Flora’s Perspective on Just Transition Conference
This past Saturday, June 7th, I attended the Clean Air Coalition’s Just Transition Conference to discuss the future of the Huntley Coal Plant in Tonawanda and coal plants in general. Although there were several informative panels over the course of the day, it was Les Leopold’s 99 Percent Economics panel that left me simultaneously outraged and in awe throughout.
The focus of his panel was the trend of financialization, or the transformation of everyone and everything into a source of income for the financial sector. I was aware of this trend before the conference, albeit abstractedly, but Leopold’s use of clear and straightforward graphs and statistics made financialization and the disproportionate harm it causes much more concrete and shocking, though unsurprising due to my general knowledge of the profit-driven financial sector that is destroying the environment and increasing inequality.
One of the facts that most shocked me was that in 2010 the top Wall St. Hedge Fund Manager made 2.4 million dollars AN HOUR, which is the same amount that an average American family makes in 47 YEARS. This highlights the insane inequity that exists today and will only worsen if the financial sector remains largely unregulated. Not only is this inequity harmful on a personal level, with a few living in extreme excess while many do not even make a real living wage, but it is also hurting the environment as it makes us feel like we can’t afford environmental protection. The rising indebtedness also makes it more difficult for the government to spend money on environmental protection rather than immediate social programs.
Given that financialization is harmful to most of the country and our environment, it is clear that change is necessary. Leopold advocated for this change by encouraging us to unite our different groups and silos into a unified movement. If we could do this nationally we would be able to have enough people power that the government would have to listen to our demands, which is something the environmental movement has previously lacked. So let’s do it! Let’s build coalitions, educate each other, unite, and demand justice today!
