Essential Workers?

[Frankenkubota]

Here's an Interesting fact about people's opinions of congress.

Virtually everyone thinks congress is corrupt, various degrees but the fact is, most people believe congress is corrupt. I think it's abjectly corrupt but that's an opinion.

But ....... when asked about the corruption in detail most people believe their congressmen are ok, it's the others that are corrupt.

Take that logic to the next level.

Virtually everyone thinks most congressman and congress is corrupt. 98%

That is....everyone except mine..

 

[Torvy]

I always thought a good improvement to the system would be to have the committee assignments made by rotation. For example, the representative from the 26th district of Texas will be on the AG committee for the 2023-2024 Congress. This would be irrespective of party or years of service. These are representatives, not experts. For something like AG, I would put in the rules that a district must be at least 50% rural (by area) to be considered. At the very least, committee assignments should be made by drawing names of representatives like a raffle. They each get x number of tickets to place in each hopper. That way, if you really want on the AG committee, you put your tickets there. The other side benefit is that this lessens the power of parties as they no longer control who gets to be on the committees.

The other problem with term limits s that it leaves the staff in place and those unelected persons have far too much power as it is.

 

[jyoutz]

I know its not you, you are doing what you are paid to do. I am also aware of the funding shortfalls. We need to fund more, and if the government cant properly take care of something, it needs to be sold back to private citizens (not businesses) with some forest ag program type requirements. We are in they forest ag program, its awesome.

We need both funding and markets so that wood can be removed as a product, not just slashed and burned. There is a shortage of need wood products processing infrastructure everywhere in the western US. More sawmills are needed, but even more so, we need more products that we can use small, low value trees for. This market was severely reduced when paper mills closed or downsized due to less paper demand. OSB, biomass fuel, those types of manufacturers are needed. Federal or private lands, the same problem exists; not enough markets to treat all of the acres that need treated.

 

[Hay Dude]

If that’s true, then would there be imported paper?
Obvious answer is because it’s too difficult to open and run a business like a pulp or paper processing plant in today’s USA.
Too many rules & regulations from taxes to employee benefits to burdensome pollution regulations.
So off-shore it goes along with jobs and ease of availability.
And that holds true for virtually all other types of industrial regulations
And that’s why cargo ships are bobbing up and down in the oceans polluting the atmosphere with diesel ship exhaust.
We just don’t make much here anymore.

What Does the US Import from China? Import Data & 2021 Statistics

Learn about the top imports from China to the USA, including top products by category, share of imports vs. other countries, and other stats.

www.junglescout.com

 

[jyoutz]

Obviously the Federal govt. is mismanaging their money as we have seen what waste the Feds have perpetrated in the past several years(millions on the investigation of a hoax). That's why many get sick to our stomach when we hear about trillions more of our money that they claim that they need.

Contractors don’t work for free to treat forest acres.

 

[ultrarunner]

I know they say twelve weeks, but my wife and I received our initial passports in about one month.

And if 12 weeks isn't acceptable for a fee you can get it in half the time.

Real ID waited through the lines pre Covid that stretched outside and down the block...

When I finally reached the window 2.5 hours later with documents in hand I was told Social Security Card too old and faded... old clearly but legible...

I said forget it and left.

Niece had zero appointments for new license and she and parents kept broadening the circle.

After a few weeks they grabbed the only appointment for new driver... it was 230 miles away in Lake Tahoe.

Made the trek and when arrived was told they were stopping driver field test as it started to snow.

My sister in law said we just drove 4.5 hours to get here and it is not snowing now and even a patch of blue sky so OK .. did the test then it dumped snow.

Just one barrier after another yet we in the medical profession or grocery store or meat Packers carry on...

 

[ultrarunner]

No funds is not an excuse, it’s cold hard fact. FS cannot spend funds that Congress doesn’t appropriate.

But it's public lands and in many places primitive with no services?

Didn't matter as trailhead was placarded.... again the permanent sign said no services, area closed... yet the group of hikers had wilderness permit secured months ahead of time in hand and said screw it.

 

[plowhog]

How about a non-essential vehicle smog check?

In CA, vehicle smog checks have been required every year before re-registering your vehicle. About $35 for each check (back then.)

The CA govt figured out ... surprise ... brand new vehicles almost never failed a smog check during their first few renewals. Millions of people spending millions of $$ for unnecessary smog checks.

Instead of dropping the requirement, CA DMV implemented a new policy. For the first few renewals, no test was mandated, but you must add $35 to your vehicle registration fee as a "deferred smog check fee." The DMV began taking the money formerly earned by the people performing a smog check. For no service delivered in return. And based on an entirely unnecessary need to start with.

The sequence was to mandate something never necessary. Then to "correct" that overreach, begin collecting fees in lieu of complying with the former mandate that never should have started.

 

[Jchonline]

We need both funding and markets so that wood can be removed as a product, not just slashed and burned. There is a shortage of need wood products processing infrastructure everywhere in the western US. More sawmills are needed, but even more so, we need more products that we can use small, low value trees for. This market was severely reduced when paper mills closed or downsized due to less paper demand. OSB, biomass fuel, those types of manufacturers are needed. Federal or private lands, the same problem exists; not enough markets to treat all of the acres that need treated.

Thats no excuse to leave that much superfuel (beetle kill pine) standing for decades. I masticated my 45 acres 8 years ago, took down all of the beetle kill pine. Yes it cost me $12k, but it saved most of my property from burning. The only parts that burned were untreated (ridge lodgepole stand).

Again I understand funding and I am not disagreeing that there isnt enough. USFS should get 10x the funding it has now.

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^ Very true…

I attended all the Smog Check II hearings with Senator Kopp in Sacramento where a one time change was made to 25 year and exempt to 30 year and exempt… this was the final tweek.

Any CARB did away with rolling exemption so now smog required starting at year 1976 and many smog techs are clueless when it comes to carburetors… another mess.