We try to teach our children to be honest and ethical people that behave responsibly and contribute to society.  We hope they will find a way to make a living that brings them joy, satisfaction and some level of security.  Along the way most parents also teach their children to not be wasteful and to try and take care of their belongings.

“Waste not, want not” said wise old Benjamin Franklin and hundreds of years later that sage advice is more relevant than ever.  During these tough economic times many of us are working hard to make do with less.  Because of that our “throw away” culture based upon cheap goods is being transformed into a “waste not, want not” culture, where we try to stretch the life-cycle of goods.  And, when goods must be replaced we are increasingly turning to more environmentally sound products.

If we as a culture can mature and behave responsibly towards each other and the planet, we will not only have the promise of sustainable life, we can also show our collective parents (God) that we finally grew up and learned how to take care of our home planet, manage our resources wisely and find joy in doing so.

President Barack Obama signs the economic-stimulus bill in Denver today at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, as Vice President Joe Biden looks on. (The Denver Post | Craig F. Walker)

Today, President Obama signed the $787 billion Stimulus Bill into law here in Denver, Colorado. The plan is designed to jump start the economy by providing for some of the biggest spending seen since World War II. Dollars are earmarked for roads, infrastructure and a fair amount of money will be used for the development of renewable energy solutions.

Why we have neglected our roads, bridges and electrical system infrastructure for all these years is hard to say. I suppose that as long as things worked no one cared enough to appropriate funds to fix them.  In more recent years, problems with bridges collapsing and with the power grid  have made these projects a no brainer.  We need transportation and we need more efficient ways to transmit and bank electricity. 

Perhaps the biggest legacy from this epic spending bill will be if the dollars invested into green technologies can be turned into practical renewable energy solutions that create jobs, wealth and reduce our reliance on greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels sold to us by countries that don’t like us very much. I think that is pretty exciting.

Honestly, I am leery of any big spending bill, but what do you think about this all?  Do you think the stimulus bill will improve our lives and help the economy or do you think that only a few companies will really profit from it and that the tax payers will get screwed?

Okay, so I doubt there are any Ramones or Johnny Thunders fans that are going to get the sarcasm of this Post’s title.  BUT, today I was listening to NPR and they had this segment on talking about Africa and China.  While most of the Western world has been very cautious about investing in some of the less stable African nations, China is jumping in with both feet.   Awesome, right? 

Before we get too warm and fuzzy about how wonderful the Chinese are it is important to point out that the reason the West is restraining itself from investing in these counties is due to serious human rights abuses.   China, no stranger to human rights abuses itself, is investing in building factories, which is creating jobs and this is all generally well received by the recipient governments and local populations.  In fact, some African officials are now telling the US and it’s Western Allies that their money is no longer needed.

As it turns out China is not only investing in some business ventures in countries like Zambia, but they are also flooding their markets with Chinese goods.   And there is the rub.   The Africans claim that China produces two categories of goods, a higher quality level of good exported to the West and a much lesser quality of cheap goods dumped onto the African markets.  

Two African girls in a local market selling these Chinese goods are excited at the colorful sandals they see for sale.  But one whispers to the other that they will wear out and break within 2 weeks.  Although the sandals “only” cost $1 USD this type of poor quality is inexcusably wasteful and the Chinese government should be ashamed for exploiting impoverished nations to dump inferior goods onto.  

Assuming they are not supporting bad governments, I am happy that they are creating much needed jobs in these poor nations, but at what cost to human rights and dignity?