Green Economy Victory Bonds

As the Obama Administration considers its stimulus package and the financial crisis facing the country, it has often been compared to the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Roosevelt’s New Deal helped bring America out of the Great Depression, and had some green components to it (Civilian Conservation Corps, for example).  So despite his detractors, such as the incorrigible Rush Limbaugh, who openly hopes that Obama will fail (and with him America, thanks Rush for your undying patriotism…), the comparisons are not at all a slight in most people’s eyes.

True, FDR did increase government size and spending, but Bush made FDR look like a venerable bean counter in terms of fiscal responsibility.  How about this for an idea based on FDR-style governing?  Green America has proposed Clean Energy Victory Bonds.  In World War II, the U.S. sold victory bonds to help finance the war.  They paid interest and could be resold antime, but the idea was that the American people lent money to their government for something they believed in.  What a concept!  The Clean Energy Victory Bonds would be largely the same.  Americans would lend money to the U.S. government to help do things like install windmills and invest in solar and energy efficiency.  Just greening up the buildings under control by the federal government would save a bundle of money for taxpayers.  The idea would be that those savings could be returned to the bond-buyers in the form of interest on the money lent.

Who wouldn’t contribute to that cause?  Green America estimates that if we had the same level of enthusiasm for buying these bonds that we had in WWII, it would generate $2 Trillion for investment in green.

I’m buying one.  Who’s with me?