73 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 9 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
OpEdNews Op Eds   

Ralph Nader: Isn't Citizen Action Fun?

By       (Page 2 of 5 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   2 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message sherry clark
Become a Fan
  (4 fans)

I talk with a lot of vets coming back from Iraq, and in the only scientific poll conducted in the field in Iraq-72% of our troops in January 2006 said they want us out in 6-12 months--including 51% of the Marines.

And of course, look at what's happened since.

The corporations have discovered that the biggest pot of money they'll ever have is your money...your tax dollar. What do these US corporations want from US government? Three things: contracts and grants; they want lax law enforcement; and they want free research and development transferred to them--like bio-tech, NASA, DOD and of course subsidies. Handouts. Give-aways.

You look at Washington today--half of what they do is shoveling out contracts, subsidies, grants, licenses, permits to cut US force for a couple bucks a troop. Remember half of the Government expenditures is for the military.

Three of four years ago the head of the Air Force, General John McPhee said, "If we can't defend the United States of America on 3 trillion a year, we better get a new set of generals."

If we're going to spend, we should spend on public works--where you get a real return on the money. Our economy wouldn't be anywhere near what is is today if it wasn't for public works. The damns, the canals, the bridges, schools, clinics. Everything under the city streets--the pipelines, sewage systems. Our infrastructure is deteriorating badly, and now they are selling it off to Australian and Spanish companies.

Like in a few days the Pennsylvania legislature is going to decide whether to lease for 99 years the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Because the government wants the 3 billion dollars now so it can look good. So it gives this asset away for 99 years? Watch the tolls go up and up and up and up.

I mean all the things we've paid for-we paid for the turnpike--are in effect being sold off. A 99 year lease! You might as well assume it to say it's being sold off, but we're fighting that. We going right up the PA turnpike with a big sign as we campaign. We have a chance to defeat it, but imagine how brazen they are.

Midway Airport is up for a lease. All these politicians want a little up-front money, and then they give it away for 99 years. It's like the old colonial model-like leasing Hong Kong for 99 years of British gunboats. Only this time, we're the colonists.

Question: Do you believe global warming is man-made and how would you solve it?

Nader:  Global warming--it's not entirely man-made but heavily man-made, and what you do is you convert to solar. And you burn less fossils by having more efficient automobiles and all that. That's about all we can do unless we find something else. Science can do it. So it's very real. You go to Alaska, and the tundra is melting. The tourist industry goes nuts.

The Andes--the glaciers are shrinking rapidly. Greenland is the most frightening of all. Because when the Greenland ice sheet falls it will have a real impact.

Question: On population control?

Nader:  Jury's out and contrary to predictions in the last 20 years, there has been a real sharp decline in the third world in population growth. In Europe, population growth isn't even flat. They can't even repopulate themselves. Italy for example, is going to be half of its current population in 50 years.

The effect on social structures all depends on technology. Give me a 100 million people on solar energy and its better than 50 million people without solar--for example. Or public transit. However, it is remarkable how population growth is slowing down. It's going down in India and China. Part of it is they see television and the birth control is more widespread. Part of it is famine and disease that still curtails the population, but there is a correlation--as standards of living go up, population goes down.

In Russia, now it's a real crisis. They're going to start giving bonuses now for parents who produce children. I have never liked government telling women that they have to have children, or they didn't have to have children. China aborted huge numbers of pregnancies, and in Romania forced women to have more children because they wanted to grow the population under the dictatorship. I don't think government should do either. It's proceeding, rather amazingly in the past 20-30 years and they pretty much know the reasons, but they didn't think it would happen that fast. Everybody knew modern television, modern health care, contraception and so on that it would happen. But they didn't think that it would be that fast.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Sherry Clark Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Sherry Clark is the founder and publisher of The Liberty Voice. The Liberty Voice is a fiercely independent newspaper (imagine opednews in print!) that has distributed a half million papers freely throughout Central Ohio.
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

The Root of September 11 -- The Love of Money

Comedy: How the Markets Really Work

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: "Media Isn't Doing Its Job"

Ben Dover or "Stick it up your tailpipe!"

Jury Nullification: The Right of Free Americans

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend