By 1940, in the wake of the Great Depression, with money desperately needed for a brewing world war, the US government established the Victory Bonds program. More than 85 million Americans eventually purchased Victory Bonds from the federal government generating $185 billion in cash, the equivalent of $2 trillion in today’s dollars, to stabilize the US economy and allow investment in winning the fight against the fascists.
Fast forward to 2010. The BP oil spill made it even more obvious that America needs to start converting to a clean energy economy. The problem is that the US is just 10th in the world in clean energy investment as a percentage of the national economy despite the potential of green investments to create jobs, and cleaner cities and towns.
So why not Clean Energy Victory Bonds? The group Green America is promoting just that idea in a new campaign to convince Congress to create the necessary legislation. It seems like a no-brainer. Americans could purchase Clean Energy Victory Bonds from the US Treasury to help fund the rapid deployment of renewable energy development projects and energy efficiency upgrades.
According to Green America, CEVBs would benefit the economy, the environment, and investors, by uniting individuals, communities, and companies to help finance the rapid deployment of renewable energy projects and energy efficiency upgrades; enabling anyone with savings to help put new renewable projects on the ground; offering flexible redemption options between 12 months and 30 years; creating a safe investment for Americans that pays a competitive rate of return, and helping to create 1.7 million new jobs deploying and maintaining renewable energy development projects.
More than 1,500 people replied to Green America’s call last week asking who would invest in Clean Energy bonds given the chance. It’s critical to show there’s a market for these bonds so add your name to the list before Green America presents its petition to Congress and join a popular Facebook group dedicated to the idea.
