By Peter Forman
Published: October 02, 2008
New York—So this is what it must have felt like to be at the end of the Roman Empire.
America has two choices. To correct the causes of our financial and national security weaknesses or to head into an inevitable decline of the American Empire.
There is still time to undo some of the damage--while some is beyond repair.
America is no longer a financial super-power. Period. Until recently we were the bedrock currency and economy which was the unshakeable gold-standard. Our system has now been seen as vulnerable and never since the Great Depression has our standing been so diminished in the eyes of the world.
Unfortunately, there is no going back. Not in our lifetimes. No rescue package will undue the perceptions of risk that heretofore did not exist.
Over the past two decades of globalization in which other nations have learned and implemented some of our best lessons (free-markets, lower taxes, open markets, education, etc) they have, in many cases, surpassed us with freer-markets, even lower ordinary and cap-gains taxes, more open markets, and better education.
America needs to reform its act. Fast.
Financially, we need appropriate regulation that says if the federal government is going to "insure" banks and brokerages ("too big to fail therefore bailout"), then the taxpayers have a right to a reasonable level of regulation. As little as possible but no less than they, as insurers, have a right to demand.
In addition to financial reform, we must reform our transportation energy sector as it holds the key to many (but not all) solutions. As MoveBeyondOil.org has covered in news analyses, a move to bio-fuels, electric cars, and clean electric production will:
1) Yield economic strength.
a. Will create new industries.
i. Clean energy production.
ii. Electric car production.
iii. Farming and waste conversion for bio fuels.
b. Will create millions of new jobs--maybe as many as 10
million.
c. Will create export opportunities for these new products
and technologies.
d. Will stimulate the economy derivatively through recycling
of these domestically spent energy dollars and by
elimination of the "tax" that energy has become.
2) Yield national security.
a. Will diminish the influence that the oil and gas producers
have on our allies.
b. Deprive repressive, regressive regimes of much of their
ongoing wealth.
c. Will make our foreign policy more effective and efficient so
efforts can be directed towards terror and economic
foreign-policy goals rather than on securing sources of oil.
3) It will be environmentally friendly.
The history books on the American Empire are being written in draft format now.
Change must come from the Executive branch and Congress.
We must insist on effective energy leadership from these leaders.
Or we will need to accept a severely diminished presence in the world.
As a voter, the ball is in your court.
Demand energy leadership.
Demand real solutions; not apparent band-aids.
Demand that we move beyond oil.
MoveBeyondOil.org
The bi-partisan, not-for-profit source for energy independence information and solutions.
