Silver State Times

In hopes of reducing and eventually removing greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector, Democrats continue working on the clean energy aspects of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better package.

Nevada Policy Research Institute vice president and policy director Robert Fellner told the Silver State Times that "excessive government spending" championed by Biden and congressional Democrats was the wrong path.

“The bulk of government spending is always paid for by the working class, either directly through taxes and fees, or, more insidiously, through the indirect tax of inflation,” he said while emphasizing  that the federal expenditures would have a heavy impact on regular consumers: “Unfortunately, devaluing the dollar to pay for runaway government spending leads to higher prices for working families, making it harder for them to meet their basic needs like food, housing and other essentials.”

Should the proposed $150 billion payment program be approved it would reward the production of clean power, like solar, hydroelectric and wind, while penalizing companies not pursuing clean energy, according to Reuters.  

Reuters reported that the objective is a 4% increase in the production of “clean” electricity that produces a maximum of one-tenth of a metric ton of carbon dioxide per megawatt; a failure to meet that target could bring a $40 penalty per megawatt hour per month.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who hails from West Virginia, has been staunchly opposed to punishing fossil fuel production, according to Canary Media.

The Build Back Better program’s energy section calls for direct payment of subsidies provided by the federal government, along with an $8 billion loan and grant program that would fund the integration of clean energy into the grid and $13.5 billion to develop a national network of EV charging stations and the manufacturing of electric heavy-duty vehicles.

Pittsburgh Works examined the impact of clean energy on consumers and found that electricity prices in states that had adopted the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative surged because joining the organization resulted in penalties being applied for every ton of carbon produced using fossil fuels.

The study found that the Green New Deal could have a similar effect due to their similarities.  

The Biden Administration's projected budget for fiscal year 2022 estimated government spending will be nearly $2 trillion higher than what tax revenues are projected to be.

Antony Davies, distinguished fellow for the Foundation for Economic Education and associate professor of economics at Duquesne University, recently told the Peach Tree Times that this level of spending is harmful to consumers, who will face higher costs.

"To finance these deficits, the government is increasingly relying on loans from the Federal Reserve," Davies said. "When the Federal Reserve loans to the government, the money supply increases, and that puts upward pressure on prices."

Higher prices are currently taking a toll on homeowners in terms of home heating, as energy costs nationwide spiked 24.8% over the past year.

The Build Back Better plan would shrink real income for households by $12,000 over the next decade, according to Vance Ginn of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.