When the Green New Deal was submitted as a bill to Congress, I read it. Then I summarized it. This is what I got:
- Goals
- Create millions of good, high paying jobs
- Create greater prosperity than we have ever seen
- Counteract system injustices
- Create net-zero green house gas emissions
- Invest in infrastructure
- Gain
- Clean air and water
- Climate and community resiliency
- Healthy food
- Access to nature
- A sustainable environment
- While
- Promoting justice and equity
- Building resiliency against climate-change disasters
- Using 100% clean power
- Creating smart power grids
- Upgrading all US buildings to max energy efficiency
- Relying on clean manufacturing
- Creating a farm and ranch system based on sustainable energy family farms
- Removing pollution from transportation through zero emission manufacturing, public transit, and high speed rail
- Removing green house gases from the atmosphere
- Restoring fragile ecosystems
- Supporting education and research
- Supporting democratic processes for achieving goals
- Guarantying jobs for all
- Strengthening opportunities for unionizing
- Enforcing trade rules to prevent loss of jobs overseas and creating more American manufacturing jobs
- Eliminating unfair, monopolistic competition
- Ensuring support of indigenous people
Providing everyone with adequate health care, adequate housing, economic security, and a healthy environment. Republicans mock the proposal saying it would cost $93 trillion.
That figure comes from a conservative think tank — The American Action Forum They include $5.4 trillion for a low-carbon electricity grid, $2.7 trillion for a net-zero emissions system, and $4.2 trillion for green housing.
AAF’s really big numbers are $36 trillion for health care and $45 trillion for the jobs guarantee.
Subtract health care and the jobs guarantee from the proposal. Health care and jobs can stand on their own. Subtract $81 trillion (if there is a reason to think AAF’s numbers have any credence at all).
The New Green Deal now has a cost of $8 trillion. Before anyone considers the benefits from moving away from fossil fuels. Let’s talk some more about the New Green Deal. Maybe we can pass it.