We are a nation that is roughly $34.5 trillion dollars in debt, a number that would be comical if it weren’t so very real. Unfortunately, it has the potential to get even worse. The Green New Deal which President Biden’s allies continue to advocate for not only picks the winners and losers in a global shake up of economies, but it also benefits a very select few and would cost 93 TRILLION dollars in the first 10 years alone, according to American Action Forum. Simply put: it’s the intentional bankruptcy of the best republic ever created.
Currently under the guise of “Bidenomics,” the Biden administration has actively pursued a series of misguided energy policies that not only jeopardize our energy security, but also hinder economic growth and job creation. The administration has decided that their friends who own these “green” corporations shall be the sole beneficiaries of your hard-earned tax dollars to provide you with products that simply don’t work and are not even valued at the cost of expenditure. All of this while ensuring that you will pay even more for utilities, gas and ultimately have perpetual inflation.
Instead of unleashing America’s energy potential with renewables and fossil fuels, the president is picking winners and losers. If you’re not part of the renewable energy club receiving government handouts, you’re losing out. Not only are you personally losing out, but our nation is also losing on the international stage.
While the President gives billions to his friends in the green energy industry, he hits traditional energy companies with overregulation. Closing pipelines, halting production, preventing exports, and dragging out permitting processes don’t help the environment, they don’t help the economy and they certainly don’t help you.
The result: Americans are paying more at the pump.
Biden is not changing course; he’s doubling down. Last month, the White House banned the construction of new liquified natural gas export facilities. These facilities not only create jobs (particularly in energy producing states like Pennsylvania) using fossil fuels to turn them into cleaner energy; they also help America with its exports to Europe. In short: Bidenomics energy policies are only helping crony energy corporations.
President Biden is artificially inflating renewable energy companies’ importance by filling their pockets with the money from you, the hardworking taxpayers.
The debate about renewable energy and its potential might be new. But Biden’s giveaways to these energy companies are plain old cronyism.
Here’s how much taxpayer money president Biden has funneled to green energy companies:
- $27 billion to a “Greenhouse Gas Reduction” fund—managed by the EPA— subsidizing green energy and tech companies.
- $20 billion to automobile companies to buy EV-friendly tools and facilities.
- $20 billion for the agriculture industry to employ “climate-smart agriculture practices.”
- $250 billion in direct subsidies for the Biden administration’s friends in the ESG movement.
- $18.6 billion for electric/alternative fuel vehicle charging infrastructure.
- $6 billion in subsidies for the domestic battery supply chain.
If you do the math, that’s $341.6 billion (approximately $1,028 per American) of taxpayer money Biden spends in his green energy cronyism scheme. If he were to enact his Green New deal that number would rise to $65,000 per American.
President Biden uses the federal government as a blunt instrument to harm the coal, gas, and oil industries. His administration is using the power entrusted by the people to decide which businesses thrive and which ones don’t.
Biden has used almost all the tricks he has at hand to damage the nonrenewable industry:
- His administration has canceled thousands of acres of oil leases, making it harder for oil companies to invest and hindering our ability to remain energy independent.
- He canceled projects like the Keystone Pipeline, which would have created thousands of jobs and reduced gas costs.
- This administration banned new exports of liquified natural gas to partners worldwide which hurts our economy, our energy security, and our allies.
The false binary choice between renewable and non-renewables is foolish, and Americans are paying handsomely for Bidenomics. As Americans we understand that there is never a one size fits all answer to our complex issues. Just as Obamacare destroyed Healthcare by interfering in free markets choosing winners and losers from the Governmental level, these policies do the exact same thing. Both policy legacies hurt both the health of the nation and of the citizens.
Biden’s policies make Americans pay a steep cost every time they go to the gas station or pay their utility bills. As you go to the pump this week you will see yet another jump, inching ever closer to $4 a gallon.
Energy prices in your home have increased 32% since the President started attacking American energy, and let’s not forget to mention his friends in power trying to ban gas stoves in the name of climate change.
When Biden took the oath of office, Americans paid an average of $2.38 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas; a year and a half later, gas went to a high of $5 per gallon. Today, the average gas price is $3.489 per gallon, approximately 46% more than in January 2021.
Utilities have also gone up. Americans pay 29% more for electricity and gas today than in 2021. Winter heating costs from all energy sources have gone up by 16%- 64% over the last three years.
We are almost four years into Biden’s presidency, and the results are clear for everyone to see: gas, electricity, and heating are more expensive. Pennsylvanians aren’t buying “Bidenomics”, but they sure are paying for it. Head to Bidenomics.com to send a strong message to this administration: get government out of the way so that we can allow this economy to thrive.
This is Emily Greene, Deputy State Director with Americans for Prosperity-PA.