The stimulus package

I downloaded the stimulus package, or rather "bill," today to see what I could learn. I learned very little except that an awful lot of money is being distributed to many governmental agencies. What that distribution means is well beyond my scope of how the world works. Of interest however is that I noticed much language concerning the development of "green" jobs. Being an environmentalist, I'll all for green jobs. But how does one create such jobs and who does the creating? And who decides whether any particularly industry is truly green or just blowing smoke?

Also of interest was money being thrown at rural development, transportation, and strengthening infrastructure. I do hope that some of the largesse goes to laying more groundwork and building infrastructure in rural areas. I could imagine a world where Appalachia's youth could stay at home, work at a green job, and easily hop on-line to connect to the rest of the world. And same goes for our elders who provide so much social and financial capital to families. As people live increasingly longer it is time that we folk of the Appalachian hills take a more proactive stance towards insuring a high quality of life throughout our life course. I've seen too many people, most recently my mamaw, suffer at the hands of diabetes and other chronic, preventable illness. 

That obesity is a pubic health epidemic especially prevalent in the region should be a wake-up call that our "traditional" fatty food is anything but. We don't eat like our ancestors, rather we eat mass-produced junk. It's time for us to get real and honest! And perhaps for once those government dollars won't be wasted.

Besides our delusions about "traditional" food, we need to exercise more regularly. One problem with rural areas is the issue of finding a safe, affordable place in which to exercise. Things that more urban folk take for granted such sidewalks, walking tracks, YMCAs, malls, or an abundance of gyms are virtually non-existent in many rural places. I, for one, would like to see some money devoted to making safe places to walk. It is America's favorite exercise and is gentle and exceedingly beneficial. Forget the big bucks on "equipment," but rather open a fitness center with a walking track. This could be joined to a health center so that users had access to information about other areas of health promotion such as nutrition. 

But then to deal with the corrupt politicians, another tradition I'll tangle with another day.