Of all the mind-numbingly uninspired plans to stimulate the economy that have been coughed up by the 2008 presidential candidates - on both sides of the fence - only one stands out as having any legs. The plan of John Edwards calls for a significant focus on building a new energy economy, applying American innovation to the task of creating a clean energy infrastructure, with the benefits of job creation, lower energy costs in the long term and at high scale, energy security, and squarely taking on global warming.
I'm excited about the possibility of the political will finally arriving in Washington to conduct a major makeover of our energy infrastructure. We sorely need a reformation. We need a revamped system for the 21st century. The old energy ways of the 20th century are a ball and chain that drag us behind, slowing us down. We have become thoroughly hamstrung by our dependence on fossil fuels.
We find ourselves wanting to cut interest rates to stimulate the economy, but afraid to do so because of inflation. And we're terrified of the risk of stagflation. But a big factor driving inflation in the face of a slowing economy is stubbornly rising energy prices. Unless we solve the problem of the cost of energy, we will become a poorer and poorer nation over the next few decades, and no amount of tax rebates and tax cuts for consumers or corporations will be able to have any significant impact on the overall picture.
We have found ourselves in the awkward position of being tied to a dying energy source that is costing us more and more as the rest of the world develops. Old energy is costing us in more ways than are accounted for in the direct price that we pay. We are also paying for the geopolitical turmoil and lack of energy security that is associated with our reliance on fossil fuels.
I endorse John Edwards' plan to stimulate the US economy. It is forward looking and offers long term benefits. It is time for our leaders to lead us into the age of new energy. John Edwards has the courage to stand up to the entrenched fossil fuel economy and to take on the fossil fuel fat cats who are defending their dying monopoly on energy production in the face of a desperate global need for a new way.
John Edwards Proposes $25 Billion Economic Stimulus Package
A New Energy Economy