As Barack Obama has gotten ready to take office, there has been a lot of talk of a stimulus package to help revive our economy — which, it has finally been determined, has officially been in a recession for a year.

Apparently there is a lot of discussion about whether so-called “green-collar” jobs, or jobs in environmentally friendly industries, should receive any aid from the stimulus. It sounds like opponents say that green jobs won’t have enough of an immediate impact on the economy. On the other hand, the proponents argue that putting money into projects that create jobs such as road construction work is simply dumping money into a failing economy, rather than making changes that will build a more sustainable society.

I’m assuming by “green-collar” jobs they mean industries such as solar power and wind power. Alternative energy sources such as solar electric are often viewed as being the way of the future, as fossil fuels become more scarce (and more expensive!).

I think the important issue here has to be not just what will get the quickest response out of the economy, but what will get the most lasting response out of the economy. We have to think about more than just the immediate future if we want to not only get out of the recession, but stay out of the recession. I guess it’s kind of like writing a business plan — you have to think about the long term as well as the short term!

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