The Green New Deal Is Kryptonite to Progress and Prosperity

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and far-left progressives are rebranding the Green New Deal (GND), now claiming it will preserve prosperity and dignity amidst socio-economic fallout from the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.

“The Green New Deal, frankly, is a floor now, not a ceiling,” said DSA member Melat Kiros last month, who is running for U.S. Congress in Colorado.

“We don’t talk about this enough, but we need to pass the Green New Deal … to create a just transition of jobs,” declared Adam Hamawy, also running for a seat in the U.S. House.

Perhaps most telling, the Sunrise Movement, a powerful interest group that has long advocated for the GND, recently noted that “new issues” are emerging “that were not present when the Green New Deal was first launched, like data centers and AI.”

Sunrise spokesperson Denae Ávila-Dickson is calling for a “new Green New Deal,” which will specifically “address” AI and data centers.

“Talking with a lot of young people, AI is probably going to be one of the biggest issues of our generation,” she said.

“So, what does it mean for a Green New Deal to address data centers? What does it mean for a Green New Deal to address the jobs that are going to be lost due to AI, and what is that new future going to look like?”

I have a more relevant question. Why the sudden pivot from climate change alarmism to AI and data centers alarmism as the justification for the GND?

The answer is obvious: Americans no longer consider climate change an existential threat.

Despite decades of global propaganda, climate alarmism is waning after Americans got a small preview of the Green New Deal under President Biden.

Biden’s GND agenda, partially passed into law under the Inflation Reduction Act and executive actions, raised energy costs at least $2,548 from 2021 to 2023 for “the average American household.” During that period, residential electricity prices increased 23 percent, home heating oil surged 69 percent, and natural gas prices rose 32 percent.

Along with higher costs and less reliable energy, Americans have noticed that fanatical climate change peddlers like Bill Gates and Larry Fink have abruptly changed their stance on the green energy transition just as the need for abundant, reliable, and affordable energy has become a top concern with the advent of AI and the development of data centers.

Long story short, climate realism has triumphed since the Green New Deal was introduced as a “framework for tackling our climate crisis” by Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) in 2019.

The DSA and their far-left comrades surely realize that climate alarmism is no longer a viable path to the GND, which I assume is why there has been a seemingly coordinated pivot from climate doomerism to AI and data centers doomerism as the latest emotional appeal for the GND.

However, under a scintilla of scrutiny, it becomes obvious that the GND would halt American AI progress, damage prosperity, and undermine economic security.

The GND’s size and scope are breathtaking. It includes eliminating all fossil fuels, imposing a so-called green transition, Medicare for All, a universal basic income, “free” college, and much more.

The price tag, estimated in 2019, was $93 trillion.

This summer, the DSA’s Workers Deserve More Program listed the GND as a central component.

“Workers must lead our democratic transition to a green future,” says the DSA.

Why would workers support more costly, less reliable energy?

Why would workers support a universal basic income, even for those unwilling to work?

Why would workers, many of whom wisely chose not to go into deep debt pursuing a dubious degree in some obscure field, want to cancel the debt of others?

The Green New Deal is anti-worker.

This is why the DSA is honing its message on young Americans who have been brainwashed into believing that socialism is good, free enterprise is evil, and the benevolent government is always right.

Whereas hard-working Americans understand that the GND would make their affordability problems decidedly worse, too many young people are falling for the socialist free stuff slogans.

This should concern Americans who value individual liberty, free markets, and personal choice.

The Green New Deal was never intended to solve climate change, and it surely was not created as a blunt force instrument against AI and data centers.

Soon after the Green New Deal was introduced by AOC, her chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, admitted to reporters that “the interesting thing about the Green New Deal, is it wasn't originally a climate thing at all,” Chakrabarti admitted to reporters.

“Do you guys think of it as a climate thing? Because we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing,” he added. Bingo. The GND must remain DOA.

Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.

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