Sometimes it's difficult to put the high cost of big-government programs into perspective. Few (if any) Americans can grasp the monstrosity of the $22 trillion national debt or the economic burden of the Green New Deal's multiple-trillion-dollar price tag.
But a new study from the Competitive Enterprise Institute has put the cost of the Green New Deal into terms that any American family can understand -- and its conclusion should make even the most environmentally-conscious activists uncomfortable.
Per the Washington Free Beacon:
Implementing the "Green New Deal" (GND) would cost just shy of $75,000 per household in year one of the program and would never drop below $37,000 per household in any of the following years, according to a study released Tuesday.
The report by the free-market think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute and the pro-energy group Power the Future analyzes the implementation costs of the GND that became a rallying point on the left boosted by the promotion of freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, N.Y.) earlier this year.
The study conceded that many elements of the GND "are so broad and open-ended" that "it is impossible to calculate the whole or maximum cost of the GND." But the examination tried to gauge future costs along the key program categories of additional electricity demand, costs associated with shipping and logistics, new vehicles, and retrofitting buildings for greater energy efficiency.
"At a minimum, the GND would impose large and recurring costs on American households," the study said. "We conclude that in four of the five states analyzed—Florida, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania—the GND would cost a typical family more than $70,000 in the first year of implementation, approximately $45,000 for each of the next four years, and more than $37,000 each year thereafter."
Can your family afford to spend $70,000 retrofitting your home to be "green"?
The fact that federal politicians can even suggest imposing such a burden on American families proves that the federal government's power has grown far beyond its intended bounds. Even though the Green New Deal's sponsors refused to vote for it, the idea that fighting climate change requires major interventions by D.C. has become mainstream. It's only a matter of time before Congress passes a "compromise" plan that, like Obamacare, only comes to light after it becomes law.
There is a way to avoid this catastrophe. It's in Article V of the Constitution, and it allows the people and the states to reduce the power and jurisdiction of the federal government as a whole.
An Article V Convention of States is called and controlled by the states and has the power to propose constitutional amendments that prohibit the federal government from imposing the kinds of overbearing regulations found in the Green New Deal. These amendments can clarify Washington's limited role in domestic affairs, and force them to legislate on only those issues expressly outlined in the Constitution.
The federal government has grown too large, too powerful, and too abusive. It's time for the people and the states to take control, and we can do it with the Founders' tool to fight federal overreach -- a Convention of States.
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