Green New Deal Backers Reveal What Their Sweeping Plan Is Really About

Green New Deal Supporters Admit, ‘We Really Think Of It As A How-Do-You-Change-The-Entire-Economy Thing,’ ‘A New, All-Encompassing Domestic Agenda’

SAIKAT CHAKRABARTI, Chief of Staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): “The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn’t originally a climate thing at all…. Do you guys think of it as a climate thing? Because we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing.” (“AOC’s Chief of Change,” The Washington Post Magazine, 7/10/2019)

“New Consensus aims to be the policy quarterback for the Green New Deal. It wants to combine ideas from dozens of fields—including economics, sociology, ecology, and climate science—to write a new, all-encompassing domestic agenda. It promotes industrial policy, a school of thought that says a country should invest public dollars in its high-tech manufacturing capacity to flourish.” (“The Think Tank Struggling to Write the Green New Deal,” The Atlantic, 6/12/2019)

• “New Consensus is dreaming bigger even as it plans the next six months of research. [New Consensus executive director Demond] Drummer ultimately conceives of the Green New Deal as far more than a climate policy. It is a governing domestic agenda, he said, a chance to ‘see the elephant whole.’” (“The Think Tank Struggling to Write the Green New Deal,” The Atlantic, 6/12/2019)

Vox’s David Roberts, Prominent Green New Deal Proponent: “The [Green New Deal] is, at its heart, a form of social-democratic populism….  Again, the GND is not just climate policy. It’s about transforming the economy … and creating a more muscular, active public sector.” (David Roberts, “The Green New Deal, Explained,” Vox, 3/30/2019)

Naomi Klein, Prominent Green New Deal Proponent: “Now that the [Green New Deal] resolution is out there, however, the onus is on all of us who support it to help make the case for how our overlapping crises are indeed inextricably linked — and can only be overcome with a holistic vision for social and economic transformation.” (Naomi Klein, “The Battle Lines Have Been Drawn on the Green New Deal,” The Intercept, 2/13/2019)

The Most Prominent Green New Deal Supporters In Congress Just Introduced A New Resolution Declaring The Need For A ‘Massive-Scale’ ‘National, Social, Industrial, And Economic Mobilization’

New resolution introduced by SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT) and REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): “[A] climate emergency … demands a national, social, industrial, and economic mobilization of the resources and labor of the United States at a massive-scale …” (Sen. Sanders, Press Release, 7/09/2019)

• SANDERS & OCASIO-CORTEZ Resolution: “[A]ddressing the climate emergency will require [a] managed phase-out of the use of oil, gas, and coal to keep fossil fuels in the ground …” (Sen. Sanders, Press Release, 7/09/2019)

Democrats On The Green New Deal: ‘You Cannot Go Too Far On The Issue Of Climate Change,’ ‘Give Us Some Of That Socialism’

THE VIEW’S SUNNY HOSTIN: “Does the Green New Deal go too far?”

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): “No. You cannot go too far on the issue of climate change.” (“Sanders Says Green New Deal Doesn’t Go Too Far: You Can’t Go ‘Too Far’ on Climate Change,” Mediaite, 3/01/2019)

SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA), Green New Deal Senate sponsor: “They call the Green New Deal pie in the sky. They call it socialism! … So here’s what I say for wind and solar and all electric vehicles and clean energy: give us some of that socialism …” (Justice Democrats, @justicedems, Twitter, 5/14/2019)

And How Much Would This Fundamental Transformation Of The American Economy Cost?

$1.7 Trillion?

“Joe Biden, the front-runner for the Democratic 2020 presidential nomination, released a climate change plan on Tuesday that would pour $1.7 trillion of investment into achieving 100% clean energy and net-zero emissions by 2050 …” (“Biden Unveils $1.7 Trillion Climate Plan To End U.S. Carbon Emissions By 2050,” Reuters, 6/4/2019)

$2 Trillion?

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to invest $2 trillion in federal funding in clean energy programs as part of a Green New Deal aimed at confronting global climate change, according to her campaign.” (“Elizabeth Warren Proposes $2 Trillion Clean Energy Plan As Green New Deal Momentum Builds,” The Washington Post, 6/4/2019)

$5 Trillion?

“Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke on Monday released a sweeping, $5 trillion plan to combat what he regularly refers to as the ‘greatest threat’ our nation faces: climate change.” (“Beto O'Rourke Releases $5 Trillion Plan To Combat Climate Crisis,” NBC News, 4/29/2019)

$9 Trillion?

“Jay Inslee released a sweeping $9 trillion economic plan Thursday to … rapidly cut planet-warming gases, propelling the Washington governor far out ahead on the Green New Deal at least nine of his rival 2020 presidential candidates vowed to enact.” (“Jay Inslee Unveils $9 Trillion Climate Jobs Plan To Cut Emissions And Bolster Unions,” Huffington Post, 5/16/2019)

$10 Trillion?

“Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that any plan to sufficiently address the climate crisis will need to cost at least $10 trillion. ‘I think we really need to get to $10 trillion to have a shot,’ the progressive firebrand said in response to a question from The Hill in the Capitol. ‘I know it’s a ton,’ she added.” (“Ocasio-Cortez: $10 Trillion Needed For Effective Climate Plan,” The Hill, 6/05/2019)

$80 Trillion Over 10 Years?

“Corbin Trent, Ocasio-Cortez’s spokesman, told me that if the United States spent as much fighting climate change today as it did at the peak of World War II—when federal spending came to 40 percent of U.S. GDP—then a Green New Deal could cost as much as $8 trillion per year.” (“The Think Tank Struggling to Write the Green New Deal,” The Atlantic, 6/12/2019)

$93 Trillion Over 10 Years?

“The so-called Green New Deal may tally between $51 trillion and $93 trillion over 10-years, concludes American Action Forum, which is run by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who directed the non-partisan CBO from 2003 to 2005. That includes between $8.3 trillion and $12.3 trillion to meet the plan’s call to eliminate carbon emissions from the power and transportation sectors and between $42.8 trillion and $80.6 trillion for its economic agenda including providing jobs and health care for all.” (“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal Could Cost $93 Trillion, Group Says,” Bloomberg News, 2/25/2019)