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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2010)
Jlortlaitó Oftbseruer Page 12 October 13, 2010 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the Portland Observer We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. We Need More Jobs, Less War Use the money for economic transition J ohn F effer and M iriam P emberton by After the end o f the Cold W ar, we feature o f its original stim ulus relu ctan t to be seen as anti-job. tran sitio n now , those w orkers could have redirected Pentagon p a c k a g e a n d a lso c re a te d a T he pro m ise o f green jo b s has a w ill be A m ericans. I f w e lose funds for research in and the de "green jo b s czar." But so far the hard tim e com peting w ith the this ch an ce to reap a green d iv i velopm ent o f new energy sources, U nited States has only pursued reality o f existing m ilitary jo b s. dend, the U nited States w on't be and building an environm entally half-m easures. T hat's w h y w e T he only w ay to cash in on our a p ro d u ctiv e p art o f the new sustainable m anufacturing base. continue to face both a jo b s cri green d iv id en d is to focus on global g reen econom y. W e w ill But we failed to capitalize on this sis and a clim ate crisis. jo b s. It's the only w ay to co n only be consum ers. O ur u n em "peace dividend." Instead, from T he "obvious solution" is not v in ce w orkers, m anufacturers, p lo y m en t rate w ill rem ain u n ac the m id-1990s to today, we doubled so obvious to d efen se contrac- and p o litician s to back red u c cep tab ly high. T he G reat R ecession m ay be officially over but the U nited States is stuck in a prolonged econom ic crisis, with joblessness h o v e rin g a ro u n d 10 p ercen t. M illions o f unem ployed and un d erem ployed A m ericans are fed up. T hey w ant jobs. But m any law m akers are reluctant to in vest m ore revenue in jo b cre ation because o f concerns over the national debt. O u r c o u n try also faces an im m ense energy and en v iro n m ental challenge. W e need to retool our econom y so that we co n su m e less energy, produce less carbon em issions, and can co m p ete in new global green m an u facturing. A ll o f this also req u ires a lot o f m oney. Fortunately, the governm ent is sitting on a pile o f m oney that co u ld be used to create jo b s and retool our econom y w ithout ad d ing to the debt. W e continue to spend m ore than $700 billion a y e ar on building w eapons w e don't need, fighting w ars that aren't necessary, and m ain tain ing a b loated Pentagon bu reau cracy. P entagon c h ie f R obert G ates w ants to reduce m ilitary spending - but only to shift those savings tow ard yet m ore w eap ons and w ar-m aking. It seem s obvious. W e should cut the m ilitary budget and use that m oney to fund our econom ic military spending. transition, creating millions ofnew N ow w e face a second o p jobs. Studies show that investing a portunity. This tim e a "green divi bi 1 lion dol lars in the green economy dend" is w ithin reach. Both C hina generates far m ore jo b s than in and South K orea, tw o countries vesting the sam e am ount in the w ith very different political and m ilitary econom y. econom ic system s, have backed O bvious ideas are not, how green grow th. T he O bam a a d ever, alw ays politically feasible. m inistration m ade such funds a ^''P ortland(D bseruer Established 1970 USPS 5 5 9 6 8 0 47 47 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 tors w orried ab o u t losing P en ta gon con tracts--an d u nions and w orkers w orried about losing the nation's rem ain in g m an u factu r ing, m ining, and oil industryjobs- -all in exch an g e fo r the pro m ise o f a different kind o f industry. Politicians w ho m ight o rdinarily back the "obvious solution" are tions in P entagon spending and a green stim ulus package. In o u r G reen D ividend report, w e illu s trate how the U nited States can, co m m u n ity by com m unity, shift from m ilitary jo b s to green jo b s. W orkers now producing m ilitary en g in es w ill one day produce w indm ill turbines. If w e plan this W e struck out w ith the peace dividend. W e are on the verge o f striking out on the green d iv i dend. W e p ro b ab ly w on't get a third chance. Miriam Pemberton and John Feffer are representa tives o f the Institute fo r Policy Studies. The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompan.ed by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. 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