(Original Post)
November 8, 2011 By Priti Ambani
The United States isn’t broke; we’re the richest country on the planet and a country in which the richest among us are doing exceptionally well. But the truth is, our economy is broken.
We are producing more pollution, greenhouse gasses and garbage than any other country. In these and so many other ways, it just isn’t working. But rather than invest in something better, we continue to keep this ‘dinosaur economy’ on life support with hundreds of billions of dollars of our tax money. The Story of Broke calls for a shift in government spending toward investments in clean, green solutions—renewable energy, safer chemicals and materials, zero waste and more—that can deliver jobs AND a healthier environment.
Annie Leonard, Co-Director of The Story of Stuff Project and creator of the Internet hit The Story of Stuff, says,
“It turns out this whole “broke” story hides a much bigger story—a story of some really dumb choices being made for us, but that actually work against us. The good news is that these are choices, and we can make different ones.”
Watch Annie Leonard’s The Story of Broke: Why There’s Still Plenty of Money to Build a Better Future
Annie points out, we aren’t broke, when we are spending billions on fighter planes we don’t need or wars with no end, and then saying we’re broke. According to the ‘Friends of the Earth’ and their new Earth Budget Campaign
“…corporate taxes only contribute 7% of federal budget revenue – a measly seven percent! Citizens for Tax Justice recently looked at 280 of America’s most profitable companies and found that 78 of them paid no federal income tax at all in at least one of the last three years. 30 companies paid less than nothing, with Wells Fargo (which also benefitted from the bank bailout) getting a tax subsidy of a cool $18 billion.
What is Our Economy Broke? Because of Dumb Choices that has benefited only about 1% of the American population.
Tax breaks for oil companies reaping record profits;
Mining permits that cost the same today as in 1872;
Public loans and insurance for corporations doing risky things, like building nuclear reactors.
As the movie points out, public funds should be a tool to help companies that are helping us—the public—but instead they’ve become a prize for those with the most power to get on the handout list.The story and animated movie ties together all of the Occupy Protests, our economic woes and policies that feed the “dinosaur” economy with no sustainable vision. Unfortunately the economy is in the hands of thousands of lobbyists in Washington and billions in campaign contributions keep the subsidies flowing – and hold America back from the sustainable economy of the future.
It’s time to rebuild the American Dream; but this time, let’s build it better.
Image Credit: The Story of Stuff Project