Well Off - 324

How Well Off Are You?

A friend recently asked me if I was better off today than four years ago. That got me thinking: Am I better off than four years ago? 

How do you measure how "well off" you are? This is rather personal, and I invite you to do a little self-analysis. My "well-off meter" fluctuates primarily with how well I conduct my life but is affected by the successes and failures of the climate movement. With the rise of extreme weather, you may have guessed correctly that my emotional state is sometimes challenged. But the fact that we have messed up the atmospheric balance and will suffer the consequences does not make me feel powerless or fatalistic.  Because science is racing to save us by designing new and safer nuclear plants, better and more efficient batteries, powerful wind turbines, cheaper solar panels, and new and better EVs, I am confident we can beat the fossil fuel habit if we have the will power and ability to work together.

Financial security often comes to mind when analyzing how "well-off" a person is. My financial security is OK as I spent much of my career in camps on Alaska's north slope, at wildfires out west, or flying off the stern of Military Sealift Command ships. Tip: if you want to save money, work somewhere you can't spend it!

Consequently, I have a little money tucked away and have not had to deal with financial stresses, which are often a factor in our feeling of being well-off.

So, where do I get a sense of well-being? Do I sense I am well-off?

My brother and his family, my nephews and their wives and kids are healthy and doing well, which gives me a sense of well-being.

Like many of you, our sense of well-being or well-being is measured by how well the nation is doing.  

The strength of our country's military gives me a sense of well-being. As a veteran, I feel our current military is exceptional. I am proud of our service members and the support we give them. This gives me a sense of being well-off. Around the world, how many people can claim a professional army governed by a democratically elected government guards their borders?

One blessing few people think about is that in the USA, we fund science.  The vaccine that saved us from COVID-19 was a miracle of science. I am keenly aware of this because I am susceptible to pneumonia. The immunization and our public health system probably saved my life. 

The success of modern civilizations is related to the amount of money governments and businesses devote to research and development (R&D). While the amount the USA has devoted to R&D has dipped since the 1960s, it has increased under the Biden Administration.

Every modern nation needs a robust and modern infrastructure. This is paramount to function, but today, it is critical to prepare for extreme weather. Our national infrastructure was deteriorating, but in 2021, with bipartisan support, the Infrastructure and Jobs Act was passed and signed into law by President Biden. Our infrastructure is being overhauled and brought up to date, which leads me to believe we can act collectively and with reason.

When I was at the Air Force Academy, our instructors told us that our ability to defeat adversaries depends on our technological advantages. Today, our military, manufacturing, and space efforts depend on electronic chips. If you remember, during COVID, the chip supply lines failed. We could not import the chips we needed. Our auto and many assembly lines shut down. This was a glaring broken link in our military and industrial chain. In 2022, Biden signed the Chips and Science Act, which ensures our technological advantage and a protected homefield production capability. It simultaneously created thousands of jobs. This helps me feel well-off.

From the standpoint of being psychologically "well-off," and this is the BIG one, there is a law transforming the US economic and environmental landscape. In the struggle to slow the rapidly warming earth and give our kids hope, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed and signed into law by the Biden Administration in 2022.

At the core of the IRA law are tax incentives designed to compensate companies and individuals that deploy clean technologies. As a result, private sector money has been pouring in. According to the American Clean Power Association, companies have invested more than $270 billion in U.S.-based clean energy projects—think wind, solar, and batteries since the IRA became law. Vehicle technology investment has totaled more than $130 billion, and the private sector is expected to spend trillions more to take advantage of the IRA incentives.

The law has been transformative. As Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, put it, "I want to make it clear: the Inflation Reduction Act is the single most important climate action since the Paris Agreement in 2015."

While I am not swimming in a pool of greenbacks, nor am I fooled into believing these noted actions alone will clean up our climate mess, in the last four years, our federal government has demonstrated enough positive action for me to say, "Yeah, I am better off."

 

References:

 "The US Federal Scientific Research and Development: Budget Overview and Outlook" the Baker Institute

"Tracking the EV battery factory construction boom across North America" by techcrunch.com

"Clean Investment Monitor" Rhodium Group

"Clean Investment Monitor" MIT

"How the Inflation Reduction Act Has Reshaped the U.S.-and the World" Time Magazine