Use the Bailout to Buildup

I was reading through the editorials in The Patriot-News the other day and I found an article that I just had to mention. As a Christian, as an American, as a responsible individual, I think this writer is right on with some things we all need to consider. Here's an excerpt from Thomas Friedman from the New York Times:

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The 2 is back. Last week, U.S. retail gasoline prices fell below $3 a gallon — to an average of $2.91 — the lowest level in almost a year. Why does this news leave me with mixed feelings?

Because in the middle of this wrenching economic crisis, with unemployment rising and 401(k)’s shrinking, it would be a real source of relief for many Americans to get a break at the pump. Today’s declining gasoline prices act like a tax cut for consumers and can save $15 to $20 a tank-full for an S.U.V.-driving family, compared with when gasoline was $4.11 a gallon in July.

Yet, it is impossible for me to ignore the fact that when gasoline hit $4.11 a gallon we changed — a lot. Americans drove less, polluted less, exercised more, rode more public transportation and, most importantly, overwhelmed Detroit with demands for smaller, more fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric cars. The clean energy and efficiency industries saw record growth — one of our few remaining engines of real quality job creation.

But with little credit available today for new energy start-ups, and lower oil prices making it harder for existing renewables like wind and solar to scale, and a weak economy making it nearly impossible for Congress to pass a carbon tax or gasoline tax that would make clean energy more competitive, what will become of our budding clean-tech revolution?

This moment feels to me like a bad B-movie rerun of the 1980s. And I know how this movie ends — with our re-addiction to oil and OPEC, as well as corrosive uncertainty for our economy, trade balance, security and environment.

“Is the economic crisis going to be the end of green?” asks David Rothkopf, energy consultant and author of “Superclass.” “Or, could green be the way to end the economic crisis?”

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It has to be the latter. We can’t afford a financial bailout that also isn’t a green buildup — a buildup of a new clean energy industry that strengthens America and helps the planet.

I think I've already mentioned that I'm not a big fan of the bailout, but I do have to say that he's right. If it's going to happen, it needs to be a buildup. It works the same as our spiritual lives. When we go through a difficult time, we lean on God pretty strongly expecting Him to bail us out. But when the crisis is over, we often forget all that God did for us and we fall back into our old habits. Instead, a wise person will use those trials to build up their spiritual lives--finding time for prayer and study, establishing good habits that will be with us for years to come! A bailout is great, but a buildup is greater!

To see Friedman's full article go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/opinion/22friedman.html