Defeat of Build Back Better Saves American Energy

December 21, 2021

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced on Sunday that he will not support the Democrat’s titanic, $3 trillion dollar tax-and-spend “Build Back Better” plan. “I’ve always said, ‘If I can’t go back home and explain it, I can’t vote for it,” the Senator commented. Sen. Manchin and the fifty other senators who are expected to vote against the bill know that BBB would hurt their constituencies and America—they also wouldn’t be able to justify voting for the BBB.

The Build Back Better plan would have allocated an unprecedented $555 billion to “fight climate change.” The lion’s share of that bundle is represented by $320 billion in tax subsidies to electric vehicles, solar energy, wind turbines, and a host of other supposedly eco-friendly technologies. 

These technologies come with their own set of environmental hazards, especially when it comes to disposal. Solar panels and electric batteries especially contain toxic chemicals that pose significant health and environmental risks. 

Perhaps then it is no surprise that the world’s leading polluter, China, produces 75% of the world’s solar panels. Making our energy needs and power grid more dependent on the communist regime in Beijing would weaken the U.S. 

The bill also includes massive handouts to the manufacturers of electric vehicles and the people who buy them. The fact that the administration has touted this provision as a win for working-class Americans highlights how out of touch they really are. A few weeks ago, Biden’s absentee Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that working-class Americans “in areas where there are higher gas prices and lower income” would benefit the most from owning electric vehicles. Before lecturing Americans on how to spend their money, Buttigieg should ask his boss to reverse the disastrous policies that have brought about the inflation and sky-rocketing fuel prices in the first place. But even then, the advice he dispenses makes no sense. The average electric vehicle costs a hefty $55,676, a vehicle price tag well beyond the reach of everyday Americans. The subsidies that BBB has promised for electric cars do not benefit them. Roughly half of the $7.5 billion promised for EV would have gone to corporations, and the other half would be a kind of tax-write-off for the wealthy denizens of Silicon Valley who have been quick to adopt electric vehicles as a status symbol.

Speaking of handouts for the well-to-do, the BBB pledged $10 billion for university programs to indoctrinate environmental “activists,” and another $8.1 billion to fund a make-work program called “Civilian Climate Corps.” Another $4 billion in the BBB is earmarked to appease the elite’s woke-sensibilities by funding vaguely defined programs aimed at tackling non-existent problems like “Tree-Equity” and “Charging Equity.”

The Build Back Better plan would cripple America’s geopolitical influence and push costs onto average Americans who wouldn’t benefit from the large price-tag plan. The Democratic party leadership has vowed to bring BBB to the Senate floor early in 2022 for a vote despite Sen. Manchin’s opposition. Here’s to hoping that the BBB is relegated to the dustbin of history.