A Green New Deal for Newark & Licking County: Climate Action, Social Justice & Jobs

1. A Green New Deal for Newark & Licking County:Climate Action, Social Justice & Jobs Fadhel Kaboub Associate Professor of Economics, Denison University President, Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity @FadhelKaboub @GISP_Tweets Global-ISP.org kaboubf@denison.edu Indivisible: Ohio12 East Licking County Public Library, Newark, Ohio January 23, 2019

2. My main message We have: • A climate emergency; • Millions of people want to work, but can’t find jobs; • Green tech innovations: More efficient & cheaper every day. So what are we waiting for?

6. Atmospheric CO2 Concentration (ppm) as of March 2018

8. Green New Deal polling

9. The most popular Jobs policy!

11. Green New Deal polling in Ohio Green Jobs: • Would you support or oppose giving every American who wants one a job scaling up renewable energy, weatherizing homes and office buildings, developing mass transit projects, and maintaining green community spaces? 55% Support 17% Oppose 28% Don’t Know/Neither

12. Green New Deal polling in Ohio Support 100% Candidates: • Would you be more or less likely to support a candidate for office who supports moving the United States to 100% renewable energy by 2030? 49% More Likely 18% Less likely 33% Neither/Don’t Know

13. Green New Deal polling in Ohio Green Job Candidates: • Would you be more or less likely to support a candidate for office who supports a jobs guarantee to address the economy, inequality, and climate change by offering every American who wants one a job expanding renewable energy, mass transit, efficient buildings, community green spaces, and resilient infrastructure? 46% More Likely 18% Less likely 37% Neither/Don’t Know

14. What is a Green New Deal? • Federally funded • Locally implemented (decentralized) • Urban & Rural • Inclusive, Just, & Restorative • Comprehensive & Permanent

15. How do we pay for it? • We’re told: • The government is broke; • We’re running out of dollars; • the rich will never agree to pay higher taxes to fund all of this; • the national debt will burden future generations • Inflation, hyperinflation, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Weimar Republic… • we need to borrow more dollars from China….

16. How did the US finance WWII? • Remember the misery of the Great Depression? • Where did the money come from? • Was WWII affordable for the US? • Did the US wait for tax revenues before entering the War?

17. What is Monetary Sovereignty? • A financially sovereign government is a government that: • issues its own currency, • collects taxes in that same currency, • onlyissues bonds denominated in that same currency • operates under a flexible exchange rate regime • Again, distinguish between: • Currency Issuer vs. Currency Users This approach is known as Modern Monetary Theory, or MMT

18. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) • Important distinction: • The Federal Government enjoys monetary sovereignty (currency issuer status). • Money enters the economy when Gov. spends it into existence • Taxes and bond sales drain reserves out of the system However: • States, Cities, Municipalities, households/individuals, Corporations, non-profits etc. do not have monetary sovreignty (currency user status). • State/City/corporate/household debts are real financial burdens

20. GDP vs. Genuine Progress Indicator

21. GDP vs. GPI per capita

22. Rampant Inequality • 2015: 80 people owned as much as half humanity. • 2016: 61 people owned as much as half of humanity. • 2017: 42 people owned as much as half of humanity. • 2018: the richest 26 people owned as much as the world's poorest half.

23. Minimum vs. Living Wage in Licking County, OH

24. Cost of living in Licking County, OH

26. But Can We Afford it?

27. YES WE CAN!

28. Can we afford this?!

29. Job Guarantee Wage Structure W1: skilled workers (college education, technical training, or an equivalent amount of prior work experience): $21/hour W2: semi-skilled workers (high school education, some work experience, perhaps need some additional training): $18/hour W3: unskilled workers (no education, primary school education, no training): $15/hour

30. Job Guarantee Cost Estimation • Assuming: • 23.4 million full-time workers. • 40 hours/week. • Annual Benefits Package: $10,000 per employee. • Annual Material Cost: $50 billion. • Net Total Annual Cost: $593.8 billion, or 3.93% of GDP. • The post-2008 recovery cost is already in the trillions, but has failed to produce any significant reduction in unemployment, poverty, and inequality, let alone prioritize fighting climate change.

31. Concluding Remarks • 12 years to go! • The climate crisis, inequality, poverty, and injustice call for urgent and bold actions • The current climate & jobs policies are too weak, slow, expensive, and ineffective • Economic Justice and Climate Justice via a living wage Green New Deal are possible, desirable, and affordable

32. Thank you! Questions/Comments A Green New Deal for Newark & Licking County:Climate Action, Social Justice & Jobs Fadhel Kaboub Associate Professor of Economics, Denison University President, Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity @FadhelKaboub @GISP_Tweets Global-ISP.org kaboubf@denison.edu