The economy is still struggling. True. Everyone and the dog is ranting about jobs and hiring. True. Aah, but wait - can manufacturing provide an economic boost or is it just a drag and burden on the economy? If the numbers tell the truth, manufacturing has been a job killer for years and years. What else would you expect from a mature economy? After all, the USA already manufactures the best planes, trains, and automobiles right. When you are on top like that, there is nowhere else to go but down before going up again.

Ask GM about the up and down seesaw thingee. They know it oh too well...and guess what, it wasn't until the massive multi-billion dollar auto industry bailout under Obama until GM actually started to do silly things like...hire employees, make a profit and well manufacture quality cars again. Of course, we can, also, thank the Japanese automakers for putting pressure on the Big Three to step it up a notch. Competition is a huge incentive to efficiency in a capitalist society. No argument there but really, besides better automobiles what else is there to manufacture that isn't already being done -- and done well. Hummh, maybe trains? There is a thought. Not only would manufacturing mass transit commuter trains be a huge step in the right direction, doing so would create jobs (lots of jobs), lower energy consumption and dependency and better people’s health. Ever been to LA? Try breathing in the extremely poor air due to the ridiculously high levels of smog.

Once more, LA incidentally was slated for a mass transit bullet train connecting to San Francisco. What happened to that project? How many jobs with that create? Consider what happen if similar projects got off the ground within other metropolitan areas. So is manufacturing a boost or economic burden? Well that depends on the approach. Speaking of which, what's the plan?

Sacrificing the environment to create jobs is pretty much the size of it. Big Oil, is not too happy about the "on again" "off again" Keystone pipeline deal. With a $7 Billion dollar investment were talking about sustaining and creating a lot of jobs. With all of Obama's talk about creating jobs and the Jobs Act, you would think getting this deal done would be a no brainer right? Wrong. It's never that simple when it comes to politics. Some believe that Big Oil has little if any credibility given recent debacles like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Come to think about, they just might have a point.

How can you get mad at environmentalists when Big Oil comes to town and rewrites law and create their own rules as they go? After all, who really wants another Exxon Valdes disaster, not that the BP blunder in the Gulf was anything minor. The point is that Big Oil comes to town holding jobs over the heads of the towns that need them most. What's wrong with that? On its face nothing, but when you factor in the midnight sign-offs which include extremely favorable conditions for Big Oil, that's something different. Now let's factor in the loose or non-existent regulations during drilling and exploration, now you have a recipe for a disaster in the making. These companies will always cut corners for cheap labor, supplies, tools and technology at the expense of the environment. Creating jobs is definitely a good thing but then again having a safe clean toxic free environment is a good thing too. Why is finding a happy medium such a hard thing to do? Instead we just want to go off half-cocked and screw the environment to create a few jobs and make record profits. Do better people. Do better.

All the hype about alternative energy and the promise around such is just that -- hype. The fact of the matter is that oil related jobs still lead the way, as far as energy goes. You can get pissed at BP if you want, but Big Oil is where it's at right now. In a backwards kind of way, the fact that so many people love to hate BP right now has contributed to the latest oil boom right here in the states. That's right, drilling right here in the states. Obama was against this for a while but Big Oil has won in the long run. Drilling in the states has increased considerably particularly in North Dakota and Montana. Those states aren't exactly very exciting places to live, especially given the extreme cold. On the other hand, if your pockets are on "e" than having some warm cash flowing may offset the cold weather.

The increase in drilling has actually created a surplus in jobs. Yes a surplus, to the tune of about 3,000 jobs on any given day, coming out of those two states alone. Again, much of that has to do with the fact that no one is in a hurry to live in either North Dakota or Montana. At that same time, if you're out of a job or looking for a change, a steady paycheck and sleeping in the comfort of your own bed is better than unemployment and sleeping at the YMCA...it's too cold outside. You won't hear any talk about Occupy Bismarck. lol. Still not ready to pack your bags? How about this, there is so much cash flowing through North Dakota right now that people are paying $1,200 a month just to park an RV. WTF - $1,200 a month to park an RV! Before the Big Oil boom you couldn't pay the RV owner to park in the same spots. Totally crazy. But then when you consider the 11 Billion barrels of oil those two states are sitting on, that puts matters into perspective. Get with it...there's going to be lots of oil jobs coming out of that area for some time. Clearly, oil jobs still lead the way as far as energy goes; the only question is will you cash in on gold rush.Bring a sweater...no bring a parka (better yet bring two).

Is renewable energy really the next big energy boom or just a cloud of gloom from the fallout of major companies like Solynydra? Renewable energy and the jobs created and or saved is certainly nothing to pass off as unimportant. When you add the fact that big players like Walmart and Google are in the renewable energy game that certainly adds to the attention around renewable energy. At the same time, Solyndra hasn't done so well with getting out cost effective solar panels and was recently pushed into bankruptcy even after receiving a half Billion (with a "B") dollar grant (loan whatever they aren't going to pay back the money) from the Feds. That's just the point. Why put that kind of cash in a market that creates a relatively small amount of jobs and the energy components such as the use of solar panels is really only useful in a relatively small number of states? When was the last time someone in North Dakota purchased solar panels?...not going to happen.

Sure, it's promising to see companies invest in renewable energy but are such investments profitable? Maybe not, at least not now. Again, that has a lot to do with the geographical location, which shrinks the market which in turn shrinks sales and profitability. Granted, some companies might be interested in saving on electrical energy costs but the overhead of solar panel and what not means the payback period is longer. So what's the big deal? Probably a tax write-off for signing up for a government pet project. Make no mistake about it, investing in renewable energy and other alternative sources of energy such as fossil fuels is a good thing but right now the cost is rather high and the number of jobs created are relatively low. That doesn't exactly sound like a boom to me but then it's not necessarily a gloomy situation either. It's more like, the jury is out on the practical use of solar panels. Currently, companies with deep pockets are the attractive buyers. Find a way to bring them into the homes of millions of people living on the West Coast, now we're talking.