From 76150.1170@CompuServe.COM Sun Mar 8 22:04:50 1992 Date: 07 Mar 92 14:49:29 EST From: Stephen Smith <76150.1170@CompuServe.COM> To: Subject: Agran Op-Ed on Economy Harel, this is an Op-Ed piece which is being circulated to newspapers for publication. -- Steve Agran for President 92 (800) 727-9425 CompuServe: 76150,1170 GEnie: AGRAN92 Prodigy: KBVR23A Peacenet: agran92 ECONOMIC CONVERSION AND A DEFENSE WORKERS' BILL OF RIGHTS: A Presidential Candidate's Program for the U.S. Economy by Larry Agran Democratic Presidential Candidate America enters 1992 still in the throes of a recession, one that confounds the economic experts. The classic cures for past recessions -- a tax cut and/or an increase in government spending -- would be dangerous and irresponsible in an econo my drowning in red ink. The economy is stagnant because we lack adequate capital to invest in new business -- capital siphoned away to service private debt and massive public debt. The huge deficits of the Reagan and Bush Administrations have all but bankrupted the federal government. We now pay $200 billion per year -- 20% of all budget receipts -- just in interest on the cumulative national debt of $3.5 trillion. Much of the deficit was rung up by Ronald Reagan, George Bush and a compliant Congress to bankroll a bloated, porkbarrel military. For years the United States has spent $300 billion per year, about 30% of all tax proceeds, on the military. Even though the Cold War ended years ago, we still spend about two-thirds of our military budget -- $200 billion per year --to defend Europe and Japan from a Soviet threat that no longer exists. That's about $2,000 per American household. Meanwhile, those nations continue to enjoy robust economies, reaping the benefits of trade surpluses with the United States. We need a President willing to make the tough decisions to get our economy going again. The only way to rescue the American economy is to take one difficult yet obvious course -- to make a fundamental shift in federal spending priorities awa y from military spending and back to our needs at home. It's time for Europe and Japan to pay for their own defense, and for America to invest in protecting its own economy, not those of our economic competitors. Accordingly, I've called for immediate steps to cut our military spending in half --by $150 billion per year. We should remove all U.S. forces from Europe and Japan, cancel needless and costly weapons systems like the B-2 bomber and Star Wars, and all foreign military aid. If we took these steps, we'd still have the strongest mil itary force in the world. But we'd also have a $150 billion per year peace dividend to rebuild our cities and towns, improve our schools, clean up our environment, provide health care for everyone, and even reduce our annual federal deficits. If elected President, I would implement a comprehensive program of economic conversion -- remaking our military economy into a peacetime economy, producing transit systems and energy-efficient infrastructure, producing quality consumable prod ucts to be sold in a globally competitive market. We're just now starting to see the first consequences of the lack of a national economic conversion program. As weapons contracts are cancelled and military bases are closed, more and more related industries are laying off employees, and in some cases going bankrupt. There's no getting around the reality that, like it or not, we as a nation face the difficult decision of what to do with military contractors. The Bush Administration, sadly, has shown no leadership at all in addressing this question -- the President seems content to let our defense workers, some of our nation's brightest and most talented people, be laid off with no hope for another job. This policy vacuum is criminal. Defense workers and military personnel have served their country, just as they were asked to do. They take pride in their work. But what does George Bush give them in return? A pink slip. If elected President, not only would I propose a national economic conversion program, but I'd also propose a Defense Workers' Bill of Rights. It would be a safety net for defense workers as they undergo retraining and their employers underg o retooling. The Defense Workers' Bill of Rights would include these provisions: First, defense workers have the right to expect their employers to engage in long-range planning for the conversion of their workplace to production of peacetime consumable goods. I would therefore require military contractors to begin plann ing for economic conversion. Second, defense workers have the right to participate in determining what types of products their employers will produce. I would therefore require that military contractors collaborate with their employees in planning the conversion. Third, defense workers have the right to assistance while undergoing retraining. They are a valuable resource, deserving of our protection. I would therefore direct $15 billion per year from the military budget be set aside to guarantee inc ome support for defense workers undergoing retraining and resettlement. Fourth, defense workers have the right to expect their government to assist in transitioning their workplace to the production of quality consumable goods. I would therefore propose the creation of a Federal Economic Conversion Council, whic h would coordinate the efforts of our nation's brightest economists, trade unionists, planners and management experts to advise military contractors on how to convert to a competitive, productive business. Fifth, defense workers have the right to live in vibrant communities with safe streets, good schools and clean parks. I would therefore propose a $5 billion per year fund be created as a "Conversion CARE Package" for cities and towns affecte d by economic conversion. We have many, many jobs still unfinished here at home. Imagine what we could do if we took minds bright enough to design a Stealth Bomber, and put them to work designing futuristic mass transit systems, or creating synthetic fuels, or explor ing space, or protecting our environment, or finding cures for cancer, AIDS and other terrible afflictions. America still has the best workers in the world. It's time that we invest in this resource, providing America's workers with the training and the tools to compete and succeed in the global marketplace. Larry Agran was the second Democrat to declare his candidacy for the party's 1992 presidential nomination. He served on the Irvine, California City Council from 1978 to 1990, including six years as mayor. He was recognized as one of America 's most progressive and innovative local elected officials. In 1987, he led a study by the U.S. Conference of Mayors proposing economic conversion for America's cities and towns. In 1990, he hosted at Irvine City Hall a National Round Table Confere nce on Economic Diversification. For more information about the Agran campaign, call Agran 92 at (800) 727-9425.