GREEN TO THE FUTURE

As most of you know, A.P.R., is a green-oriented publication, and if someone asks me personally, about my political orientation, I don't hesitate in saying I'm a Green.

Green parties in all the "developed countries" have been around for several decades, and in some countries, such as Germany, have been able to influence policy, and have a significant number of seats in their parliaments.


And when I refer to myself as a Green, people in the other countries I've visited have always immediately been able to relate that to having an expansive, non-militaristic/competitive worldview, with a strong concern for peace, and social/political/environmental justice.

A.P.R. was certainly relieved that a Democratic president was elected instead of the overtly fascist alternative, but nevertheless, this country will still not see universal health coverage, expanded jobs programs, mortgage re-financing (to end the flood of re-possessions and plummeting real estate values), and other social benefits, without struggle. We are not of the "I told you so" ilk here, but so far what we see coming out of the White House is not promising, all the cabinet appointees have nothing new to offer, and except for one or two, could not be considered progressive. http://counterpunch.org/cockburn02062009.html . That being said, what would be happening, if whom we supported at A.P.R. had been elected? Well, give this a read, and see what you think.

GREEN PARTY FIRST 100 DAYS

How would a Green Party administration handle its first 100 days in office? Longtime Green activist John Rensenbrink offers these suggestions:

"Initiate a one-trillion dollar community-based grant-in-aid program from the national government to local communities. These funds will be channeled though collaborative arrangements between state and local governments and require maximum feasible participation in governance by all parts of each local community receiving these grants. Also required is a 5% matching grant from each participating local community. The purposes of the grants are for sustainable community development and community empowerment.

The grants include funds for renewable energy, conservation, work-force housing, small business development coupled with apprenticeship programs to hire the unskilled, open space, extra support for teachers and for ecologically informed education, college scholarships, food and water security, public works, public transportation, regional cooperative projects, support for neighborhood policing programs, and support for the arts. This replaces the "bailout from the top" scheme initiated in late 2008 called the Troubled Asset Relief Program. [These kind of projects are desperately needed in the hundreds of villages in the Alaska "bush", where poverty and unemployment rates are very high, A.P.R.]

Substantially lower the income tax and combine this with a carbon tax of $250 per ton to be phased in at the rate of $25 per year from 2009 to 2020 - the carbon tax to be offset at each step of the way with a matching reduction in income tax. This is advocated by Lester Brown of "State of the World" fame and is designed to discourage fossil fuel use and to stimulate investment of renewable sources of energy.

Extend Medicare to the entire population; in other words, a single payer health care program for all.

Establish a financial transactions fee. Economist Dean Baker estimates that a very small fee ranging up to, say, 0.25% will yield $100 billion or more annually. The fee would be placed on the sale or transfer of stocks, bonds, and other financial assets, including the great variety of exotic and speculator-driven financial instruments so much in the news lately.

Initiate a reparations program for dispossessed African American and Native American peoples.

Initiate a constitutional amendment for the election of President and Vice President by popular vote.

Pressure state and local governments to institute instant run-off voting in elections and to develop pilot programs for proportional representation.

Push for laws and administrative rules in military and civilian life that provide support for gay marriage and gay families.

End the drug war, decriminalize cannabis, and support growing hemp for industrial use.

Initiate a constitutional amendment affirming that the word "person" in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States applies to real persons and not to corporations.

Initiate -- through collaborative diplomacy -- Peace, Justice, and Sustainability Summits, starting with summits engaging respectively the governments in the Americas, in Europe, in Africa, in the Middle East, and in the Asia-Pacific region, leading to a World Summit on Peace, Justice, and Sustainability within two years.

Promote in these summits a worldwide program for collective security; renewable energy; and community-based sustainability programs in food, water, energy development, education, transportation, and local self-reliance, with guaranteed participation by all sections of the local community.Promote in these summits plans and provisions to end the trade in arms, the trafficking of women, and the militarization of space.

End the war and the military occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Promote equally the security and rights of both Israel and Palestine.

Develop a plan to close American military bases throughout the world, phasing out the bases in step with collaborative actions to provide the affected countries with alternative collective security arrangements.

Take leadership in promoting a worldwide financial transactions fee, the funds raised to be directed primarily to solar power development in developing countries.

Institute a world-wide carbon tax, proceeds to be used to lower taxes that burden small businesses.

Create a World Environmental and Labor Protection Organization alongside the World Trade Organization -- or expand the WTO to include protection of the environment and labor."

Now, polls consistently show that the majority of Americans support almost all the items listed in this what-if scenario. So, why don't we have universal health-care, etc..? Because the democrats and republicans all are beholden to the insurance industry, and until other parties are elected, nothing will change. Unfortunately, the corporate media does its best to ensure third-party candidates, or progressive democrats, and their ideas, are ignored, or cast as flaky, and idealistic/unrealistic.

With the economic situation continuing to worsen though, it's quite possible the Obama administration will be forced to take stronger actions when millions more jobs are lost, and civil unrest becomes possible. Which could easily happen, the way things are going. Just remember though, as you've heard here many times. Nothing we take for granted, job benefits (vacations, 40 hr. work-week, etc.), health insurance, civil rights, women's rights, etc.. came about through voting. They all came about because of decades of struggle and opposition. So it will be, if we do wish to see universal health care, and the other social benefits the rest of the "developed world" enjoys. Cheers.