Road projects won't hire as many as housing construction did.

[dkf]

That's why President Obama is set to propose nearly three hundred billion dollars in spending on Thursday night, with some of that helping out construction workers with infrastructure projects, like road repair.

But JMU professor Doctor Pamela Drake says more money for road projects may look good, but it's a bit misleading.

"The problem is, it employs very few people. They use a lot of machines, but they employ very few people," Drake explains.

She says road work requires less people with advances in technology and that housing construction is where most of the best paying jobs can be found.

"If the President is trying to get construction workers back to work, it's not going to work through construction of roads, because you're talking about home building versus road construction. You're talking about different training," she says.

http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/Valley_Construction_Workers_Await_New_Projects_129414373.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. There has to be someone who can buy the homes. Right now people are finding it

to be more economical to buy homes already built rather than new construction.

[dkf]

2. Yes. I'm beginning to think the problem of rehiring housing construction workers

Is not fixable as long as the real estate market and economy are such a mess.

Many of these people will need to retrain for other skills.

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. Or the gov't starts up a massive building program geared to helping people

retrofit and repair their homes. It would help some of the construction folks stay in business, and keep people in healthier, more energy efficient homes.

We already have credits in place for a lot of green repairs. Let's expand and improve upon those programs.

[Fumesucker]

14. Renovation and repair is a somewhat different and more advanced skill set than new construction..

New construction is usually relatively straightforward, renovation, repair and retrofitting often are anything but. I've done both, for new construction I could get all my tools for my trade in the trunk of a passenger car if it was a big one, for renovation I had an enclosed trailer stuffed like a sardine can with tools.

[GreenPartyVoter]

17. Good point, but I think it's still worth considering the idea. During the time

we've been working on our modular home, we've heard a lot from the various workers involved, and all of them have had far fewer jobs than normal. I'm talking to the point that they can't get by on what little work they are getting. Not sure if that's a localized and/or rural thing or not, but I sure think it would be nice to help those guys out. And that way people would have those healthier, greener homes too.

It's win-win! :party: (Well, a smaller win than if the new construction guys were also back at work, but it's better than doing nothing I guess. The whole economy would have to come way up to get the new construction guys back at work, wouldn't it?)

[Fumesucker]

18. I still know a lot of tradespeople, almost all of them are lacking for work..

I can think of several that went from near $100K/yr to less than $25k, some of them a lot less.

New construction isn't coming back like it used to be for a very long time if ever.

[GreenPartyVoter]

21. Yeah, I imagine that's true. Someone else in the thread mentioned we

overbuilt in a lot of areas, so that trained a lot of people for jobs that just aren't there anymore. :(

[taterguy]

3. I'll bet Pamela Drake gets a lot of funding from the home building industry

There's no truth in this world anymore.

Everything is absolute and total bullshit.

[dkf]

4. Why do you say that?

Doesn't it make sense to you?

[taterguy]

5. It makes sense that people will say anything

If there's money in it for them.

[Skidmore]

6. I think there are some areas that have overbuilt homes.

Also, with all the foreclosures there are homes sitting empty in plenty of regions. Rebuilding infrastructure or factories and workplaces would be better investments.

[dkf]

7. From what I am reading laid off home construction workers aren't trained for infrastructure projects

Trying to stimulate infrastructure projects means more hiring away from other firms vs hiring the unemployed who don't have the right skills.

[Skidmore]

8. So train them. Certainly there are enough transferable skills

between those types of construction. My brothers have worked both and at the same time for companies who do all kinds of construction. I don't think that is as huge a problem. People are capable of learning in a manner that supplements their existing knowledge base.

[Fumesucker]

12. Yah, but companies don't want to train anyone..

If you can't hit the ground running a four minute mile on a particular job you're not going to get hired.

[joshcryer]

10. Yep, and all those houses worth $200k when they hit the market are $50k now.

It's crazy.

[joshcryer]

9. I do this kind of work, the margins are extremely low, and profits high. It's about $6 million...

...per mile for asphalt (last I did the numbers, could be higher now). As far as raw materials is concerned the cost for the asphalt is not much at all. All you have to do is require a certain high end number of employees for these projects, and let guys stand around holding flags (believe it or not that's what Colorado did with the stimulus funding, thousands were hired, all holding flags after taking a course on road safety).

[LiberalFighter]

11. Why should the government start financing home construction?

That is one area it should stay out. It involves the private industry. The lady doesn't understand squat.

On the other hand public infrastructures is a different story. Even then it should be done when it is needed. Not because they have money. There are plenty of projects that need to be done.

[dionysus]

15. there isnt a demand for new home construction right now. ppl are getting foreclosed.

[lumberjack_jeff]

16. Irrelevant

We're overbuilt already, and infrastructure investments have spinoff benefits that more houses dont.

What would the secondary benefit be of putting fiber optics to every home, for instance? How many jobs would that create?

Roads, bridges, water systems. All good long term investments. More houses? Another bubble.

[Fumesucker]

19. So, how is a carpenter going to get a job installing fiber optics?

Keep in mind that these days companies want you to have ten years experience in the exact skill you will be performing before they'll even consider you.

Oh, and the unemployed need not bother to apply either.

[lumberjack_jeff]

20. There are too many houses. Full stop.

Don't be a carpenter. A carpenter with fiber to his house can effectively retrain at home.

[Fumesucker]

22. Retrain for a job that he will not be hired at..

We've already played that game multiple times, it's a shell game and everyone knows it by now.

[Brother Buzz]

23. Demand more Gubment regulations requiring more flag wavers, lots and lots of flag wavers

Safety is job one