Disbursement of Revenue: National Infrastructure Funding

Disbursement of Federal Hemp/Cannabis Revenue

Section 3: Industrial and Economic

Part E: National Infrastructure Funding

25% of Total Disbursement

Purpose:      To fund development of an alternative bio-fuel and delivery systems

nationwide;

A percentage of the total revenues acquired from the taxation of Hemp/Cannabis would be set aside with the intended goal of creating an "Apollo Program" focused on the development of a viable Hemp-based uniform bio-fuel similar to the Nation of Brazil's use of cane-based bio-fuel.  A portion of the funds would be used to subsidize local fuel delivery systems nationwide until the market becomes self-sustaining.  The goal is to eliminate national dependence on fossil-based and overseas acquired energy sources.

"A crash program for sustainable energy independence would create three million good jobs, free the nation from imported oil, and promote a healthier environment. States and cities are leading the way toward a clean energy future. Now, the time has come for our nation to take up the challenge."

~ http://www.apolloalliance.org/

With the multiple potential energy sources that exist today, some, such as Solar, Wind or Geo-thermal are completely inconsistent with private transportation needs.  Others, such as Compressed Natural Gas, though valid and promising, serve primarily those entities which harness that energy source.  With a Hemp/Cannabis based bio-fuel along with the Hemp/Cannabis Tax, the use of a Hemp/Cannabis bio-fuel ultimately serves the entirety of the U.S. Population rather than just certain segments.  Including the tens of thousands of jobs created through such an industry (from harvesting to processing to the manufacture of all associated equipment down to custodians and book-keepers for all such related industry), the revenue seen from just the bio-fuel portion of the Hemp/Cannabis Tax should be more than sufficient in justifying Hemp/Cannabis as the United State’s primary Bio-fuel.

Considering that the Diesel engine was originally designed to run on bio-fuel, the rapid and unlimited potential of American ingenuity in the development of new technology and the superior quality of Hemp/Cannabis as a bio-fuel in relation to all other potential sources, it would be to the detriment of this Nation to prejudice against this crop which has the potential to be grown for such purposes in all 50 States.  With the Nation of Brazil proving that a bio-fuel is a viable alternative to dependence on foreign sources of fossil-fuel, it is to the shame of the United States that another Nation might surpass the U.S. in the implementation of such technology.  Thus, significant portions of the Hemp/Cannabis Tax should be allocated to developing Hemp/Cannabis based bio-fuel and implementing and encouraging it across the Nation.  Voucher-based subsidies should be established to assist in the development and change over from fossil to bio-fuel delivery systems.

Purpose:      To establish needed infrastructure upgrades nationwide through

Locally awarded contracts;

A percentage of the total revenues acquired from the taxation of Hemp/Cannabis would be set aside with the intended goal of promoting, through Locally awarded contracts, nationwide upgrades and repairs to the nation's infrastructure.  Along with upgrades and reinforcement of the existing national infrastructure (such as electrical grids, bridges, dams, highways, levees, etc.), an opportunity will be created wherein new technologies can be integrated into or replace existing ones.  Locally bid contracts for any work as well as labor forces will be considered first in all applications to ensure and promote as wide a disbursement of financial benefits as possible throughout the Nation.

“More than any single action by the government since the end of the war, this one would change the face of America with straightaways, cloverleaf turns, bridges, and elongated parkways.  Its impact on the American economy—the jobs it would produce in manufacturing and construction, the rural areas it would open up—was beyond calculation.”

~Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Mandate for Change 1953-1956” (1963)

Considering the aging infrastructure of the United States (ranging from the WPA projects in the 1930s to the Interstate Highway System of the 1950s), the over-dependent state of such fragile yet important networks as power grids and the aged, deteriorated state of levees in light of this last decade’s trouble with such, a portion of the Hemp/Cannabis Tax should be dedicated to the restoration and modernization of the entire United States Infrastructure.  The focus should be

a)    Modernization of critical technological Infrastructure such as Power Grids and Supply Systems.

b)   Maintenance and/or Modernization of Transportation Systems and Infrastructure.

c)    Maintenance and Development of Disaster Relief Infrastructure such as levees and storm walls.

Contracts for such work should be awarded with emphasis given to Local contractors first with the condition of considering Local Labor first.  Priority of Projects should be spread Nationwide to cover first those areas within our Nation that are at the greatest risk.  This funding will be permanent and ongoing, spreading throughout the Nation and repeating thereafter to provide a continuous and growing fund with which to ensure a growing and secure Nation as well as the development of potentially millions of community based employment opportunities Nationwide.