Creating a beautiful world

Dr. Seuss said we spend too much time just waiting for “a pot to boil, or a better break, or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or another chance.” The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called for the immediate reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, and the removal of millions of tons in the atmosphere. What exactly are we waiting for?

Safe climate trumps the U.S. economy

Everyone has the right to live in a healthy environment. Our economic priorities need to change. The U.S. economy is based on consumption, and is all about shopping for more stuff.

Last week, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio said, “I am not going to destroy the economy over the climate.” Trump’s top economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, made ridiculous remarks, “…is way, way too difficult, I won’t say it’s a scare tactic, but I think they overestimate.” And “we’re always studying these things.”

The real U.S. economy

The $864 billion gig economy includes temporary workers, freelance workers, independent contractors, consultants, and cloud workers. In 2018, the gig economy has more than 57 million people.

The October 3.7 percent unemployment rate is a meaningless statistic. This number ignores part-time jobs and looks only at the people looking for full-time jobs. Like coal miners, some people with low-demand skills have given up looking for a decent job. They are not counted in the labor pool.

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) challenged the 3.7 percent unemployment rate. Harris said the unemployment numbers look good, but people are “working two or three jobs to pay the bills.” Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made the same claim. Meg Kelly, the Washington Post fact checker said Harris and Ocasio-Cortez are lying. Kelly used false arguments trying to shame the Democrats.

Here is a simple way to show GOP unemployment numbers are fake. Please list the U.S. best-known companies that went out of business in the last couple of years. When stores close, jobs disappear. Sears and Kmart are hanging by a thread. Even Sam’s Club has closed some stores. When anchor stores go out of business, shopping malls close.

The fake U.S. economy

The White House website says, “The economy has come roaring back to life under President Trump. The stock market has hit record high after record high, helping more Americans build wealth and secure their futures. Through needed tax cuts and reform, the Administration will bring jobs back to our country.” Wow, we must be living in paradise, a unique era of peace and happiness. Last week must have been an exception, and the week before too, and … Is the supposed MAGA “economic miracle” the reason to keep the GOP in office?

These White House statements are fake. Trump is talking about his wealth and one percent of Americans. The stock market is not the economy. Most Americans don’t own stocks and don’t care about the Dow. With low wages, the high cost of living and healthcare, about half of Americans can’t pay their bills.

Is the U.S. economy booming? Please take a sheet of paper and draw a picture of the U.S. economy. Are you done? I ended up with a blank page after several attempts. The U.S. national debt is $21 trillion, it has increased $4 trillion under Trump.

The GOP economy claims to preserve America’s global competitiveness, create jobs, what old-timers call progress. GOP results are decades of oil wars, income inequality, tax cheaters, rampant drug addiction, and mass incarceration. GOP overlooks ecological destruction. Extracting nature’s “resources” is like harvesting human organs for sale on the black market.

There is hope

At the Tudor Energy Disruption Conference last month, Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub said, “We believe climate change is real. We believe we need to do what’s necessary to reduce emissions, and we have the expertise to do it.”

The three-year investigation into Exxon Mobil by New York’s attorney general concluded last week with a lawsuit alleging fraudulent use of an internal carbon price.

Dr. Seuss said, “sometimes the questions are hard, and the answers are simple.”

Dr. Luis Contreras