[Xmca-l] Re: Unbelievable: number 19th strain according to Fox News?

[Martin Packer]

Hi Julien,

The idea of a survey doesn’t exactly excite me either. But the open discussion of how we would like things to be different seems eminently doable and important.

For example, I was saddened to read that one of the first companies trying to bring workers back is Boeing. Just what we need, I thought, more planes. And built by a company that doesn’t consider human factors in their designs. But, of course what Boeing is trying to work on is their ‘defense’ contracts.

So that brings up the question, what is defense spending protecting us against, when it is at the cost of health care? When an aircraft carrier, nuclear-powered for heaven's sake, can be rendered inoperative in a few days by this virus.

So we want to see a shift in priorities, from military to health care. The US needs a national health care system. It needs unemployment benefits in all states. And much more. The UK too needs more spending on the NHS. An end to austerity. And to combat climate change both countries (and others too) need rationing of air travel, decarbonization of industry, protection of wilderness, reforestation, and more. 

Obviously the current US administration would pay no attention to such proposals. But given the November election this is the perfect time to communicate to Biden and other democrats that a platform built around proposals such as these could get him into the White House.

And perhaps Boris, given his brush with the infinite, may have changed his priorities? (Or was he just taking one for the team to build herd immunity?)

Martin






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