Soften your focus... Let the image find you... Do you see it...? It's right there, dude!
Now follow the white rabbit with me for a bit... You did see the rabbit, right?
The United States touts itself as having the greatest military in the world. As a proud American, I'll say that the U.S. military does kick some serious butt--regardless of what that bat$hit crazy Kim Jong-Il says about his North Korean military. However, given how much is spent on U.S. Defense, it really comes as no surprise to me that our military really is a force to be reckoned with. In 2009, the base budget of the U.S. Department of Defense was $651 billion.
But imagine what would happen if the U.S. Government spent just as much money on the Green economy as it did on Defense. Defense spending boosts the economy and creates jobs, so why can't Green spending do likewise? My mom used to say "War stimulates the economy." Of course, she grew up in Japan during WWII, so maybe her statement is more accurate if said as, "Japan losing a war stimulates the Japanese economy." How about spending just half of that $651 billion Defense budget pie on the Green economy? That would definitely stimulate the Green economy and create jobs. Or how about spending just a quarter of the Defense budget--and maybe throwimg a bone to the Department of Education while we're passing around the budget bong?
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorized spending $90 billion to promote innovation and growth in green business and green jobs. The Dept of Education's budget for 2011 was only $71 billion. As a father of school age children and someone whose veins run green (no, I'm not from planet Vulcan), I'm not sure I like those numbers. Ninety billion dollars is nothing to sneeze at, but who's getting that green business money? I'll tell you who's not getting enough of the DOE's $71 billion.
I'm certainly not advocating that we steal from nor eliminate the DOD's budget in order to fund the Green economy and/or Education. And I definitely support the men and women in our Armed Forces who put their lives on the line every day for our freedoms. I'm just playing the big "What If?" game here. Just like, "What if all international skirmishes were settled by jousting with each side's champion riding a unicorn?" or "What if green businesses really did see some of that $90 billion?" Will we be the change we want to see? You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
At least there's this:
www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/science/earth/05fossil.html
Posted by: Laura | January 13, 2011 at 23:39