“An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.” – Albert Einstein
The Atlantic: A Centuries-Old Idea Could Revolutionize Climate Policy
This is an intelligent, well-researched and balanced analysis of the Green New Deal proposal.
This excerpt emphasizes the change in policy the Green New Deal proposes:
“For more than a decade, the biggest progressive ideas about curbing climate change have relied on technical or narrow market mechanisms. They have required regulators to make emitting carbon dioxide costly. By prescribing industrial policy, the Green New Deal goes in a different direction: It throws all of American government and industry behind an attempt to make renewable energy cheap.”
I agree that an essential first step towards reducing human-caused climate change impacts is for governments to incentivize industry and the work-force by redirecting taxpayer subsidies to fund “green” technology R&D; re-education and re-training programs for the work force; and PR programs that focus on the positive benefits of transitioning to a renewable energy economy, not on negative PR (tar sands bad, fossil fuel industry evil, capitalism the spawn of Satan, etc.,) and penalties. The former approach is collaborative and inclusive, and more likely to win over many who would otherwise become more defensive, hostile and resistant to change if they felt they and their livelihoods were under attack with no opportunities to participate in a renewable energy economy.
In the following excerpt Meyer makes a valid comment about Ocasio-Cortez’s approach. Many in the “green” movement have adopted the same approach which, in my opinion, largely explains the reluctance of society to readily accept green policies.
“But the sum effect has been that Ocasio-Cortez and her team shout about equity while whispering about the economy. If the word manufacturing is now a racial dog whistle, who better than a popular leftist congresswoman to reclaim its whine? It may be too much to hope for a cross-partisan climate policy in the United States, but every climate policy must have some kind of crossover appeal. The U.S. economy will eventually be remade to fight climate change. Ocasio-Cortez and her team must decide whether they will lean into their policy’s promise or make it seem like more of the same.”
The sad reality is that in a consumer-driven society most people have been conditioned to prioritize their capacity to accumulate material possessions (economy) over altruism (concern about socio-economic “equity”). It’s no coincidence that First Past the Post (FPTP) elected governments rely on fear and misinformation to convince voters that electing a party that emphasizes equity would all but guarantee economic disaster. How many elections did Christie win with her simple mantra of “Jobs, jobs, jobs”? Here is a quote on this phenomenon you might enjoy:
The success or failure of the Green New Deal will be determined by whether the proponents choose to “lean into their policy’s promise” and “shout” about the economy or “make it seem like more of the same” and keep whispering. Socio-economic “equity” will only be achieved if/when people become aware of the inherent economic benefits in the Green New Deal.