Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumClimate change, not the national debt, is the legacy we should care about
Imagine if in response to Japan attacking Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, our political leaders had debated the best way to deal with the deficits from war spending projected for 1960. This is pretty much the way in which Washington works these days.
The political leadership, including the Washington press corps and punditry, were already intently ignoring the economic downturn that is still wreaking havoc on the lives of tens of millions of people across the country. Now, in the wake of the destruction from Hurricane Sandy, they will intensify their efforts to ignore global warming. After all, they want the country to focus on the debt an issue that no one other than the elites views as a problem.
The reality, of course, is straightforward. The large deficits of recent years are due to the economic downturn caused by the collapse of the housing bubble. If the economy were back near its pre-recession level of unemployment, then the deficits would be close to 1% of GDP, a level that could be sustained indefinitely.
But the deficit scare-mongers are not interested in numbers and economics; they want to gut key government programs most importantly, social security and Medicare. That is why they are pushing the fear stories about the debt and deficit. This is the rationale for the Campaign to "Fix" the Debt, a collection of 80 CEOs ostensibly focused on getting the budget in order.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/08/climate-change-national-debt-legacy
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)The good news is, it seems that Hurricane Sandy's gotten a lot of people to start talking lately....hopefully it's a catalyst for something.
limpyhobbler
(8,244 posts)Everything is important, the debt and everything. But somehow we have to start prioritizing climate.
Anyway maybe environment and economy don't need to be posed as opposites. Maybe we can do things that address both priorities at the same time.
pscot
(21,024 posts)Nihil
(13,508 posts)> Imagine if in response to Japan attacking Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, our political leaders
> had debated the best way to deal with the deficits from war spending projected for 1960.
> This is pretty much the way in which Washington works these days.