Your paper should be double-spaced with one-inch margins in 12- point font, using the Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, or Cambria fonts. Your paper should be about 1.5 pages long, but it may be shorter as long as it satisfies the requirements of the assignment.  You may go slightly over the page limit if necessary, but you will lose points if your paper exceeds 2 pages.  Your goal should be to keep the paper concise and to the point. Each section should be no more than one or two paragraphs.  Do make an effort to make your sentences and paragraphs flow, but you don’t need to take up extra space with a long introduction or conclusion.

 

The focus of this writing assignment will be the Green New Deal (GND).  The GND is a proposed policy that has recently been increasing in popularity and notoriety as the environment and the US economy have continued to deteriorate.  Your goal in this paper is to evaluate the potential effectiveness of this proposed policy. There is not necessarily a clear right or wrong answer for each section of this paper, and you will not be graded on whether you conclude that the GND is a good idea or a bad idea. You will be graded on how well you are able to support your arguments and your conclusions by analyzing existing evidence, applying basic macroeconomic concepts, and using critical thinking and clear communication.

Use this link to access the text of the GND legislation: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/109/text (Links to an external site.)

Read through the entire proposed legislation, and address the following prompts in each section of your paper:

 

Section 1 – Why combine environmental policies with economic policies? (~1/2 page, 25 points)

The GND proposes many different policies that could potentially be included in multiple separate pieces of legislation.  Many have argued that the GND is asking for too much all at once.

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of combining multiple environmental policies with multiple economic policies?
• Do you think this combination of environmental and economic policies is a strength or a weakness of the GND? Explain why.

 

Section 2 – Is government intervention necessary? (~1/2 page, 25 points)

The GND would not make the US economy into a completely socialist economy, but in many ways the GND would make the economy more socialist by giving the government more control over the economy than it currently has.

• Why do the supporters of the GND argue for an increase in government intervention in the capitalist US economy?  From the macroeconomic perspective, what are the potential advantages and disadvantages of giving the government a larger role in the economy?
• Do you think this increase in socialism is a strength or a weakness of the GND? Explain why.

 

Section 3 – How will the crises of 2020 affect the GND? (~1/2 – 3/4 page, 30 points)

There have been massive disruptions to the global economy during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as ongoing racial and environmental crises.  The massive increase in unemployment during the pandemic has already caused the government to enact large fiscal stimulus programs.

• How do you think the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter uprisings, and frequent natural disasters of 2020 are affecting and will affect the possibility of enacting a GND within the next 10 years?  Do you think this increases the likelihood of a GND or decreases the likelihood of a GND? Explain why.

 

You must use at least one additional reference source to back up your arguments.  This can be a website, magazine, book, video, etc., but you should use sources that are reliable and trustworthy.  The course textbook will not be counted as an additional source, but you are still welcome to use it.