The Big Club

by Contributor | February 17, 2025 7:10 am

The light reflects off the water. Snowflakes fall under the gently moonlit sky. Tomorrow in Oswego it will be sunny. The day after it will rain. Meanwhile, the fires in Southern California end only for mudslides and floodwaters to begin. Two of the series of wildfires raged for three weeks. The New York Times said, “The Palisades and Eaton fires are among the most destructive in U.S. history.” The Times continued “The total damage and economic loss could be more than $250 billion.” The effects of these man-made climate disasters stretch into the future. To record the consequences of Hurricane Helene The New York Times interviewed environmental economist Rachel Young. She said, “Helene could cause 44,000 to 68,000 extra deaths over the next 14 years.” The Times explained “Climate change is upending the basic assumption that Americans can continue to build wealth and financial security by owning their own home. In a sense, it is upending the American dream.”

An international group of 14 leading climate scientists captured the severity in “The 2024 State of the Climate Report.” “We find ourselves amid an abrupt climate upheaval, a dire situation never before encountered in the annals of human existence… We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster.” The Financial Times captured President Trump’s reaction to our global emergency. “We will drill, baby, drill.” President Trump “eliminated more than 70 climate and green energy initiatives in his first week of office.” The elimination of these climate initiatives “delivered on the wishes of the fossil fuel executives that helped fund his campaign.” The Financial Times Chief Economic Correspondent responded to the President’s actions. Martin Wolf wrote “So, Trump declares that ‘we will drill, baby, drill’. In 2024, according to NASA, global temperatures were 1.28°C above its 1951-80 baseline, the highest ever recorded. Atmospheric concentrations of CO? continue to rise. So, it is to be ‘burn, baby, burn.’”

While the world burns, the House Republicans reward the wealthy few. Their released budget resolution extended the 2017 tax cuts. Economist Joseph Stiglitz wrote, “the lion’s share of the (2017) tax cut goes to corporations and the very rich.” The extension of the tax cuts will raise the deficit by $4.5 trillion. The working class will get another swift kick in the face. While, as Bernie Sanders repeats, “the very rich become much richer.” The three richest people in the US own more wealth than 170 million citizens. The House Republicans and the President state they are the people’s great protector. Yet, as global warming ravages the world Washington only protects the wealthy. The rest face a reality best explained by Senator Sanders. “60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck,” and “we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth.” Bernie asked “Do you think the oligarchs give a damn about these people? Trust me, they don’t.” As George Carlin said “It’s a big club & you ain’t in It! You and I are not in the big club.”

 

Anton Porcari

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/the-big-club/

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