Progressives Suggest Other Ways to Spend Potential Wall Budget

As President Donald Trump continued to throw a temper tantrum and threaten a government shutdown if he didn’t get billions of dollars to build his infamous border wall, Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) turned to Twitter on Friday to challenge the GOP trope that the federal government simply doesn’t have the money to implement bold progressive policies such as Medicare for All or a Green New Deal.

Spending legislation advanced by the Republican-controlled House Thursday night would allocate $5.7 billion to the wall, but that bill—at odds with a Senate-approved measure that lacks wall funding—seems unlikely to get through the upper chamber without Trump’s favored “nuclear option” of changing the Senate rules.

As the threat of a government shutdown loomed, the incoming congresswoman highlighted the other ways—from increasing teacher pay to replacing water pipes—that lawmakers could spend the money:

And just like that, GOP discovers $5.7 billion for a wall.

$5.7 billion

What if we instead added $5.7B in teacher pay?
Or replacing water pipes?
Or college tuition/prescription refill subsidies?
Or green jobs?

But notice how no one’s asking the GOP how they’re paying for it. https://t.co/jXdm1w9bpy

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 21, 2018

Stony Brook University public policy and economics professor Stephanie Kelton, a former chief economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, responded to Ocasio-Cortez by homing in on one of the key policy items backed by the incoming representative, tweeting: “Congress authorizes the spending. Period. The mechanics of paying for a #GreenNewDeal are exactly the same.”

Notice how it’s all about finding the VOTES. It’s how *everything* is paid for. Congress authorizes the spending. Period. The mechanics of paying for a #GreenNewDeal are exactly the same. https://t.co/EuJUfRrVck

— Stephanie Kelton (@StephanieKelton) December 21, 2018

A Green New Deal, supported by climate advocates nationwide and a growing number of House Democrats, would couple measures to address the global climate crisis with policies to create jobs and a more just economy. While Ocasio-Cortez has called for the creation of a House Select Committee to craft such a deal, top Democrats including presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.) have been accused of trying to kill it.

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)—which endorsed Ocasio-Cortez’s successful bid to oust long-time Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) last summer—responded to news of the potential $5.7 billion in border wall funding with a focus on healthcare. Along with a rising portion of the public, both DSA and Ocasio-Cortez support Medicare for All—a proposal championed by, among others, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would guarantee healthcare for all Americans.

Meanwhile, 30 million people still don’t have healthcare https://t.co/KEAaDAiTm3

— DSA for Medicare for All (@dsam4a) December 21, 2018

Washington Post reporter Jeff Stein responded to Ocasio-Cortez with some figures—suggesting that the U.S. could implement universal pre-K or provide coverage to more than 800,000 uninsured Americans with the money the House GOP wants to give Trump to bolster his anti-immigrant policies and fulfill one of his key campaign promises:

With $5.7B, you could:

— Cover 852,017 uninsured Americans
or
— Fund universal pre-K plan (options b/w $2B-$12B)

Granted you’d want these be recurring expenses rather than annual, but GOP also wants $25 billion for wall

— Repairing Flint’s water pipes: $55 million https://t.co/c4Gkht3kFV

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) December 21, 2018