WHAT IS ECONOMIC CONVERSION
AND WHY DO WE NEED IT?
- Economic conversion is the process of smoothly converting weapons industries into enterprises that will further the well-being of a peaceful society. For example:
- Senator Mark Hatfield said, "Peace through Strength is a fallacy. The national defense has left us vulnerable, but not because we lack an arsenal. Our vulnerability is the poor who are without homes, nutrition, education, health care. We the people are vulnerable today."
- Dick Greenwood, special assistant to the President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union, demonstrated how unity and vision can work: "One third of our members are dependent on military contracts.... Instead of marching on Capitol Hill with our employers to fight military spending cuts, we helped write a conversion bill back in 1978. With the prospect of disarmament on a grand scale we need that program now!"
- For too long the research and resources of this nation and its former adversary have been focused on destruction. Isolationism and trade wars will not bring prosperity. A peaceful plentiful future will depend on our willingness to employ knowledge and resources in a constructive manner. That's why Proposition One requires that the vast resources saved by doing away with nuclear weapons will be redirected to human needs, such as housing, health care, education, agriculture, and environmental restoration.