The green energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have been justified by the Biden Administration as a booster of U.S. economic growth and jobs. But when the subsidies are tallied and the overall impacts evaluated, the IRA is a job and economic growth killer.
Under the IRA, the lion’s share of subsidies will be paid to wind and solar developers. The subsidies will not expire until electric industry carbon emissions fall by at least 75% below 2005 levels, after which they will gradually decrease. Even the most optimistic forecasts prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that this will not occur until at least 2046. Thus, the subsidies for wind and solar will continue unabated for decades. In total, the subsidies will far exceed what the U.S. government spent in today’s dollars to combat the Great Depression.
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Jonathan A. Lesser, PhD, is the president of Continental Economics, an economic consulting firm, and an adjunct fellow with the Manhattan Institute.
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