There’s a “Green New Deal II” in the works and the usual suspects are behind it.
Senator Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and other Squad members have recycled some old ideas from the 1970s, gussied them up with climate change mumbo-jumbo, and presto! Another federal program that’s the same as other federal programs that have failed time and time again to do anything but separate citizens from their hard-earned money.
“In these difficult times, we must move forward boldly to address the systemic and existential crises facing us today, and that includes urgently combating climate change and making sure every American has a safe and decent place to call home,” Sanders said at a press conference, with the Capitol Building making a splendid backdrop.
“It is unacceptable that, on a single given night in America, over 650,000 people are homeless. It is unacceptable that, in the richest country in the history of the world, people are choosing between paying rent and putting food on the table,” he added.
The federal government has spent a trillion dollars on constructing and subsidizing public housing since the 1970s. That’s fifty years of failure to decently house low-income people. There are other ways to subsidize public housing, but the federal government is stuck simply and mindlessly throwing money at the problem.
“The bill would authorize $162 billion to $234 billion over the next 10 years to enhance and expand public housing with climate change-centric policies,” according to the Washington Examiner. And Squad member Jamaal Bowman thinks that the Green New Deal II for housing, along with a Green New Deal lI for public schools, will be a form of “reparations.”
“I also want to plug, we must also pass the Green New Deal for public schools, because the Green New Deal for public schools working in conjunction with the Green New Deal for public housing, is a form of reparations for our historically marginalized communities,” Bowman said during a speech.
“And as someone who has worked in public education for 20 years before running for Congress, housing, stable, affordable, safe, clean housing, impacts how our kids learn in our public schools. Housing is health care. Housing is about self-esteem and self-worth, and love and care for your community. When you feel that way, going to school, you’re going to perform better in school.”
A chicken in every pot, a Chevy in every garage, and an Apple II in every kid’s bedroom! Is there anything the Green New Deal II can’t do?
The political promises of charlatans have only marginally changed over the decades. What hasn’t changed is the snake oil they’re selling. The only thing that’s really changed is the dollar amount they want to spend—always more, ever higher, and the assurances that what they give become more outrageous, more incredible as time passes.
The new “Green New Deals” aren’t much of a deal. And if Bowman and the Squad have to stoop to claiming that their boondoggles are reparations for slavery, they know the legislation is in big trouble already.