By Reginald Johnson
Unlike years ago,
when Connecticut’s economy was diversified and there were numerous companies manufacturing
a wide variety of consumer goods, today the state’s industrial base is heavily
dependent on defense firms.
Such companies as
Sikorsky, Pratt & Whitney and Electric Boat make helicopter gunships,
fighter aircraft and submarines for the nation’s military.
But there are a
growing number of peace advocates who think it’s time that we create a new
economy based on addressing human needs instead of making weapons of war.
This Saturday there
will be a discussion about this issue at a conference called “Retooling the
Connecticut War Economy” at Middlesex Community College in Middletown. The
event in Chapman Hall will take place from 12 noon to 4 pm. The event is free and open to all.
The keynote speaker
at the conference will be Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the peace organization
Code Pink.
“What we hope to
discuss is what things workers could build and what kinds of industries we
might establish to move out of the making of weaponry,” said Henry Lowendorf, a
member of the CT Peace and Solidarity Coalition, which is sponsoring the
conference.
Lowendorf said as
the climate crisis is forcing our society to move away from fossil fuels, there
will be more and more skilled workers displaced from the fossil fuel based
economy and nowhere to go. “This is
going to happen….these people are going to have to do something else,” he said.
As a result, it is
imperative to create new industries where people can work. It is in the area of
dealing with civilian needs --- building new housing, new infrastructure,
schools, and green jobs ---- where opportunities will open up.
“We have to make provision for what is going
to happen,” Lowendorf said, otherwise
there will be a “employment contastrophe.”
Lowendorf, also
with the Greater New Haven Peace Coalition, said the funds needed to build the
new industries should come from substantial cuts in the US military budget.
“We have to cut the
military budget. That’s where the money is. It is coming to over $1 trillion dollars on weapons and war every
year,” he said.
As cities like New
Haven and Bridgeport struggle to provide services due to lack of funding, the
Pentagon is handed huge budget allocations every year.
Most political
leaders, including members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation,
enthusiastically support the massive military budgets, because lots of money goes
to local defense firms, which in turn spells votes and contributions for them.
“We are making the
argument that we cannot continue spending 69% of our national treasure --- our
federal dollars --- on wars and weapons into the future. It’s just not sustainable. We’re killing our cities and states and killing
our communities,” Lowendorf said.
