"How do we pay for it?" seems to be the first question that opponents of the Green New Deal ask. That's more than a little remarkable, for two reasons:
First, the people who are asking that question about the GND never ask it about the eight off-the-books wars that the USA is waging. Cost apparently wasn't a concern for them when it comes to war. Nor are they concerned about the 1.5 trillion dollar tax cut for the super-rich that was rammed through Congress - nor the many tax cuts that were put through previously to benefit the wealthiest Americans and corporations. The question only seems to arise when it comes to tax cuts for the poor and middle class.
Second is the sheer insanity of that question. There are times when cost doesn't matter. For example, World War II. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, did the people of the United States discuss calculating whether or not they could afford to go to war? Shouldn't they have considered surrendering, since that might have been cheaper? What was wrong with Americans back then, that they considered their freedom and survival and sovereignty beyond price calculations?
Seriously, there are times when price no longer has meaning - such as in this case, where not taking all-out action to mitigate climate change will almost certainly result in a situation where money will literally be meaningless. Once civilization ends and the human race is extinct, currency will be nothing more than rotting, stinking bales and piles of paper. Coins will be meaningless lumps of metal. And the electronic records which represent the majority of the world's so-called value will have vanished into sheer nonexistence.
If someone is pointing a gun at your child's head, you don't stop to run a cost-benefit analysis before acting to save your child. Because some things are beyond price. And a planet that is habitable for human beings is one of them.
- Just curious, is anyone reading these? I can't help but wonder.
