Biden’s green energy: Biggest corporate welfare scam of all timePresident Biden keeps lecturing corporate America to “pay your fair share” of taxes. It turns out that he’s right: Some companies really are getting away with not paying taxes.
But they wade in rivers of federal direct and indirect subsidies that keep these zombie companies alive. Over the past two decades, the renewable energy lobby has collected more than a quarter-trillion dollars in subsidies — payments that we’ve been assured over and over would be temporary. The argument for these grants, loans, tax abatements, and other sweetheart deals is that these were “infant industries” in need of a head start program for CEOs.
The Cato report finds that since its passage, “the estimated cost of the IRA’s new and expanded energy tax credits have nearly tripled.” What have we gotten for this mountain of taxpayer funded green energy largesse? Nothing, really. We still get 80% of our energy from fossil fuels and nuclear power. Wind and solar are stuck at less than 10%. This is some investment we’re making.