by Teri Ong
A little while ago New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez presented to the American people her manifesto called “The Green New Deal,” which is a proposal for all sorts of social “improvement” programs that in her estimation will make life safer, cleaner, and more fair to all. She is convinced that the world will come to an end in a mere 12 years if we do not institute all of her suggestions– immediately.
The idea that one young woman is the embodiment of all wisdom on how to save society and the planet seems to me to be a living definition of hubris. At least 70 other law makers have signed on to her scheme, which has already undergone some revision to soften its more radical proposals in order to make it more popularly appealing. Conservatives are inclined not to take her plan too seriously, but it has often happened in human history that the few are able to bully the many into compliance and submission. Look around the world at the present time, if you need to see examples.
The Green New Deal is pure socialism [communism lite] packed up with a pretty bow called “social justice.” It is one woman’s utopian vision that she would gladly impose on all immediately if we did not still have a few checks and balances left. Why do people sign on to someone else’s utopian vision? There is one main reason– they think they can put in less, and get more out than they put in. High sounding altruistic reasons will be given– “We need to do this for the betterment of all.” “We need to do this to save the planet.” “We need to do this to make reparations and be fair.” But everyone pictures that they are the “poor” that Robin Hood will give to, and not the “rich” that he will rob.
The multiplied trillions of dollars that all of her proposed programs will cost must come from somewhere. And one problem with socialism is that eventually the “rich” run out of money, or they find better places to hide it. But let’s pretend that no real money is needed. The government can create 100 trillion dollars in crypto-currency and dole it out as they see fit to fund every program and give a guaranteed basic income to everyone in America. Would everything stay fair and equal for all? Would the scheme provide the “good life” for all?
Let’s say that everyone has an income of $80,000. Supposedly that gives everyone a lot of buying power to satisfy their wants. But if I can get $80,000 for being a night clerk at a Motel 6 where I can spend most of my time fooling around on-line, or I can get $80,000 for being a general practice physician that had to study [even though the training was “free”] for 10 grueling years and is now on call all the time because there are not enough doctors, what am I likely to choose? Or, if as Cortez initially proposed, I can get $80,000 to stay home and watch daytime television because I don’t “choose” to work, what am I likely to do? What follows is a prophetic parable.
People with $80,000 can buy nice houses. You want to upgrade, and now you can afford it. But who is going to want to build houses if there is no extra money for them in it? Who will want to pour concrete? Who will want to do framing when the weather is too cold or too hot? Let’s suppose robots have been invented to manufacture and even assemble houses. Who will decide what models are “approved” and “acceptable” for the planet? What if you want a 4 bedroom/ 4 bath home in the “burbs”? But the central planners say all you can have is a 2 bedroom/1 bath apartment in a multiplex built out of recycled shopping bags?
However, the supply of shopping bags to recycle has dried up because everyone is required by law to use multi-use bamboo crates to get and store groceries. Now you are on a waiting list for a new house, but at least your groceries will still be delivered by robots in self-driving vehicles to your old address. Of course, you will not be able to create your own shopping list because you will be pre-assigned a “healthy” amount of calories that come from “healthy” vegan sources. You will not be allowed to spend any of your $80 “thou” on any kind of meat (unhealthy, inhumane, and flatulent), or on tailgate party food (no tailgates anymore and too calorie dense).
Maybe you can spend some of your guaranteed income on your guaranteed vacation. Where will you go? You do an on-line search. Many of the resorts and even the theme parks have closed down because there are not enough workers to staff them. They are all home wondering what to do with their guaranteed income. You find a mom-and-pop motor lodge in Kokomo that is still open because it has been in the family so long, and Gramps can’t bring himself to quit on it. There are still a few unreserved openings there.
You can’t get there from your home in Boise overnight because you aren’t allowed to fly anymore. Travel time will eat up most of your 5 day allotment. You book passage on a high speed train, but the line hasn’t been completed between Iowa City and Indianapolis. Maybe you can rent an electric car. No, that won’t work because there is a shortage of electric cars due to the shortage of precious metals for battery production. The mines were shut down because the slave laborers in the foreign country where the mines were located rose up in rebellion over the inhumane conditions and were all mowed down by their government’s army.
Maybe it’s easier not to travel at all. Not to worry– our government will have a new mandate for your guaranteed vacation by next month anyway. It is a novel idea called the “stay-cation.” But the government will issue you a free 5-g virtual reality headset with government approved software to take you wherever they say you can go in your mind. It will be great! That way everyone in America can go to Hawaii by high speed train.
Maybe it won’t be so bad. You can stay home and be “creative.” Maybe you can do some writing. No, that wouldn’t be safe. You are thinking a little subversively right now. Maybe you could do a little painting. No, the government seized your oil paints because they emitted harmful fumes. Maybe you could do a little woodworking. No, the government quotas on lumber production only allow for a limited number of government-approved projects, and the reclamation store has been depleted for months. Maybe you will do a post on social media– a picture of you eating your government-approved portion of non-gmo organic quinoa mash for breakfast. Yum!
You are feeling pretty bummed by the prospects of being able to use your crypto-funds in a way that will bring you any satisfaction or happiness. A relaxing, hot, 10-gallon shower will do the trick! No, you used up your water allotment last week. Maybe you can get permission to order some extra alcohol or some weed-infused gummy worms for a little self-medicating. The government hardly ever says “no” to that request. It is the easiest way to keep people happy with their new lot in life.
You find a few old coins in a box in the back of the closet that managed to escape the de-materialization of money. Maybe it would be worth the risk to find some black market goods. It would be dangerous, but danger would be more exciting than being a mouse in a government-approved maze. That’s what the bureaucrats at the top do– take their hoarded silver and fly their private jets to Fiji where the natives are still willing to work for cash.
Finally you think, “It all sounded so good at the beginning, but this is Nowhere’s Ville!”*
You realize you no longer have the liberty to pursue happiness. You wonder if you even have life. You certainly don’t have the good life. Maybe the planet won’t come to an end in a few years, but life, and what you once had the opportunity to make of it, died a long time ago. And you didn’t see that coming.
Am I being overly pessimistic? You can decide for yourself. But don’t forget the government-mandated phase out of the incandescent light bulb. What did we get in its place? CFL’s containing mercury that had to be disposed of as hazardous waste. If not for free market forces, we would not have the luxury of bright, efficient LED bulbs that are coming down in cost. We would have had quotas and price controls on CFL’s, along with shortages, mercury poisoning scares, seizures in people who can’t take florescent light fluctuations, etc. That’s what happens when there is no motivation or reward for innovation.
Most people want the safety of doing what they are told to do, and will accept their situation as their “normal.” If not for this, there would never have been a Soviet empire under Stalin, Communist China under Mao, Cambodia under Pol Pot, North Korea under the Kims – etc. The “good life” under socialistic/communistic regimes is a mirage that soon evaporates under the hot sun of reality. But by the time we realize it is a mirage, we are already dying of thirst.
Why should I even care about the preservation of a free America? Hasn’t America had more than her fair share in the world and overplayed her hand too many times?
America has undoubtedly become the most decadent society because of our great wealth. But we have also historically been the most generous nation– providing financial and humanitarian aid wherever it has been needed, to friends and enemies alike. We have provided protection and security for millions of people, allowing for stability and economic development around the globe. The Christian church in America has sent out more money and workers to provide health care, education, sanitation, housing, and, most importantly, the Gospel of Jesus, than any other society in history.
We can look at many examples of decadent use of wealth in our culture [Hollywood, pro sports, gambling, alcohol/marijuana industries, etc.]. But we can also point to the greatest compassionate use of wealth in history. I hope we don’t destroy that capacity through a different kind of misguided selfish ambition.
As the philosopher Nicolas Berdiaeff wrote, we may hope “to return to a non-utopian society, one that is less perfect and more free.”# That is the best we can do this side of Glory.
* “Utopia” is the Greek word for “nowhere”
# This is my own rough translation from the original French, which appears as an epigramatic foreword at the beginning of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
