This is what I intend to send to the president on Monday. I will send the same letter to my two senators and congressman.
I welcome your comments.
Thank you,
Ed
Dear President Biden:
I ask you to announce a climate emergency. Starting a Green New Deal would be one of many steps to reverse global warming and eliminate poverty everywhere on our planet.
What we face now is more serious and deadly that what the Axis Powers posed. The Big Three and other allies transformed their economies and societies to produce tanks, artillery, landing craft, bombers and everything else to bring military victory. To ensure the peace, they started the United Nations, the World Bank, the Bretton Woods Agreement and other treaties and institutions. Now humankind must rise to the occasion.
When I hear people talk about a wall with Mexico, I remember the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall. When people have good jobs at home, will they cross the deserts in northern Mexico or go on leaky ships to cross the Mediterranean?
One American family in 6 is food insecure. There is no excuse for this. In the US and many other countries, the supermarkets throw away about a third of the harvested food which has the wrong color, shape or some appearance defect that has nothing to do with nutrition. This is a rare problem that can be solved with much imagination and money only in tiny amounts.
The easiest way to do this would be through congressional action. The next best move would be at state level.
Ending food insecurity everywhere in the world would also be a goal for the Green New Deal. This applies to all countries, rich and poor.
Rich countries can save the poor countries. There are three ways to pay for this:
1) Write a new Income Tax Code that will reward work rather than investment. Introduce income tax rates on rich individuals and major corporations like we had when Eisenhower was president. I was a child in those days. I remember the prosperous times when we did not have trickledown economics.
2) The US have 5,500 nuclear weapons. Since a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistani enough to induce nuclear winter, I can say that we have way too many. Keep 1,000 and decommission the rest.
3) The US has 750 military bases overseas. This is way too many. Keep 100 and close the rest.
There are floods, droughts, hurricanes, wars and other tragedies causing property and human loss. I propose a type of insurance coverage for every man, woman and child. The United Nations would have the funds, equipment and manpower to respond to natural disasters and wars everywhere. The rich countries would have warehouses with food, water, clothes, medicine and tents ready to move to afflicted areas in rich or poor countries. They would also have resources to rebuild homes and infrastructure. The world’s armed forces would be trained to provide logistics and security. Soldiers would attend foreign language classes to learn the language, culture and history of other countries.
Prussia’s King Frederick the Great declared that there would be no more torture. No excuses. I am looking forward to hear the United Nations president declare that there is no poverty. No excuses.