Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats put forward their Green New Deal yesterday and yes it is a crazy as you thought, maybe even worse. I could go over all the details of this unbelievable proposal, like having no more need for airplanes, but that really isn’t necessary because this has no chance of ever passing. Then again, maybe that’s the point.
There was a time where Democrats hid their socialist intentions. Obamacare was pointing us in a direction of more government control, but it wasn’t full on socialist. Democrats would just nudge us in that direction. This was their tactic and it was sometimes effective. Now many of them are deciding to take a different approach. Democrats like Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris just push big socialist programs like Medicare for all and this Green New deal. They are so big and so expansive that they would be very difficult to pass. This is why I don’t necessarily fear these proposals. I fear the compromise.
The Medicare for all plan is really radical, even when you compare it to most countries that have nationalized healthcare. The Democratic Socialists made sure that the plan included effectively outlawing private health insurance.I don’t think most Americans will support this. The problem is the Democrats will then call for a compromise, and because their original proposal is so radical the compromise will seem tame. Don’t be fooled. The compromise will be either a public option or a nationalized health system that allows private healthcare for those who can afford it. That might not seem as bad as the original plan, but it is still the government taking more control over a huge part of our economy. Medicare for all is a disaster, but the compromise will still be a disaster.
I have to admit this may be partly a result of President Trump’s negotiating style. He throws things out there like banning all Muslims from entering the country, pulling out of NATO, or building a big concrete wall. Then he steps back and allows a compromise. We won’t ban all Muslims, but ban people from certain countries. We won’t pull out of NATO but put more pressure on the other countries to contribute more. We won’t build a big concrete wall but we’ll settle for steel slats. Sometimes this can actually be effective, even if that is not the original intention.
I believe AOC is a true believer. She’s been on the record saying that Millennials believe the end of the world is coming in 12 years. If you believe anything like that then a big government restructuring of the economy under a Green utopia might not be radical enough. Most of the Democrat leaders are not like that though. They’ll let her push her plan and then put forward cap and trade, carbon taxes, and big subsides and say it’s a reasonable compromise. They might be compromises, but they still take us in the wrong direction. Don’t fear the Green New Deal. Fear the compromise.
Photo credit: Getty Images