Like a lot of people, I suspect, I liked the idea of a Green New Deal, but didn't really know much about the details. So I looked online to find the document that spells it out. What I got was the resolution that was introduced in Congress. You can scroll down to find it all below.
Some thoughts:
1. It's more a set of goals and priorities than a plan of things to do. Though it does have some specific targets, like reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40-60% from 2010 levels by 2030
2. It pulls together a whole range of issues that are normally dealt with (if at all) separately, and by the grouping of them here, makes the point that they are all related and must all be considered jointly.
3. It sets out lots of important social/economic values - like protecting marginalized folks (a long list that goes from indigenous folks, to depopulated rural communities, low-income workers) - as needing to be protected from negative consequences of the changes.
The Right Wing Nay-Sayers have already begun attacking it for all sorts of reasons that boil down to demonizing it among the Right and splitting support on the Left. I hope people are learning to see through such tricks.
FDR's New Deal was a series of bills all tied together by a common concept of getting people jobs, food, hope. This could be the same.
I hope that a carbon fee and dividend bill - one has already been introduced in the House - will be one of the first successes of the Green New Deal. All the analysis I've seen shows a Carbon Free and Dividend Bill is the most politically feasible and most effective way to quickly start reducing CO2 in the atmosphere.
I wanted to break it down and make it more consumable, but to do that right is going to take some time and creativity. In the meantime, here's a copy of the resolution.
Green New Deal Resolution by on Scribd
