Joe Could Be A Green Plumber
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.26.08
Photo courtesy of Reuters
If Joe the Plumber one day hopes to pull in that $250,000 a year salary, here’s a tip that might help him out in the very near future: he should become a Green Plumber.
With the demand for eco-conscionable services reaching an all time high, Joe could look into getting himself accredited in one of the free Green Plumber workshops put on by Green Plumbers USA.
He could help give a boost to the green economy by joining “a green army of thousands of plumbers to promote the benefits of water conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The focus is on changing consumer and plumbing behavior through the use of energy efficiency and water saving technologies,” according to the GPUSA website.
The training, which is being taught at workshops held across the country, is a 32 hour, five-course class that will upgrade the demand for Joe’s services in a market increasingly concerned with the environment.
Green Plumbers USA is expecting to train 8,000 plumbers in 2008, and hopes to reach 50,000 over the next five years. The program began in Australia in 2001, and its initiatives in water efficiency and conservation have helped reduce consumption there by 50 percent from 1990 levels, according to the site.
So, if Joe decides to shift his focus from concerns about socialism to concerns about environmentalism, he might just find himself with one of the hottest new jobs in the growing green economy. The Green Plumber.
All he needs to do to find more information about the program is log on to the Green Plumbers USA website.
For More on Plumbers:
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Given all the attention Joe's gotten, I'm surprised McCain hasn't dumped Palin as his running mate and made Joe the new VP candidate.
So, faced with a blatant, undisguised intention to "spread the wealth", spoken right to his face - Joe Wurzelbach should be unconcerned about socialism. And your answer? "Let them eat cake".
Nice.
It seems like a lot of older Americans who lived through the Cold War have an antagonistic view of socialism, because they think America will become more fascist as a result and end up like the Soviets did. That is a slippery slope, and America becoming more "socialist" (that is, following Obama's tax plan) will make the government a more responsible spender of our tax dollars.
And to keep on topic here, a lot of people that already work in trade don't really need to look for a new job that is "green" when they can green up their current job. Electricians, plumbers, and contractors can all do their part to contribute to this cause.
"It seems like a lot of older Americans who lived through the Cold War have an antagonistic view of socialism, because they think America will become more fascist as a result and end up like the Soviets did."
You figure? Or maybe Americans will be more lucky than the Soviets and merely end up like Cuba or North Korea.
So tell us, when in the histroy of civilization has any socialist regime NOT turned into a bureaucratic police state and NOT gone down in flames? Maybe a lot of *younger* Americans need to take a few history lessons?
"That is a slippery slope, and America becoming more "socialist" (that is, following Obama's tax plan) will make the government a more responsible spender of our tax dollars."
Oh, man. I'm trying to get my head around that statement, but I'm laughing too hard. Your logic is mind-boggling. But at least you admit Obama's policies are socicialist.
You figure? Or maybe Americans will be more lucky than the Soviets and merely end up like Cuba or North Korea.
So tell us, when in the histroy of civilization has any socialist regime NOT turned into a bureaucratic police state and NOT gone down in flames? Maybe a lot of *younger* Americans need to take a few history lessons?
Soviet Union, North Korea, Cuba were Communist, not merely Socialist. Most of the nations in the European Union combine elements of capitalist economy with socialistic tax and social benefit structures. Europe doesn't seem to be doing that terribly. Look at Norway and Sweden and their education, health and mortality rates.
The credit for very low-income workers is actually a small part of Obama's tax plan. I you look at the documentation on his website, Obama's tax cuts and credits center on education, mortgages, health insurance, child care, clean vehicles, small businesses, and domestic R&D. You may think that is a socialist plan, but like it or not government policies shape markets.
If you've forgotten, America's first big wave of industrialization came at the heels of public loans to railroad companies. Then constant and growing investment in public education enables us to begin having the kinds of good ideas needed for development. We paid for nation programs through the creation of graduated income taxes.
After world war II we fueled our economic boom by providing ourreturning GIs with education job training, and unemployment insurance, as well as subsidized housing- oh no! Socialist legislation! And we built the interstate highway system to enable freer movement around the country- all with public funds!
Another point to note while the US economy (adjusted or inflation) has grown at several percent a year for the past 40 years, since the mid-1970s the median income has grown at just .5% a year. In other words, the income gap between low and high income workers has been growing rapidly, so that today the ratio of a boss' income to those of his or her workers is several times higher than what it was back then. It will take public investment to fix this situation- not in the form of checks to individuals, although that may be appropriate for the poorest among us, but in the form of programs to provide citizens with the skills needed to fill the higher paying jobs already in demand today. This is no different than the policies which have so successfully served America in the past.
Look a little deeper before telling young Americans we all need history lessons. Some do, of course, but not all, and keep in mind that living through history isn't the same as studying it.
Anyone who doesn't agree with Obama's plans to spread the wealth is a racist who loves guns and goes to church. Case closed.
Like Joe I don't have a plumbing license and have no plans on buying a plumbing company. I suppose in that sense I can also be running a green plumbing business.
Why all the negativity toward socialism? A little socialism is a good thing. Police. Fire fighters. Social Security. Medicare. Roads and highways. State and National parks. The entire Commons. Many Hospitals and Clinics. Homeless shelters. The Postal Service (up until a few years ago at least). That's all socialism, and all great things.
No one is advocating the government taking over private industry. The Obama tax plan takes money from the people that essentially caused the financial crisis and puts it into the pockets of working people -- the middle class. A strong middle class is what makes a country great. A strong upper class leads to excessive greed as we've seen.
"Why all the negativity toward socialism?"
Because its fools gold. as someone who is smack in the middle of the middle class. as soon as I caught wind of Obamas Socialistic tendencies I decided not to vote for him. Why? Because it won't fix the current economic problems/ rather it will prolong it and make it worse.
It will make it harder for employers to create jobs and it is a fast way to go from a recession to a depression. I'm already concerned about my job I don't need some socialist in Washington to take my job away because my boss has to pay more taxes and cant afford my services so Obama can pay for someone who is unwilling to work to sit on their lazy a$$.