Could There Be a More Radical Green New Deal?

The full text of the Green New Deal, as proposed by Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, deliberately links stagnating wages and worsening income inequality to climate change, arguing the global phenomenon is a “threat multiplier” that has “exacerbated systemic racial, regional, social, environmental and economic injustices.” The action it proposes is similarly not limited to directly addressing climate change, but includes efforts to address economic inequities through federally guaranteed jobs and affordable housing. Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania Daniel Aldana Cohen joins us to discuss the relationship between social and environmental politics and his argument that aggressive federal commitments to public housing are necessary to realize the social goals of the Green New Deal.