The Green New Deal's destruction, by the numbers

The Green New Deal, proposed by N.Y. congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and co-sponsored by Mass. senator Ed Markey, is not new. Their iteration is simply a repackaged adaptation replete with a garden-variety list of proposals per the socialist screed. Setting aside the guaranteed freebies for the masses, it's hard to ignore that the GND seeks to eliminate multiple industry sectors in the United States, while claiming that it will create millions of new jobs without proof to back up any of the claims. So I did the math and discovered that jobs lost in the energy, cattle/dairy, and airline employment sectors are staggering, and the lost revenue for the American economy would be catastrophic. The U.S. energy industry currently employs 10.3 million people, according to the 2015 Economic Impact of the Natural Gas and Oil Industry report published by the American Petroleum Institute. The natural gas and oil industry in the United States contributes $1.3 trillion to the American economy. The United States coal-mining industry employed approximately 53,000 workers as of 2017 and garnered $26 billion in sales for the same year, according to the National Mining Association website. Ocasio-Cortez and Markey want to eliminate the use of natural gas, petroleum oil, and coal, failing to offer an explanation of how the American economy replaces the revenue lost. In addition, petroleum oil and coal are used in the production of hundreds of products from plastics to steel. Again, no explanation as to what replaces oil and coal in manufacturing.

"Mooving" along to the cattle and dairy industry in the United States, which the GND seeks to eradicate due to bovine flatulence, there are 913,246 cattle ranching operations spread across the country. Included in the number are 26,586 feed lots and approximately 65,000 dairy cow farms. The cattle business employs 772,236 workers and contributes $67.5 billion in annual revenue to the economy. American dairy farms employ fewer workers compared to the cattle industry — approximately 157,000 in total — but it's interesting to note that at least 76,000 of those working at dairy farms in the five largest dairy-producing states — California, Wisconsin, New York, Idaho, and Pennsylvania — are illegal aliens. The American dairy industry contributes $39 billion annually to the economy. Destroying the cattle and dairy industry in the United States will effectively eliminate nearly one million jobs and almost $100 billion in annual revenue. The replacement of the revenue? There is none. Eliminating dairy cows also destroys another industry in the United States: cheese-making. No cow's milk, no cheese. Finally, the stake in the heart of the American economy is purposely crippling the U.S. airline industry beyond repair. The GND calls for zero carbon emissions in ten years and the end of all air travel. The immediate result? Catastrophic loss of revenue and millions of unemployed people across numerous affiliated airline and travel businesses in the U.S. and abroad. There are 18 major airline carriers, including the cargo-haulers in the United States, employing 691,867 direct airline workers. An additional 37,452 direct airline employees work for the smaller regional carriers. Another category of companies is the indirect businesses, which employ tens of thousands of people in jobs such as jet fuel suppliers, airport construction and maintenance workers, and retail suppliers, just to name a few. And then there are the airport-associated workers, employed by banks, restaurants, retailers, car rental companies, and hotels located inside or near airports. The total annual airline-travel revenue contribution to the American economy is somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 trillion, including air cargo. The three major shipping companies would come to an inglorious end; FedEx, UPS, and Amazon would go belly-up overnight. These companies employ tens of thousands of ground, delivery truck, and facility sorting workers, contributing billions of dollars to the economy. Suffice it to say that the GND tendered by Ocasio-Cortez and Markey isn't exactly well thought out, and apparently, no one bothered to run the actual numbers of jobs eliminated, companies destroyed, and revenue lost. However, declared Democrat presidential candidates Booker, Buttigieg, Gillibrand, Harris, Klobuchar, O'Rourke, and Sanders have all jumped on the bandwagon, endorsing it. No word from yet undeclared Joe Biden. Teetering independent candidate Howard Schultz called the DNC unrealistic and immoral. He's a successful businessman and he probably ran the numbers. Go figure. Image: Corey Torpie via Wikimedia Commons.