Landscape Architect Articles

The Terrain07-26-17 | Department

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The Terrain
Readers' Outlooks

Politics, whether local, state or federal, affects businesses in a number or ways: some are tangible such as the impact that healthcare legislation has on a bottom line, and others are intangible such as how much optimism a governmental body instills in its citizens. Here is a sampling of recent questions that deal with both types of consequences, and responses from LC/DBM readers.

Accepting that every U.S. President's agenda is hindered by legislative, legal and other influences, share your thoughts about President Trump's performance so far.

"I feel President Trump takes a good stance. Following up on certain things may be difficult for him. We'll see."

"We 'hired' different! We got different! Time will tell"?(R)?"

"Scary! And what is he suggesting to do to Medicare?"

"It is a political way of life for a president's agenda to be hindered. I stand 100 percent behind President Trump. He is a doer, not a talker."

"Has right direction but is too Twitterie."

"He is doing a great job but could accomplish a lot more if liberal democrats and the news media would treat him fairly."

What are the benefits or detriments of President Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris Accord?

"I don't believe we need to be in a group to set and meet our own standards as we have done for the past 30 years. Russia, China, India are some of the worst polluters in the world and the Paris deal does nothing to make them conform."

"Clearly, global warming is reality not fiction. We should be leading the nations of the world toward a non-carbon based economy not following. Like so many historic advancements in human society, more opportunity and more jobs come from change."

"This agreement would have cost the American taxpayers billions over the years. It is not the responsibility of the U.S. to pay for environmental issues in other nations. Europe in particular has not paid their fair share for so many issues."

"Rejecting the Paris agreement makes no sense on many levels. On a strictly economic level, it states to the world that the United States is not willing to look to the future and work towards changing and modernizing our ways of transportation, ways to power machines, our ways to heat or cool our homes... because it may cost a bit more to change.

"What will jobs matter to anyone if the earth is uninhabitable to life as we know it. An overwhelming majority of scientists think that global warming is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. (Trump) doesn't realize that coal has passed us by and new energy technologies are the place for job growth."

"If you don't have a seat at the table, then you cannot effect change. This pullout is a signal to other nations that the U.S. doesn't take it seriously, and will result in other nations not taking it seriously."

"We need to take a stance of this country first and worry about how we deal with our own overindulgence of the EPA overstepping its boundaries and hurting our workforce. Quit telling the world what they need and clean up our house first!"

"Spending time and money on any climate issue is a waste of resources and a burden on the economy. The climate has always been changing, even before mankind. Why do some people think the climate suddenly shouldn't be changing?"

And here are some suggestions from readers as to what the new healthcare legislation should accomplish:

"Coverage uniform, pricing uniform."

"Keeping workers and their families healthy, thus keeping their minds worry-free and able to concentrate on their duties and"?(R)? reaching higher qualities"?(R)?"

"Just give working Americans the same healthcare options as politicians: complete coverage, options, for pennies!"

"Make healthcare more affordable. As of right now, the cost of healthcare for my family and myself is out of control."

As Seen in the August 2017 Issue of Landscape Contractor Magazine