Thread by @rgunns

this is gonna be a bit of a rant, sweet baby angels. but i've got to get it off my chest before i explode into tears. obvi, feel free to exit now but if you're down for the ride, let's take a deep breath and start this journey. 1/

i have spent the last three weeks answering questions about why justice is such a central component of the #GreenNewDeal. and i have tried to compose thoughtful, data-filled answers that lay out the economic and political reasons why that is the case. 2/

i felt like that was what i had to do. i mean, that's how you show that you are that your policy proposal is "real" and your ideas are "serious," right? but the truth is that doing that has made me feel so hollow. 3/

constantly trying to explain why people from marginalized communities – people like ME – should not be left behind makes me feel like i'm arguing for my own humanity. 4/

i know it's not personal + most of the Qs are genuine. but when so many dismiss the justice elements of the GND b/c they'll cost "too much" or b/c the GOP won't agree, it's hard to feel like i + so many ppl i love are seen as more than expenses or bargaining chips. 5/

these are not just $ signs we're talking about. if frontline communities are left behind by the transition to a green economy, that's millions of people who go without access to a living wage. that's millions of families that have to keep putting off saving for retirement. 6/

that's thousands of communities that will likely further lose their tax base and have to keep cutting more and more essential services – hurting the very same people that the GND can't "afford" to serve. 7/

if you could prevent that, why wouldn't you? how much is averting that kind of suffering worth? 8/

and the benefits are similarly human. i know at least 5 people in my own family who could re-enter the workforce with a JG who would likely not have access to those jobs without one (b/c of skill deficiencies, criminal history, etc.) 9/

i know at least 4 women who could only take one of the good-paying jobs the GND would create if M4A is included. otherwise, they would lose their medicaid coverage b/c of asset limits and either they or their children have chronic conditions that need expensive care. 10/

and i know dozens of people whose faces i look in EVERY DAY who could see their jobs disappear b/c of a shift away from fossil fuels and who, for whatever reason, will need public support to retrain + stay financially whole until they can find new jobs. 11/

this is not to belittle people's fears about tacking "too much" onto the GND. we need climate legislation to pass. otherwise, we all die. but let's also be real – the same folks who are too "expensive" are the same folks most at risk of dying from climate change. 12/

besides, death comes in many ways. and the economic system we have is killing people. what are the poverty rates for native folks? you think that has no relationship to the fact that they have shorter life expectancies? 13/

you think the fact that black women have sky-high maternal mortality rates has nothing to do with the racial wealth gap? would eric garner still be alive if he had a stable job instead of having to sell loosies in a city with a legacy of strictly policing petty crime? 14/

poverty puts people at greater risk of violence and death. so let's not act like the system we have doesn't have human costs that we're already paying. 15/

also, as far as the justice component sinking the chances of the GND passing, let's also recognize that we don't know what this kind of broad coalition building will yield when it comes to climate – at least not in the U.S. 16/

we also don't know what making equity a non-negotiable in a big federal policy will yield. but we do have at least 100 years of history that tells us what will happen if we don't. 17/

so yeah, maybe it will make the GND harder to pass. or maybe it will force us to rethink how we design policy and figure out how to sow equity through federal action in ways we didn't even know was possible. and maybe that will win us the seats we need. 18/

b/c doing that would mean that for the first time in their lives (and def for the first time in my life), millions of americans will finally feel seen. it would mean that for the first time in their lives, their government proved that it cared about them. and that matters. 19/

i say all this to say: i'm tired, buds. sometimes we just have to do the right thing. because there's not enough economic justification in the world to keep heaping pain on the backs of the same folks just so we can all live. 20/

just because it'll save your life does not mean it'll save mine. 21/

also, for folks who still want discuss the value of having a GND that "just" addresses climate, please be ready to discuss your plans for how to address inequitable outcomes as they arise. what policies do you want to use? how long after the GND would you phase it in?

how much will you be willing to spend? and what's your plan for getting it passed? b/c SPOILER ALERT: it is no easier to pass legislation to address racial and economic injustice than it is to pass climate legislation, especially after periods of large "universal" investments.