“Simply put, if you don’t work, you don’t eat — simple as that. Those who voted the for the FP are tired of people who have new smart phones and freshly lacquered manicures asking for government assistance while there are people who would be happy just to have enough food to eat and who are willing to put in labor for that privilege. They will be given the tools on how to survive in the working world, and it is up to them to walk through the open door,” said the President, who at this point was clearly annoyed but still realizing he needed Senator Landrew.
“I am not ignoring the importance of what you are saying, Senator Landrew. However, we have a lot more ground to cover today. Do I have your permission to continue?”
With all eyes turning towards Senator Landrew she suddenly became very meek in her response, “Of course, Mr. President.”
The President took a deep breath and slowly let it out; the meeting was going well but he was definitely irritated with having to deal with a progressive liberal who just did not understand the financial situation these entitlement programs had placed the country in.
The President continued the briefing, moving on to the energy agenda. “Our economy is still dependent on fossil fuels, and so is the rest of the world. We have seen what $400+ for a barrel of oil has done to the global economy. America has fared better than others because we have energy resources, but they are not enough. We need to become 100 % energy independent and lead the way in finding realistic alternative energy sources in order to ensure the world is never again held hostage by one country or region.”
“Going forward, we are establishing a new energy plan and policy. Our new policy will be a multifaceted approach. We are going to move full speed ahead with ethanol-based fuel for vehicles. As a country we can produce enough crops to convert into sufficient fuel for our domestic needs. This will increase demand in the farming sector and reduce our need for gasoline. Oil is too important to the rest of the economy for us to use such a large portion of it as fuel for vehicles when there are clean renewable alternatives available.”
“We will also expand the exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas in our own country. Petroleum is used in nearly every aspect of the economy; to ensure economic stability, further exploration needs to be done.” The President stopped for a second to take a drink of water and turned towards the economic advisors and Congressional leadership before speaking again.
“The US has been sitting on an enormous surplus in oil and natural gas for the last couple of decades, yet we have never realized its full potential to increase our exports and revenue. This industry is also (believe it or not) a means to transform our economy into a more Green economy. For the last one hundred fifty years, administration after administration has federalized immense amounts of public land to turn it into federal parks; at this point, over 50 % of America has been turned into a federally protected park.”
The President paused for a second, continuing to gauge the response of the Congressional leaders who were not part of the FP, since they had not been made aware of the forthcoming Executive Order (EO). “With Executive Order 902, I am officially creating the America First Corporation, or AFC. The Congress will vote on this later in the year to make it a permanent organization beyond my Administration. AFC will be run like a private enterprise, with the exception that 60 % of the profits will be used to help fund the federal government. Ten percent of the profits will fund an internal R&D department with the sole purpose of creating new ways of capturing the sun’s energy and will include space-based platforms. There are no shareholders or other special interest groups to interfere with this type of research, so I am confident we will see an alternative to fossil fuels within next decade or two.” A few whistles could be heard in the room by one of the Republican representatives; even Senator Landrew smiled at the thought of finally being able to move away from fossil fuel-based energy.
“The remaining 30 % will be used to develop organic growth, employee training and community programs. AFC will initially be funded with $15 billion, and will have exclusive rights to drill and mine for minerals and resources on all federal lands except for certain specific National Heritage Parks, which will remain as pristine treasures for our future generations. CEO pay for AFC will be capped at no higher than 250 times the lowest paid employee. There will be no stock sold in AFC, and there will be no bonuses or dividends paid to banks or investors (as there will be none). All internal CEO bonus pay is also capped at no more than 50 times the lowest bonus given. This will ensure that AFC will remain a corporation that serves the people of America and the Government; there will be no excessive pay, yet it will still allow for merit pay and bonuses when warranted. We want the best and brightest to work for AFC.”
Seeing approving looks thus far, the President continued. “AFCs sole purpose is to earn money to help fund the federal government and entitlement programs, essentially a sovereign wealth fund. It will compete on the open market for materials and will receive no special privileges, with the exception of only being allowed to operate on existing federal lands. I am also authorizing the construction of ten additional oil refineries so as additional oil is brought to the market, we will have the refinery capacity to handle it and produce our own gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products in the quantities needed to be completely self-sufficient.”
America had trillions in unfunded liabilities, primarily Social Security and Medicare. If these programs are going to remain solvent, then a sovereign wealth fund solely dedicated to generating a profit to pay for them needed to be developed. The President also believed AFC would, in time, generate more than two hundred thousand new high paying jobs, which was greatly needed in the wake of the Great Depression.
“During the campaign, I said I would work to provide America with clean energy, and I plan on doing just that. As President, I am authorizing the construction of additional natural gas and nuclear power plants. As we build a new power plant, we will close down the dirtiest of coal plants, replacing them with natural gas and nuclear power. The goal is that over the next decade we will replace virtually all coal plants with clean natural gas and nuclear power. Most of these new power plants and AFC facilities will also be located in coal producing states and counties to help offset the job losses that will occur as we move away from coal.”
“I have directed the Department of Energy to work on increasing America’s generation of nuclear power by 22 % to 40 % within the next ten years. Each of the new plants will have a built-in capacity to handle the nuclear waste they generate in a safe and guarded manner until scientists are able to find a better means of disposing of it.”
Monty quickly interjected to point out, “—Older nuclear plants will be replaced by the new ones, with the increased waste storage facilities so that they can be decommissioned or rebuilt.”
After years of working together with Monty, President Stein was used to him bringing up important points during his presentations, and continued completely unfazed. “As part of the Clean Energy Act, we are also going to begin construction of eight large-scale wind farms, both onshore and offshore. We will expand and build new solar farms in the southwest and geothermal plants as well. I’m also determined to put the devices that harvest wave energy on the market; this has been held up too long because of lack of funding. These initiatives will take time, but over the next decade we will reduce America’s carbon footprint and bring cheap inexpensive power to the marketplace through common sense energy policies, thus lowering the production cost of manufacturing and increasing job growth. This comprehensive approach will increase renewable energy generation by 30 %, nuclear power by 40 % and natural gas power by 30 %.”