Breaking Ground on the New Green Deal
Posted By HR Partnership on October 1, 2009
From the Blog of the American Constitution Society at William & Mary School of Law, originally posted Spring, 2009 during the 2009 stimulus debate, but still timely in Hampton Roads.
by Prof. Erin Ryan, Associate Professor of Law at William & Mary, guest blogger
Reluctant members of Congress, listen up. You’ve tried bailing out the past. It’s time to bail in the future.
Now that we’ve pumped trillions into failing industries that drove economic growth on little more than a ponzi scheme, it’s time to invest in an economic engine that will propel us toward real progress–creating real jobs and alleviating real problems. Recognizing the stakes for our economy, security, and leadership in the world, President Obama campaigned (and won) on a promise to invest $150 billion in a clean-energy economy. Now that his stimulus proposal follows through with billions for electricity industry remodeling and private investment in renewables, it’s time to fall in. The stimulus package you are holding hostage is the down-payment on a new deal with the American public that finally takes on the Gordian knot of climate, energy, and environment. Don’t blow this for us.
Like the old New Deal, this new Green Deal will rescue the free-falling economy by investing in infrastructure that creates jobs and repositions American industry toward new kinds of growth. In the 1930s, FDR built a national network of roads, bridges, and parks, connecting producers and consumers, enhancing national security, and protecting natural resources. Today’s mission is exactly the same, but this time the infrastructure that can accomplish it will enable alternative energy generation, storage, and transmission. Sure, you could pass tax cuts instead, but if they don’t work, we’re left with a fistful of nothing. Investing in infrastructure gets people hired to build it, and the worst case scenario at the end of the day is a tangible bedrock for future economic growth.
ABOUT: The ACS chapter at William & Mary supports and influences a progressive vision through an array of speakers, events, and legal projects that are aimed at provoking thought and debate about our Constitution in the 21st century.
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