Building a Sustainable Economy
As we rebuild the global economy, what steps can we take to ensure that it is a more sustainable and equitable one?
Surveying the planet, it is apparent that things have gone terribly awry. The global economy is in shambles, we are destroying the natural systems we depend on for survival, and the richest are getting richer while the poor get poorer. Despite this bleak picture, the global financial crisis gives us a unique opportunity to effect positive change in the global economy. As our leaders begin to take measures to rebuild failing industries and financial institutions, it is imperative that they critically evaluate our past successes and failures so they can figure out how we can recreate a more sustainable and equitable economy. What parts of the old economy are worth saving? What parts need major revisions? What parts are not worth saving? Where are our governments wasting resources? These are huge questions, and unfortunately, our governments are under extreme pressure to take concrete measures quickly. How can we as global citizens 1) compel our governments to make sustainable and equitable changes, and 2) what exactly should we compel them to do? Ecological and economic issues are tremendously complex, but here are some suggestions for world leaders:
1. Don’t support industries that make unsustainable choices
If the federal government is going to bail out the auto industry, there should be strings attached. I’m from Michigan, and it saddens me greatly how the drawn out death of the Big Three is killing the state’s economy. Unfortunately there is no one to blame but the domestic car companies. Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, and VW seem to be doing OK all things considered. I think the Big Three’s current woes are easily attributed to the fact that they have spent over a decade now making cars that people don’t want to buy. That’s just not good business sense. They had the money and they had smart people working for them, they should have made 1) good cars that 2) get good gas mileage. Instead they acted like spoiled children pushing SUV’s and wasting money lobbying congress to keep CAFE standards ridiculously low. It really gets my goat to see car commercials advertising 28 MPG like it is some fabulous accomplishment. We’ve put people on the fraking moon, I don’t want to see car companies tooting their own horns unless they have something that gets at least 30 MPG city.
Here’s my point: if we are going to spend billions of dollars to bail out an industry that has made irresponsible choices that have lead to environmental destruction and ultimately their own destruction, then we need to attach a whole lot of strings. There need some guarantees that we, as a people, are making a good investment in our country’s future. There needs to be substantial government oversight (not in the form of former industry insiders shoveling money to their golfing buddies). If the Big Three want taxpayer money, impartial government regulators need to be able to compel these companies to make sustainable, equitable decisions. This has to be the bottom line. Blindly pouring massive amounts of federal money onto a failing industry is tantamount to creating an incentive to turn your company into a massive failure.
2. Don’t subsidize fossil fuel
Oil companies are making money hand over foot; they don’t need tax breaks and subsidies. I know that they argue the price hike will be passed on to consumers at the pump. Oh well. We dealt with record gas prices this summer and the world didn’t end. Gas prices are low now, so if they spike a few cents because the oil companies don’t have federal money anymore, so be it, we will survive.
Regardless of the impact on consumers, we shouldn’t be spending money to fund irresponsible usage of nonrenewable resources in a way that hurts the environment. If we are going to give money to industry, it should be based not on who can buy the most lobbyists, but rather on what industries will be a substantial benefit to future generations. Bringing it back to incentives, we need to deincentivize irresponsible resource use; it’s a no brainer. How about we use the money we are currently giving to the oil companies ($35 billion over the next 5 years) to develop sustainable, carbon-neutral energy sources and to create well paying, domestic jobs?
3. Put the era of blind faith in “rugged capitalism” behind us
“A rising tide lifts all boats” my ass. According to the International Labour Organization, the top 50 US hedge and private-equity fund managers averaged $588 million each in 2007. That’s 19,000 times more than the average US worker. Keep in mind that this was while they were driving our economy into the ground. Apparently each person working for their own self-interest does not, as if directed by an invisible hand, maximize societal good. Let’s quit pretending like it does. Instead, let’s regulate industries so that they behave responsibly and so we don’t have to bail them out in the future.
I’m sure there is a lot more that can be done, and that should be done, in terms of reshaping the global economy. While the current global financial and environmental outlook can look bleak, it provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a more sustainable future.
-Ben Connor Barrie
Here is a semi-shameless plug: I learned most of my environmental economics under the tutelage of Dr. Ahmed Hussen at Kalamazoo College. His textbook, Principles of Environmental Economics is a great read for anybody who wishes to better understand the complexities surrounding environmental and resource economics. It is also written in a way that makes it approachable for everyone regardless of background in economics or environmental studies.
Ahmed Hussen’s Book: Principles of Environmental Economics: Economics, Ecology and Public Policy
Photo via: Billboard Liberation Front
November 18th, 2008 at 3:00 am
The high cost of fuel this past year have all but destroyed our economy.Families have been stretched to the max between filling up the family car to get back and forth to work,higher utility bills and the effect of high fuel on every consumer product we need to purchase. Between all those there is little left over to save or invest. Most have had to dip into savings to get by as of late. Jobs and homes are being lost at an alarming rate.Just as gas prices have come down a tad OPEC is planning to cut production again. We have so much available to us between free energy such as wind and solar to technologies such as hybrid and elec plug in cars. Jeff Wilson just published a new book called THE MANHATTAN PROJECT OF 2009.Interesting read. All of our elected officials need to read up on the subject of renewable energy and the impact of our dependence foreign oil on our society and economy. He has a web site http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com A truly fascinating read!
November 18th, 2008 at 3:46 am
[...] Building a Sustainable Economy [...]
November 24th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
[...] and transportation in California. But it never came to be. Why?” Ben Connor Barrie presents Building a Sustainable Economy posted at Sustainable Design Update. Ben says, “How can we rebuild a more sustainable and equitable [...]