January 26, 2008, Star Tribune, letter to the editor
Make it sustainable
By Audrey Kingstrom, Edina
I suppose you can't expect much from politicians in an election year. I haven't heard many economists say the proposed stimulus package would do much good for the overall health of our economy. But our leaders want to make us feel good about them -- to show that they "care." Setting priorities in our lives, limiting our excesses and being accountable to future generations are such passé notions.
For the most part our lifestyles are unsustainable from an environmental perspective, but our political and business leaders urge us only to spend more. More than our financial and natural resources allow. We probably need and deserve a recession.
But we don't have to turn a cold shoulder to the immediate hardship and real pain some people may encounter with a downturn. If the country is to incur more debt from our economic predicament, let it be to ensure that people get the food, shelter and health care they need. Then let's put additional resources in education, retraining and research to build the flexible and sustainable economy we need for the future.
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