With city and state budgets drastically cut, one critical place to look for where so much of our immense wealth goes is to a huge military budeget. As Kushner posted, how much of what goes for war could be spent to vitalize our inner cities: REAL economic developement with education,job training,investments in small busineses. Every year we're told there's little or no money for affordable housing--while homelessness has at least DOUBLED in the last decade--but, there's BILLIONS for more weapons.
The other place there's always money for: corporate welfare, like Carl Pohlad's stadium. Whether for military contracters or stadiums, its all about resources going for the top 5$ and its sink or swim for the rest of us! The other local link is energy. So little is spent on developing and implementing alternatives to oil and oil is a primary reason for war on Iraq, as it's the second largest oil producer in the world. Minnesota has strong alternative energy advocates: ethanol,hydrogen, solar,and other possibilities besides petroleum. We could be creating new jobs, a cleaner environment and less CAUSE for war locally if these alternatives were supported and funded by politicians as the petroleum industry is. Green Party candidates, like Ken Pentel running for governor, are the only folks talking about this.We should be glad we have elected someone like Dean Zimmerman who has the vision to SEE the links between 'big issues' (like war) and the local. That sort of capacity for COMPLEXITY is exactly what is LACKING in most other elected politicians and its what we most need to solve real problems. Finally, local arms manufacturers (like Alliatech Systems who make cluster bombs used in Afganistan and largely responsible for civillian casualties there) make the war on Iraq a very local issue. Post-9/11,none of us should be denying that what happens around the world is very connected to us."Think globally. act locally" should have more meaning and relevence than ever.Decisions made about places 12,000 miles away,like the proverbial chickens roosting,do come home eventually. Lydia Howell Phillips _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
