See also: Green New Deal (Hub)
The Green New Deal (GND) refers to a U.S. House of Representatives resolution and various legislative proposals supported by radical environmentalist groups.
While details of the “Deal” are unclear and frequently change, an attempt to estimate the cost of the plan that critics call a “radical, top-down, socialist makeover of the entire U.S. economy”1 found it could cost upwards of $90 trillion over a ten-year federal budget window if enacted.2
The Green New Deal Coalition, sponsored by Sunrise Movement, is a coalition campaign advocating for the Green New Deal legislation introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey in the 116th Congress.
Criticism
The Green New Deal has been widely criticized by people on both the Left and the Right for being too “broad” in its scope and focus. 3
Not an Environmental Proposal
In 2019, the chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Saikat Chakrabarti, told Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) that the legislative package is designed to completely revamp the entire U.S. economy. During an informal meeting between the two major climate change proponents, Chakrabarti stated that political supporters of the deal “really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy” plan behind closed doors. This is in contrast to claims that the legislation is designed to address “existential“ threat posed by climate change. 4
References
- McConnell, Mitch. Twitter Post. March 25, 2019, 5:18 P.M. Accessed March 29, 2019. https://twitter.com/senatemajldr/status/1110289975386492929
- Holtz-Eakin, Douglas, Dan Bosch, Ben Gitis, Dan Goldbeck, and Philip Rossetti. “The Green New Deal: Scope, Scale, and Implications.” American Action Forum. February 25, 2019. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/the-green-new-deal-scope-scale-and-implications/.
- Croucher, Shane. “Nancy Pelosi Pours Cold Water On Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal.” Accessed July 12, 2019. https://www.newsweek.com/nancy-pelosi-ocasio-cortez-green-new-deal-broad-1347079.
- “AOC’s Chief of Change.” Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2019/07/10/feature/how-saikat-chakrabarti-became-aocs-chief-of-change/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.bf826bedb3f8.