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yesthattomEnd Oil Dependence Now
They used to say that Democrats were the party of "big ideas" (Social Security, Welfare, Public Education, etc.) and the Republicans just wanted to stop anything new. Now things have reversed. The Republicans have all these major government initiatives (No Child Left Behind, War on Terror, etc.) and the Democrats are the copy-cats with half-assed, half-enthusiastic ideas. What we need to do is create the think-tanks that will create dozens of new "big idea" programs that will get people excited about the party again. (I've been saying that for a year).
About 6-9 months ago John Podesta (former chief of staff for President Clinton) started a think-tank to do just that. They have a web site that I check daily filled with new (and not so new) ideas.
However, they now have their first "big idea" piece. and I'm really excited about it. It combines resolving the oil problem, stopping funding for terrorism, and will create jobs.
They used to say that Democrats were the party of "big ideas" (Social Security, Welfare, Public Education, etc.) and the Republicans just wanted to stop anything new. Now things have reversed. The Republicans have all these major government initiatives (No Child Left Behind, War on Terror, etc.) and the Democrats are the copy-cats with half-assed, half-enthusiastic ideas. What we need to do is create the think-tanks that will create dozens of new "big idea" programs that will get people excited about the party again. (I've been saying that for a year).
About 6-9 months ago John Podesta (former chief of staff for President Clinton) started a think-tank to do just that. They have a web site that I check daily filled with new (and not so new) ideas.
However, they now have their first "big idea" piece. and I'm really excited about it. It combines resolving the oil problem, stopping funding for terrorism, and will create jobs.
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Easy Fix for Oil Dependence
Date: 2004-01-29 09:05 pm (UTC)This is all about economics. Everything else is an externality, until we put a price on it.
The simple way to reduce/end oil dependence is to gradually increase the taxes on it, until other energy systems are economically viable (i.e. cheaper) by comparison. We keep using oil partly because we already know how, and partly because it's cheaper than the alternatives. Until the relative prices change, either by policy or actual scarcity, nothing will change.
-Erik