I am hearing again about another round of economic stimulus checks being sent out in 2011. Wait – what? You know, the ones that are paid from taxpayer dollars and then given back to the taxpayers to be spent at Walmart or the Toyota dealership.  Remind me again – exactly whose economy and what country are we trying to help?  Did we did not learn our lesson yet?

The idea that “refunded” public sector money can be spent in three hundred dollars increments so that people will buy that new Ipod or flatscreen or Timmy’s Iron Man backpack is simply lame and unsustainable.  Every single dollar that is going into these types of schemes should be directed at creating something of real value –  infrastructure construction jobs. It stimulates OUR economy, creates sorely needed capital improvements, improves quality of life for entire communities, creates jobs HERE in the U.S., and can ramp up faster than any other industry.

What seems to be lacking in our economic recovery is a strategic model focused on delivery rather than rhetoric. Dems got hammered because they thought they had a left leaning mandate (and took their eye off the economic ball). Republicans are still DOA on the popularity chart but got a boost only because there is no alternative.  Can we awaken them to a solution?  Do you think that the mighty construction industry, employing millions of workers, and perhaps the powerhouse of our economy, should be heard from?

If political activism (not red or blue state) that is PRO construction was to tap into the millions of skilled tradesmen who perform the work (of which 30-40% are currently unemployed), it could be a political tidal wave.  Politically engaged and energized, awakened from apathy – like soccer moms (except with beards and hammers) they could take over the this country, redirect focus on construction and manufacturing, and turn this economy around.

Wishful thinking or unfulfilled potential?  You tell me.