Speaking of the stimulus package, the energy debate is becoming a big one and should be watched - especially here in our city with the benefits we’ve reaped from the Barnett Shale. Why? Because we are no longer going to be able to produce energy as we know it.
Part of the quid-pro-quo agreement from the Feds will be, “If we give you this money today, you change the way you play tomorrow.” Look for small green cottage industries to boom - not because it’s the right technology necessarily, but because it’s the right one for the federal government. And guess where all of this money from the package comes through before hitting our local communities? Austin. There will be another fight for funds once the Feds finish up.
Now is the most opportune time in America for young people to get involved in the debate, because we will be bearing the brunt of this financial burden. Many of us have about 30 years left in the working, tax-paying world (not that you don’t have to pay taxes when you retire but maybe you become an expatriate or something), that’s if we’re lucky - many of us a few more years.
Those cute little toddlers running around your house, they have a bigger burden. They’ll have to pick up where we leave off. I recently heard a statistic that claimed the U.S. has racked up $10 trillion in debt since WWII. Guess how much we racked up in the fiscal year of ‘09? $2 trillion. Why? Because if you look around, you might notice that there aren’t a lot of us heavily involved right now. There is a pretty big gap between your mentor and you, the mentee.
What happens in those years that no one is watching?
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