Obama plans high-speed rail in US

President Obama is planing on building a high-speed rail system in America. The implementation of this plan would create many jobs . One question that comes into my mind is which Americans are willing to do these type of blue collar jobs however unemployment will cause many people to evalute their situation and will have to make do with what ever job they can get.

America in comparison to other developed countries is behind in transportation. For example Spain and Japan has trains that travel from city to city with speeds of 240km/h. In my opinion the long term benefits will be far greater than the short term. The long term benfits will enable America to cut down on congested traffic which according President Obama, "Our highways are clogged with traffic, costing us $80 billion a year in lost productivity and wasted fuel." If these numbers are accurate I believe the government should invest in building a railway system. The Railway system will provide many jobs in the short term and in the long term the railway system will provide efficiency.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8003077.stm

Carmaker Ford cuts debt by $9.9bn

One of the three major automobile manufacturers, Ford, has not requested or has received any bailout money. The company has decided to weather out the current economic times by managing themselves more efficiently. They have reduced there debt by $9.9 billion dollars from their $25.8 billion dollars causing their share price to increase by 16%. I believe that Ford is taking the right steps by reducing their debt so that they can look at the long term growth. The consumer would also be happier if they saw Ford survive without the assistance of the government whereas the other two American automobile makers were not able to manage themselves efficiently. Shareholders main concern is to make sure the company survives and that the share value increases. As the company is waiting for the economy to turn around the company is getting rid of debt which would reduce interest risk. Clearly, Ford is taking necessary steps to please the shareholders and consumers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7986272.stm