Leftists in D.C. have reanimated pieces of the Green New Deal, the Clean Power Plan, and Build Back Better and stitched them into the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.” But they left out the job growth part.
The bill would be better named the “Inflation Reduction and Job Growth Act of 2022—for China.” There’s nothing in the bill to reduce inflation in the U.S., and with the National Association of Manufacturers projecting more than 200,000 American jobs will be lost in the first year alone, you can count on those jobs going directly to China. The emperor’s new clothes are only a façade, as the bill will strip jobs, and inflict pain and poverty on Americans.
With a third of American families struggling to buy medicine, put food on the table, and cool their homes, the Schumer-Manchin bill will only make lives harder for those struggling families.
The act will raise taxes for every American. In fact, Americans making less than $400,000 will bear the heaviest burden. Rather than feel any relief, Americans will feel more distress. Inflation is at a 41-year high. Currently, more than 20 million American families are behind on their utility bills, which amounts to $23 billion. The legislation will not help this; it will make those numbers worse.
In addition to raising taxes on American families, the legislation would increase taxes and fees on energy companies, detrimentally affecting the supply—and therefore the price—of fuel that we need for our cars, homes, and businesses.
High energy prices cause instability. They hurt American families. And they take us in the wrong direction, one that will ultimately exacerbate poverty here and abroad, destroying lives and livelihoods—while making our environment worse, not better.
The legislation focuses on electric vehicles. It gives incentives for wind and solar energy, as well as batteries. Renewables are unreliable and unaffordable, and they make energy more expensive. Out of one pocket, we are paying higher prices everywhere we go. Out of the other pocket, we are paying wind and energy subsidies resulting in more expensive and less reliable electricity. And it’s all to the benefit of the foreign countries that control the supply chain, particularly China.
Discriminating against American energy doesn’t decrease demand for the American people, it just shifts production to foreign countries. As our leaders try to “fix” climate change, they affect every citizen’s ability to eat, work, flourish, and provide for their families.
The right direction starts with Congress killing the bill. An actual Inflation Reduction Act would mean lower taxes, less spending, and no more subsidies. Taking away the subsidies propping up certain industries over others would allow Americans to control the market, ultimately encouraging reliable and affordable energy.
The real reduction that is needed is lowering taxes and government intervention. The real energy transition that is needed is getting energy to the 3.5 billion people on earth who have limited or no access to electricity. It’s solving the energy crisis here in the United States with a commitment to energy independence, which begins with reliable and affordable energy. In the United States, our energy producers operate more responsibly that anywhere else on the face of the earth.
We shouldn’t be exporting jobs to China while we continue to import their pollution. It’s time to unleash American energy. It’s time for politicians in D.C. to understand that energy is the key to human flourishing.