What Is a Green New Deal?
In the months since the Green New Deal entered the public consciousness, it has been variously called ” stupid . “ It’s unrealistic . Wildly popular . Socialist Christmas list . It has sparked harsh reactions from both the right and the ostensibly left, and is already being seen as a litmus test for Democrats fighting for the 2020 nomination. Below is everything you need to know to familiarize yourself with the political proposal that is likely to dominate the headlines for the rest of the 2020 electoral cycle.
What was the original New Deal?
Most Americans probably recall the New Deal as a series of radical “big government” reforms undertaken by President Roosevelt to help lift the country out of the Great Depression. The guiding principles of the Roosevelt plan were known as the “three Rs” – relief, recovery, and reform. To this end, a number of progressive measures were born: social security benefits; financing public works projects such as airports, hospitals, schools and roads; ensuring that workers can bargain collectively through trade unions; Wealth Tax, which taxed 79 percent of income in excess of $ 5 million.
But as a recent Atlantic article points out, the New Deal was more than just a socialist dream (or, if you prefer, a socialist Christmas list). He also featured prominently in an independent agency called the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which in fact, the capitalist spirit channeled private capital into socially oriented investments. (He also marginalizes immigrants and people of color by excluding agricultural and domestic workers, Mexican immigrants and indigenous people from his protection.)
Where did the Green New Deal come from?
The term Green New Deal was coined over a decade ago by longtime New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who wrote that “The New Deal was not based on a magic bullet, but on a wide range of programs and industrial projects aimed at revitalizing America. “.
Friedman added that climate change will not stop at personal greening initiatives, but will require a fundamental shift in how the Earth gets energy, in particular by switching from oil to alternative energy sources. (Yes, but again, it was 2007.)
In a later column, he doubled down on that idea, writing that America needed a Green New Deal, “one in which the government’s role is not to fund projects, as in the original New Deal, but to conduct fundamental research, provide guarantees for loans where needed and setting standards, taxes and incentives that will create 1000 GE Transportations for all types of clean energy. ”
While the term did gain some popularity (it was adopted by Barack Obama as part of his campaign platform and served as the basis for a UN report calling for government incentives to focus on renewable energy projects), it was only just after the 2018 Medium-Term Outlook that really blew up.
What happened to the current Green New Deal?
The Green New Deal in its current form has become a household term thanks to the joint efforts of the Sunrise Movement Youth Climate Group and freshman deputy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. While drawing attention first organized a protest outside the office of Nancy Pelosi, the latter immediately began work on a project proposal to the Ad Hoc Committee of the Green New Deal, even though it was significantly blunted after it was deprived of the right to subpoena.
On February 7, Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey introduced the Green New Deal, which fleshes out what used to be a structural concept rather than an actionable roadmap that needs to be changed. While the resolution lacks a clear roadmap for implementation, it exposes the magnitude of the challenges at stake and calls for large-scale action such as eliminating U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and switching to 100 percent renewable energy, as well as introducing universal health care, free higher education and the creation of millions of quality jobs.
Why do I hear about this all the time?
You didn’t think that such a costly and ambitious venture to save us from a climate-induced disaster would go quietly through the night, did you? Of course not. Every TV pundit, blogger, and tweeter sentient not only has an opinion about Green New Deal, they have a take. The left argues that only a plan as large as the Green New Deal will save us. Several prominent Democrats were quick to ridicule the plan as unrealistic, in no small part because many of them are supported by the fossil fuel industry. The right, of course, is predictably hysterical. At a rally in Texas, Trump immediately announced the proposal for a “massive takeover of power.”
“I really don’t like their policy of picking up your car, taking plane flights away from you, ‘let’s take the train to California’ or ‘you’re not allowed to own cows anymore! “- he said.
What are the main suggestions?
First, nowhere in the Green New Deal text is there anything about taking cows from people. In addition, this is an optional fact, so the fear of armed officers who will turn up to blow up your car is also a complete farce.
But it’s an ambitious proposal that calls on the US to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions, and promises quality jobs in the clean energy sector. In particular, he calls on the United States to lead the world to zero emissions by 2050; it also challenges the federal government to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create sustainable, high-paying jobs, and ensure that access to clean air, clean water and healthy food is a basic human right. More broadly, it also calls for justice and equality, as well as an end to the oppression of historically marginalized groups such as indigenous peoples, people of color, migrants, women and others.
This requires a 10-year mobilization to reduce carbon emissions, as well as infrastructure overhauls in many sectors, from the power grid to buildings and transportation. You can read everything here .
How will the Green New Deal change everyday life?
It depends. Some states, such as California and Hawaii, have already set targets to cut carbon emissions, and 20 states and 50 major cities have pledged to keep pace with the goals set out in the Paris Agreement, even as the US withdrew from it. The Harvard Business Review points out that yes, such a change will result in the loss of jobs for miners; however, the coal industry has declined steadily for decades as demand fell .
Ocasio-Cortez said it envisions a combination of taxation and deficit spending to fund GND, expecting growth to be stimulated as well. Again, GND does not bind, so a passage will not necessarily lead to tectonic changes overnight. However, this will mean that the US is finally ready to admit that climate change is both a national and a global emergency, and that it is ready to take the reins into its own hands to avert a crisis.
Will it really happen?
It will definitely be a tough battle. Over the past decade, Republicans have been reflexively attacking the reforms proposed by the Democrats. Remember 2009, when Sarah Palin fueled anger over the Affordable Care Act by talking about “death commissions”? This fear-stirring trend only intensified when people like Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton told their voters that GND would “confiscate all private cars in America for a decade and ban air travel so we can all ride or ride at altitude.” – a high-speed tram, supposedly running on the tears of a unicorn. “
But many in Congress, even those who are not actively spreading lies about GND, are supported by fossil fuel companies, automakers and utilities. The power these industries have over elected officials has successfully prevented major climate change responses over the past decade . The most recent attempt was in 2009, when Nancy Pelosi reviewed the quota and trade bill through the House of Representatives; he died in the Senate after lengthy negotiations failed to pacify the fossil fuel industry.
However, GND has 67 coauthors and has been backed by several Democratic presidential candidates, including Senator Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Corey Booker, Elizabeth Warren, and Beto O’Rourke. Even if GND doesn’t get through, it will change the way we talk about climate change, and that’s no small thing.