Open Letter to President Obama

04/09/10 (LWN-Commentary) If we truly want to gain energy independence, increase employment, and cut emissions, it is time for drastic changes - even if they displease some Congressmen and major corporations. Here is a plan to accomplish these important goals and obtain the funds to do it with:

1. Cut the unnecessarily high military budget by half. It would still be more than three times as high as China or Russia's budgets (and over a hundred times more than those of Syria or North Korea). Stop giving free weapons to other countries.

2. Shut down the hundreds of overseas military bases in Iraq, Kuwait, Japan, South Korea, Honduras, Germany, the U.K., Thailand, and so many other countries. China doesn't have bases all over the world and it hasn't harmed their economy or security.

3. Use the funds freed up by these steps to build trains, railroads, and railway stations all over the United States. 350 billion dollars per year would be enough to run railways to every major town and city in the U.S. before many years have passed.

4. Troops returning to the U.S. from foreign bases should work to help construct the railroads, and American companies should manufacture all of the equipment. Trains and train stations need many fixtures, appliances, and furniture; this would create employment.

Greatly expanding passenger and cargo railways would cut the energy consumption, pollution, and congestion caused by airplanes, cars, and eighteen-wheelers. Current policies are resulting in massive road construction with unsustainable maintenance costs.

In World War II, many U.S. factories changed over from producing consumer goods to military equipment, because of the genuine threat posed by Germany and Japan. The current situation is also a crisis and such changes in production can be accomplished again.

Oil supplies aren't endless, nor is natural gas or uranium. Energy prices will eventually go up; having a convenient, fast, safe, and efficient mode of transportation will do us a lot more good than 750 overseas military bases.