The other day, with my wife’s nose buried in paper and ink and my nose buried in my mobile device, I remarked, “Linda, I think your next vehicle should be a pickup.” She immediately responded, “No!”
“But Linda, you’d look great in a pickup, wearing a Stetson and cowboy boots and more importantly, you can be part of the Green New Deal.”
Silence.
The genesis of this sparkling debate was an editorial in The Los Angeles Times titled “Laying out a Green New Deal.” It details proposed legislation that has been introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) in the House and Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts) in the Senate. According to the pair, there is a freight train barreling down on us and it’s going to require massive taxes to prevent the calamity of climate change.
I do agree that getting Americans out of their cars (everyone but me, of course); switching the nation from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy; seeking to recalibrate the nation’s economy away from the things that may kill us; and reorienting us towards more sustainable means of production, transportation and daily living are admirable things.
I do believe that it is time for my wife to join the Green New Deal club — and I have the perfect way for her to do it: A company named Rivivan will begin production of a high-end performance electric pickup truck in 2020. Wow! I can just picture my wife in her Stetson and cowgirl boots sitting behind the wheel. When I showed her a picture of the vehicle, courtesy of Forbes, she reiterated, “No way.”
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Markey are now saying, “Folks, it’s time to stop messing around with little things when it comes to climate control; we need to take massive steps to control Mother Nature.” (I paraphrased.)
Man is creating climate change, but man does not have the power to significantly affect climate change. Man can build dikes. Man can use bicycles instead of cars and man can burn wood to heat his homes. What man cannot do is stop the next ice age.
The Democrats have flung down the gauntlets: “Do you support social justice?” or “Do you oppose poverty?” But the L.A. Times asks, “How do you fix those in a cautious, money-dominated, politically polarized, uncertain nation like ours?”
Hidden in the non-binding New Green Deal legislation is a paragraph that has nothing to do with climate change. The Democrats are calling for “high-quality, union jobs” and guaranteed jobs for all. Immediately I wondered, “What would a guaranteed job program look like? How would it get paid for? What type of jobs qualify? How much would my taxes go up?”
The MAGA (Make America Great Again) hats are all over the place. To me, what’s surprising about the phenomena is that it’s our younger generation that are the ones wearing them. What really needs to happen for the younger generation to channel their enthusiasm into making our country great again is for them to make specific demands such as more personal freedom or a relaxation of the onerous taxes that the politicians have levied.
One long-term way to ensure that the kids become involved in the electorate is to teach them civics and American history in high school. Sadly, our K-12 administrators are not attracting enough science, math, technology and engineering teachers. Just imagine how important it would be for each high schooler to take a two-week class studying Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America.
My Democratic friends are old — really old — and must be given a pass when it comes to their ravings. With this I have picked up my lance and shield and embarked on a new quest. Just like Don Quixote’s battles with those greatbig monsters on the horizon, I am going to battle those great-big monsters in my Democratic friends’ minds.
Robert Pembroke is the former chairman and CEO of Pembroke’s Inc. in Salt Lake City.