Expect Less
What to Know: Europe’s energy crisis won’t be a “one-winter story,” according to an analyst. And “Europe will need to ration demand in order to be able to balance the market, not only this winter but also the next winter and potentially the one after that, she noted.”
The TPPF Take: If the Biden administration continues down the road of promoting “net zero” carbon emissions, we’ll soon be in the same predicament as Europe.
“The problem is that decarbonization doesn’t mitigate a changing climate, but it does result in scarcity of food and fuel,” says TPPF’s Jason Isaac. “Germans, for example, are paying some of the highest energy bills on the face of the earth. With looming threats of rolling blackouts come winter, and wintertime freezing deaths on the rise, now would be the time to reverse course and embrace energy provided by fossil fuels and nuclear.”
For more on energy prices, click here.
It Begins
What to Know: The first lawsuit challenging President Biden’s student loan “forgiveness” scheme has been filed by Pacific Legal Foundation.
The TPPF Take: This scheme is welfare for the wealthy (or soon-to-be).
“Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, outside of being incredibly expensive and likely to lead to more inflation, will only exacerbate the student loan debt problem. An estimate using the Penn Wharton Budget Model finds that the poorest 20% will receive less than 12% of all benefits from the Biden plan, rendering this plan mostly welfare for the wealthiest Americans,” says TPPF’s Andrew Gillen.
For more on student loans, click here.
You Don’t Say
What to Know: Pharmaceutical industry middlemen are exploiting patients
The TPPF Take: Americans are paying nearly three times more than other countries for prescription drugs, and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are part of the reason why.
“They act as a third-party middleman to drive up costs of medications,” says TPPF’s David Dunmoyer. “A system that prioritizes higher priced drugs over those that are cost effective is not working for the American people. Thankfully, bipartisan legislation has been proposed to expose this practice, forcing transparency from PBMs and more money in the patient’s pocket.”
To view David’s Quick Take on PBMs, click here.