Energy solution: Made in the USA
Column by Sam Rasoul
Last September, I bought a hybrid car, which I had long wanted.
The decision to buy at that time was a practical one: campaigning in the Sixth District required driving from Roanoke to Woodstock with a side trip to Lynchburg. I had to decrease gasoline costs. At the same time, I wanted a comfortable ride.
Just when I needed it most, I was able to buy the first American-made hybrid sedan on the market.
That car symbolizes the solution to three serious problems we face. Despite congressional efforts to ignore the facts, over the past decade the United States has lost 3 million jobs in manufacturing, jobs that paid a living wage and provided benefits such as health insurance and retirement packages. Over those same 10 years, our leaders slowly and reluctantly acknowledged a potential global environmental crisis and accompanying energy crisis. While lobbyists push Congress to keep $18 billion in big-oil subsidies, every hour we spend $41 million on foreign oil, oil we buy most often from countries that lack stability or democracy, threatening our national security.
We can no longer afford denial or procrastination. One answer to the three-pronged environmental, energy and job crisis, a sustainable solution, is the creation of “green collar” jobs. We can and must produce clean, renewable energy, and we can and must insist every phase of that production takes place in the United States at the hands of American workers. At the same time, we must increase energy efficiency, including retro-fitting buildings, jobs which by their very nature will stay at home. Wrapping up a house and sending it to China for an insulation upgrade is impossible, of course, but we also must make sure our wind turbines and solar panels are not manufactured offshore. As George Sterzinger, executive director of the Renewable Energy Policy Project, explained “it makes no sense … to wean America off its dependence on foreign oil only to become dependent on other countries for products in sustainable energy production.”
Private industry is already increasing production of wind and solar and other renewable energies. For instance, when a Maytag factory closed in Newton, Iowa, a company making wind-turbine blades decided to take advantage of the skilled workforce already in town. This company once built boats but moved to turbines a few years ago because they saw more opportunity for growth. The wind turbine company guaranteed 500 jobs within three years with decent entry salaries.
However, private industry can’t carry the burden alone. We can make an opportunity out of a crisis, an opportunity to put America back to work while at the same time taking the first steps in long-term solutions to energy, environmental, and national security issues. The Apollo Alliance, dedicated to creating high-wage jobs and energy independence, projects that with sufficient federal commitment, we could add more than 3 million jobs to the market over the next 10 years.
But do we have the political will? The federal government will have to provide incentives and make a serious investment in our future. We need a Congress that will extend the investment tax credit for renewable energy. We need a Congress that will extend the tax credit for efficient new housing and commercial building and appropriate additional funds for the Weatherization Assistance Program. We need a Congress that will invest in job training programs geared toward clean energy production. We need a Congress that will help U.S. automakers produce cars that rely less and less on petroleum and a Congress that will significantly raise fuel economy standards (raising the standards from 27 mpg to 35 mpg over the next 15 years is neither significant nor serious).
We need a Congress that will encourage local sources of renewable energy and open the electricity grids. We need a Congress serious about the environment, energy, jobs, and national security, a Congress, as I have said before, that sees beyond the next four years to the next 40.
Sam Rasoul is a candidate for the Sixth District Democratic Party congressional nomination.
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[...] future. We have to prepare for tomorrow today. As I said in an article I wrote in late February, “Energy Solution: Made in the USA,” we require a national mobilization to address this great nation’s energy needs. The movement, [...]
Energy independence and green jobs certainly do go hand in hand. In America there is no reason why we must abdicate our future to the foreign interests of other countries just because we buy energy from them. Homegrown energy from wind, solar, bio-fuels and natural gases coupled with new research into increasing fuel efficiency is the solution for us. Think about it, would you really want the future of our country lying in the hands of oil barons strung across the globe. I think not. Not only can we ween ourselves off oil to be more self dependent, but our economy will grow because of it. Indeed, the move to green energy could very well be the start of a new business revolution in energy that hasn’t been seen since the days of oil boom in America a century ago. We can become self sufficient in energy and make our country strong again. Remember, often the worst enemy to our own wellbeing is ourself, especially when we don’t have the foresight to correct the mistakes of the past.
I commend Mr. Rasoul for purchasing a Hybrid vehicle and hope he is happy with it during the initial growth period of this new industry. He also states that he purchased a American made version of this new vehicle line and that it “Symbolizes” a solution to three serious problems he has identified. Rasoul points out that the loss of 3 million jobs in manufacturing that provided a living wage and benefits as one of his identified problems. It is good to see that the American auto industry is responding to the new technology of hybrid’s and offering Hybrid models in their product lines. The unfortunate thing that Mr. Rasoul fails to mention in his statement of “3 million lost jobs” is that many of the American Auto companies are no longer able to compete with foreign companies in this industry. He notes that 3 million industry jobs have left the country and I assume he is referring to auto industry jobs as Obama has in his statement:
“I know that General Motors received some bad news yesterday,” Obama said. “I also know how much progress you’ve made, how many hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles you’re churning out. And I believe that if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to retool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years.”
Both Obama and Rasoul fail to note that American Auto companies such as General Motors are unable to compete with foreign companies in quality, price, and service, in the free market. It appears that they both feel that the government is now needed to step in and subsidize the American companies in this field with our taxpayer money instead of allowing the free market system to respond.
General motors has found themselves in the poor predicament they are in now as the result of poor management decisions in the past. It is estimated that a consumer will pay four to five thousands dollars of the new sticker price just for General Motors past deals for employee benefits with the unions. Because of these poor union deals GM is even paying employees full salary but not requiring them to even come into work or produce anything. GM also pays 100% healthcare benefits for present and past employees which has made great strains on the profitability of the company. GM made numerous bad business decisions in the past and is now paying for them. Actually the consumer is paying for these bad decisions in the sticker price and it will be even worse if the government steps in to prop up these failing companies with our tax money…
Another serious problem that Mr. Rasoul has identified is “$18 billion in big-oil subsidies” provided by Congress. But once again he fails to note the amount of money spent by these “Big-oil Companies” in exploration, research, extraction, and delivery of energy sources to the American people. Yes the oil companies have made incredible profits but politicians like Obama and Rasoul fail to mention the amount of profits re-invested in exploring new sources, including “Green” sources, by the “Big Oil-companies”. Another fact rarely mentioned is the 45% tax rate that oil companies such as Exxon has paid to the government. So when you look at that price per gallon or hear of incredible “Big-Oil” profits don’t forget to look at the 45% “Profit” to the government…
Another campaign talking point has been the creation of “Green Collar” jobs that would pay a good wage with benefits and would be subsidized by the government and our tax money. Creation of a “Green collar” industry is admirable but should result from the market demands and desire for products by the consumers. Otherwise we may get another “Auto industry” such as GM financed by the increased tax revenues coming from the American taxpayer…
New compact fluorescent light bulbs are great and I have numerous around the house. They use less energy, last up to five years, and a new form of energy saving technology. By saying they will promote new “Green Collar” jobs the politicians are sure to get some more votes. Unfortunately they portray these a new or additional jobs for the workforce and fail to address the issue of the present workers who will be misplaced by this new “Technology” light bulb that will last much longer then the one they are producing now. What will the politicians do with these people???
The technology to greatly reduce our dependence on oil, and increase energy efficiency, has been known for decades. The French firm Peugeot, in 1983, was selling a 72-mpg vehicle. In 2002 Toyota was selling a 104-mpg vehicle. Both of these vehicles were available in Europe, but not in this country. The Japanese have a water fueled vehicle on the street now. Many others have demonstrated this technology including NASA. The water fuel technology has many applications, not only power for your automobile, it can fuel an electric generator, your furnace, cook stove or any device now fueled with oil products. Documentation for the above is on my web page http://www.byronwine.com.
I hope Mr. Rasoul will address these issues before he is elected. Our present congressional members want to keep the status quo.
Steve Kijak above seems to put all the blame for GM’s diminishing success on bad management decisions, and unions for trumping management on providing quality healthcare and retirement benefits. Since the government in the US does not provide those to it’s citizens, as European governments do a much better job at, unions have had to fight hard for those benefits. Management has made poor decisions on caving into America’s historic demand for big gas guzzlers, but I think the BIGGEST influence is globalization. Doesn’t matter how many benefits you take away from workers, as long as Chinese and other poor country workers are slaving away at $2/hr wages, you can’t compete. We have to face the reality that “Buy American” will need some help (ie, tariffs) since the free market will NOT go against itself. That means a government willing to find a balance between tariffs and free trade that is helpful to the flow of goods around the world, yet protective of local jobs — and this includes protecting Mexican farmers from getting undercut by US corn farmers who receive billions in financial subsidies.
Sam Nickels
Sam,
But yet Toyota has 12+ auto plants in the United States paying good wages, benefits, and opportunities without Unions involved. In fact the employees refuse to allow unions in because they have seen and understand what they, along with poor management decisions, have done to the U.S. Auto industry…
Shame we could not get a Toyota plant around here….