Letters and Editorials 3717 Views by Jerome Stocks

California perspective: Shovel Ready Means Never Ready



We hear a lot these days about the need for “shovel ready jobs” and the lack of them, as well as the “do nothing Congress”. For those who want answers, not excuses, let’s visit some of the places where job preventers work.

First stop: The home of the President of the United States and his Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency. This group steals more jobs and wealth in one week than a corporate jet full of greedy bankers in a lifetime.

Right now, thousands of American local, regional, and state governments are willing to hire private contractors and their employees to build projects and thereby create jobs. But it takes years, if ever, to get permission to build infrastructure using the National environmental Protection Act (NEPA) approval process.

If the president simply uttered the phrase “we’re gonna’ drill in the U.S. and drill now” the worldwide cost of oil would probably plummet giving greater economic relief to our middle class than all the congressional bills combined. But so far he’s said the opposite making OPEC happier and wealthier than ever.

Would we actually need to drill? Probably not, but attitude matters.

$5.00 loaf of bread and $5.00 gallon of milk got you down? Thank the $4.00 per gallon cost of fuel which has increased the cost of food delivery.

What if workers were caught in a mineshaft and running out of air. How long would it take to get the emergency equipment into the field to start digging them out? Hours, maybe less.

What would we do if the EPA showed up and said it would take years to get to the permits for this life saving work? We’d run them over with our trucks on our way to save those lives, wouldn’t we.

America is said to be in an economic and unemployment emergency right now, but we are acting like business as usual and allowing the regulatory agencies to take up to ten years or more to approve projects and identify “mitigation” to offset them.

People are standing by ready to create jobs by the hundreds of thousands by drilling tomorrow, and building infrastructure critical to our future, yet if they did they would pay huge fines, and possibly go to jail for violating the environmental regulations.

In today’s America creating jobs without the proper regulatory approvals is illegal, and regulatory relief is not being seriously considered in Washington.

Does that sound logical to you?

By contrast: The Los Angeles home of former California Governor Pete Wilson.

After a California earthquake in 1994, then Governor Wilson declared an emergency and promised to rebuild the collapsed Santa Monica Freeway inside a year. Impossible, said the regulators. The permits and environmental studies alone will prevent us from starting for several years.

Wilson’s regulators got his message: Make it happen. And it indeed did happen. And by the way, the environment wasn’t destroyed either.

Now almost 20 years later the President of the United States says he is going to put America back to work by throwing money at shovel-ready jobs. But nothing in the “Jobs Act” or any of the other economic stimulus type bills has directed the regulators about this national priority and that “shovel ready” must not mean years and years of analysis and study before getting something built.

Maybe the President needs to call Pete Wilson.

About the writer

Jerome Stocks is Deputy Mayor of the City of Encinitas. He is also Board Chairman, San Diego Association of Governments; and Board Member, North County Transit District


Comments

There are 2 comments on this post

I agree with BUSHDESIGNER; Jerome Stocks has written another piece that doesn't back up his opinions, presenting them as facts. In Encinitas, Stocks has promoted an "us against them" mentality. A prime example is his voting, last night, along with current Mayor James Bond and recently elected Councilmember Kristin Gaspar, to appoint Mark Muir, our Fire Chief, to be a new Councilmember, replacing Maggie Houlihan, who died on 9/16/11. Mark Muir will now make about $14,000 per month, retirement pay, from the taxpayers, in addition to his pay and benefits as Council Member. Many citizens feel there was a direct conflict of interest, as Muir does NOT represent the views of Maggie Houlihan; moreover, Muir was campaign manager for several of Stocks' previous campaigns, using his city e-mail address to send campaign related communications.
What a sloppy opinion piece. The author only speaks in generalities, and offers no concrete examples of anything he refers to… are we supposed to take his word for it that there are "thousands and thousands" of companies and jobs waiting, if only there weren't those pesky health/safety/environmental regulations? And the ONLY actual example he bothers to cite is from almost TWENTY YEARS AGO?

Not to mention factually false statements, such as "In today’s America creating jobs without the proper regulatory approvals is illegal." Please provide proof, sir. Very few companies need any regulatory approval to hire an employee. You insult us by writing such meaningless and empty words.

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