wages and health insurance. The union claims the Hyatt chain is pushing for “recession contracts” that would roll back health benefits and freeze wages, while opposing organizing campaigns at non-union hotels.
Since contracts with the Century Plaza and the Andaz West Hollywood hotels – among other Hyatts nationwide – expired in 2009, UNITE-HERE Local 11, which represents Southern California’s unionized hotel workers, has been negotiating new terms for the workers at both hotels.
Where are the Jobs???
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This do-nothing, dead-beat Republican-controlled House of Representatives are essentially holding the US economy hostage with their refusal to raise the debt limit unless there are substantial additional budget cuts. They are willing to bring the entire US and world economy down in an effort to en
sure that Obama is a one-term president. They don’t give a damn about the incredible increased hardship they are about to unleash on poor, middle-class and working America.
These unpatriotic, economic terrorists will go to any length to protect their millionaire, billionaire and corporate supporters from even a dollar more in tax increases. This is should be seen as nothing less than treason. And, the question is why the media is not reporting it as such?
They came into office promising jobs, stating this was the number one issues. Yet, not one job bill has been advanced by them.
In today’s New York Times, Paul Krugman states, “creating jobs in a depressed economy is something government could and should be doing.”
He says, “Our failure to create jobs is a choice, not a necessity — a choice rationalized by an ever-shifting set of excuses,” which he then goes on to list.
The main reason unemployment rates went up last month, as report on Friday, was because of the loss of government jobs as a result of budget cut-backs.
The private sector created 57,000 jobs in June but state and local governments cut 39,000 jobs, leading to a net gain of 18,000 jobs. The federal government, meanwhile, shed 14,000 workers last month. All together, roughly 53,000 federal, state and local government jobs were lost in June, which is just shy of the 57,000 jobs created by the private sector. The U.S. economy has lost more than half a million jobs since March 2011, according to the official numbers.
We need government to spend MORE, not less! And, we need to tax the rich and corporations MORE, then less!
Let your representatives and President Obama know that you demand they don’t cave to Republican/Tea Party extortion.
My First Post – You Ask Why a Blog?
Yes, I have succumbed and decided to enter the blogosphere. Congratulations and/or condolences are in order.
I just attended a fantastic training by the wonderful folks at Aspiration, entitled “Effective Online Advocacy for Grassroots Organizations.” Thank you Matt, Misty & Caroline, or maybe after taking this blog plunge you might have to un-list your phone numbers and change your email addresses. Only kidding. This blogging thing is my choice and my choice alone.
In any event, since I’ve already been sucked into Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and lord knows how many other social media and internet connection sites, I might as well use up some more of my time trying my hand at a blog. Like I have all that extra time, right!
So, my idea is to use this site to talk about things like my favorite subject, the activities & issues of the Coalition for Economic Survival. But, it won’t be just limited to that. It will also include my opinions and thoughts on whatever comes into my head, information I come across and whatever I happen to experience.
This blog might continue for a long time, a short time, a month, a week, two days. Who knows? So, ready or not, here goes……………………………
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