A growing movement has emerged calling on the federal government to lead efforts addressing both economic inequality and climate change through what supporters term the Green New Deal.
U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts stands among the legislation’s primary architects, working alongside newly elected Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
The Green New Deal encompasses both economic and environmental components.
Universal health insurance, job creation, and an expanded safety net represent the economic pillars of the proposal.
Environmentally, the initiative aims to make the United States carbon-neutral within 10 years.
Congressional Republicans are expected to oppose both aspects of the plan. The economic provisions would require tax increases on wealthy Americans, effectively reversing the tax cuts the GOP Congress passed last year.
The energy industry and other business groups will likely mount strong resistance to the environmental goals.
Proponents view the Green New Deal as a response to what they consider two fundamental threats to American life and the nation itself:
One threat is the emergence of plutocracy—government controlled by, for, and of the wealthy.
The other is climate change, which poses catastrophic environmental and economic risks unless immediate action reverses its trajectory before reaching an irreversible tipping point.
Critics may dismiss the Green New Deal as unrealistic. However, without addressing the accelerating wealth concentration among a small elite and the urgent climate crisis, the outlook for America and the world remains dire.