Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on August 22 unveiled his version of the infamous “Green New Deal,” or – as Maoists still fondly refer to it – the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. To Bernie’s credit, it certainly would be the quickest way to impoverish and enslave the entire population of the United States while ensuring that all those pesky rich people and huge corporations flee the country at the earliest opportunity. Since this is what the left is striving for, good job, sir!
Bernie Sanders
The plan comes with a $16.3 trillion (that’s trillion with an “Oh my God! How much?”) price tag, over ten years. By either an amazing coincidence or Bernie’s extraordinary mathematical acumen, this is also the exact number of pages of new regulations, permit application forms, code infraction notice forms, permit approval forms, work order forms, and code infraction appeal forms this plan will require. Bear in mind, government agencies usually like everything filed in triplicate.
The Paperwork Alone Will Kill Us All
Even if the cost of producing all this paperwork has been factored in, the clearing of the entire Amazon Rain Forest to provide that much paper has probably not been considered. To put this $16.3 trillion cost in perspective, the entire world’s annual Gross Domestic Product comes in at around $75.5 trillion. For the fiscal year 2019, the US federal budget is around $4.4 trillion.
It is also worth remembering that almost no government project has ever come in under budget (the most recent of the rare exceptions being the new US embassy in Jerusalem). Bureaucracy, incompetence, waste, and fraud ensure that any project a government body undertakes usually comes in several years beyond the deadline and maybe 50% – at the very least – over budget. The bigger the project, the longer the delay and the more over-budget it becomes. Thus, it is safe to assume that $16.3 trillion over a decade really means $60 trillion over 40 years.
Since the leading intellects of the American left, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), have already warned that the world will end in 12 years without action on climate change, it’s not at all certain that the Bern’s grand scheme will save us.
The Highlights of Bernie’s Plan
You could read all about it on Bernie’s campaign website, but I did so that you don’t have to. A few interesting things stand out. Firstly, that this endeavor is described as “a ten-year, nationwide mobilization centered around justice and equity during which climate change will be factored into virtually every area of policy, from immigration to trade to foreign policy and beyond.”
So, it’s not all about saving the planet: It’s about redistribution of wealth, assets, and opportunity – because when progressives and socialists talk about “justice,” that is exactly what they mean. Allegedly, the plan will create 20 million jobs but “These jobs will be good paying [sic], union jobs …“ So, it’s not all about saving the planet: It’s about lining the pockets of union officials (dues from 20 million new members will buy plenty of swanky pads). And, of course, these newly-enriched unions will be pouring money back into the Democratic Party – how convenient!
As President, Sanders intends to declare climate change a national emergency, which will grant him all kinds of cool powers to circumvent Congress. Since the alleged implications of climate change affect just about every aspect of modern life, declaring it a national emergency would result in the president being able to do pretty much anything he wanted. So, make no mistake, we are talking about dictatorship, here.
The plan also allows for a transfer of 200 billion of the American taxpayers’ dollars to other countries, in the name of a commitment “to reducing emissions throughout the world.”
Then again, under a President Bernie, the world is, apparently, going to be an awful lot smaller: “We must recognize,” the blurb on his website reads, “that people from every country in the world — Russia, India, China, Japan, Brazil — are all in this together.” One can only guess what Sanders has planned for all the other countries. Presumably, they will become windfarms after their entire populations have been relocated to the United States.
“Together, we will lead the international community to keep global warming at or below 1.5 degrees Celsius.” While Sanders plans to slash defense spending, he clearly intends to leave the US military with enough resources to ensure that nobody messes with the thermostat.
There’s a lot in this plan for those who still dream of a resurgent communist utopia, such as “community ownership of farmland” and “co-operatively owned grocery stores.” There are also a lot of new slush-funds: A $36 billion investment for a “victory lawns and gardens initiative,” a $40 billion “Climate Justice Resiliency Fund,” and several others that have been deceptively labeled as buckets of money for various grants to allow people to optimize the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses.
Suffice to say, Bernie’s plan is a blueprint for a government takeover of, well, everything, as well as a justification to tax every working American into oblivion. It’s all to save the planet, after all, so no measure is too extreme and no tax too high.
It’s complete nonsense, of course. The global warming/climate change alarmists went too far when they introduced the “12 years until the end of the world” narrative. The government simply doesn’t move that fast. Even if Bernie were to secure the Democratic Party nomination for 2020 – which he won’t – and even if he then defeated President Donald Trump in the election – which he wouldn’t – and even if he then declared a national state of emergency and endowed himself with virtually unlimited power to implement his plan, he still runs up against the wheels of government bureaucracy.
These wheels are rusty, they are square, and the tires need constant patching. The exploratory committees and the planning committees alone will take 12 years to report their findings. If the environmental crazies turn out to be right, after all, the human race will be well on the way to extinction by that time – and, so, the problem will have resolved itself.
~
Read more from Graham J. Noble or comment on this article at Liberty Nation.com.
