[print-me]
Dad, I followed your recommendation and read the Green New Deal. It’s only 14 pages. Because of the Congressional format that it is written in, it is actually about 6 pages of regularly formatted text. It was a really easy read.
Here is a direct link to the PDF from the Congress web-site:
https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hres109/BILLS-116hres109ih.pdf
I find it fun to open the PDF and press CTRL+F to search for how many times specific words and phrases appear in the document such as: (1) how many times does “New Deal” appear or (2) how many times does “socialism” appear. Answer: “socialism” appears in this document Z-E-R-O times. Given this fact, I will suggest that many of the objectives set in the Green New Deal can be achieved via either (1) socialist, (2) capitalist or a (3) hybrid socialist-capitalist method.
It is shocking to me that this short document gets so much press and generates so much controversy.
The first four pages of this Green New Deal document are a set of 7 “whereas” statements. The remaining 10 pages outline 4 resolution sections: Section 1 with 5 sub-sections, Section 2 with 14 sub-sections, Section 3 with only 1 sub-section and Section 4 with 15 sub-sections. Again, it is a very short and easy to read document.
Given that it is so short and easy to read, the Green New Deal does not set out any specific plans on how to achieve its fulfillment. This Green New Deal document is 100% aspirational in content. It simply lists the long term objectives of the Green New Deal.
The first two “whereas” clauses directly present facts about climate change and the horrendous costs related it. However, the third “whereas” clause shifts into a lengthy discussion of listing economic and social injustices. This was very confusing. It just did not flow well. The document lost its primary focus on climate change.
Here are some interesting specifics:
On page 4 of the document, the last two “whereas” clauses make reference to FDR’s New Deal and World War II. The final “whereas” clause at the bottom of page 4 states that the US House of Representatives has a “historic opportunity” to launch the Green New Deal with the same energy and conviction that the US Congress launched the New Deal under FDR in the 1930’s.
The document made a distinction between:
1). Green New Deal Goals
2). Green New Deal Mobilization
My Concluding Comments on the 14 page Green New Deal Resolution
This Green New Deal resolution is 100% aspirational. It simply sets legislative objectives and goals. How the Green New Deal is attained is open to interpretation. It can be attained via socialist methods, capitalist methods or a combination of the two.
While Bernie Sanders and AOC may be “Democratic Socialists”, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, John Delaney, Michael Bennett are capitalists who want to make adjustments to America’s current capitalist environment to attain many of the same goals stated in the Green New Deal.
Let’s keep our minds open and consider all methods of looking forward and attaining the goals in the Green New Deal. Let’s give capitalism a shot at fulfilling the objectives of the Green New Deal. Sorry Bernie and AOC! : ) While both of you may preach about the virtues of socialism and the evils of capitalism, we know that you both are both capitalists when it benefits you both. If capitalism is good enough for both of you “Democratic Socialists”, capitalism can play a role in fulfilling the goals listed in the Green New Deal.
Here is a very useful US Government web-site to learn more about specific pieces of Congressional Legislation:
When you access this page, check out the research tools available: (1) you have a search box to search for legislation and bills and (2) you can subscribe to Congressional alerts on specific Congressional activities.
Here is an example of how to use the congress.gov web-site to learn more interesting details about the actual Green New Deal Resolution.
Check out the tabs for the Green New Deal Resolution: (1) Actions, (2) Co-sponsors, (3) Committees and (4) Related Bills.
Here is the link for this page:
Click on these tabs, browse pages, click on the hot-links on interest on any of these pages and explore the massive amount of great data on the congress.gov web-site. Enjoy!
