The full cost of the IRA subsidies
Congress should fulfill Donald Trump’s pledge to “terminate the Green New Scam” aka end all Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) subsidies!
Congress has the opportunity to fulfill Donald Trump’s pledge to “terminate the Green New Scam” aka Inflation Reduction Act subsidies. This will
Save us trillions
Lower cost of living
Create productive jobs
Reduce corruption
Tell your Representatives to end all IRA subsidies!
“I will terminate the Green New Scam [IRA]” – President Trump
“End all government subsidies, including those for EVs, oil, and gas” – Elon Musk
The IRA (aka “Green New Scam”) has 8 key subsidies.
Each subsidy 1) increases the debt, 2) increases cost of living, 3) prevents productive business and jobs from being created, and 4) increases corruption.
But each also has lobbyists falsely claiming they’re good for America.
IRA subsidies increase the debt by trillions
Credible estimates show the IRA costing the budget over $1 trillion over the next decades and trillions more after that.
DOGE, take note: these trillions can be cut and it won’t cost the American people but hugely benefit them!
IRA subsidies increase cost of living
A higher federal debt means the need for more borrowing by the government, which drives up interest rates for everyone—meaning more expensive homes and cars.
Terminating the IRA will make homes and cars cheaper.
IRA prevents productive businesses and jobs from being created
The IRA will lead to the misallocation of $3 trillion into uncompetitive businesses that would otherwise be invested in truly productive businesses.
Terminating the IRA will create new, lasting businesses and jobs.
IRA subsidies create corruption
By subsidizing all forms of energy, including oil and gas, like never before, the IRA has switched much of industry’s focus from creating cheap, reliable energy to lobbying for more subsidies.
Terminating the IRA will Make Energy Great Again.
IRA subsidies are destroying our grid
While all IRA subsidies need to go, the worst are “Clean Electricity,” which pay electricity markets to defund reliable gas/coal plants and fund intermittent solar/wind.
Terminating the IRA will make electricity cheaper and more reliable.
Myth: IRA subsidies benefit many states and districts, especially Republican ones, by subsidizing businesses and jobs.
Truth: IRA is creating a small number of unsustainable jobs—while harming every American with inflation, less economic opportunity, and a declining grid!Lobbyists for subsidy-seeking business are pressuring politicians, especially Republican ones, by claiming that terminating the IRA will cause catastrophic loss of investment in businesses and jobs.
But IRA hasn’t created new investment, it’s diverted investment to uncompetitive businesses and jobs.Based on the data cited by DOE, in 2023, the IRA resulted in the creation of up to 142,000 jobs.
For comparison, in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US economy as a whole created 2.6 million jobs.Most or all of the IRA’s meager 142,000 jobs created in 2023 would have likely been created in other, more productive businesses. In any case, IRA-subsidized jobs cost us a fortune.
For example, we’re paying $2-7 million each for EV jobs that pay less than the national average!Myth: Removing IRA subsidies would create harmful instability by making financial support for certain projects unpredictable.
Truth: We want instability for subsidized projects, so that companies invest in real value creation and avoid subsidy-seeking.Lobbyists who want to keep their IRA subsidies at the expense of the country like to say we should “use a scalpel” to cut other subsidies but not theirs.
But a good surgeon uses a scalpel to cut out the whole cancer—and that’s what we need to do with the IRA.
Questions about this article? Ask AlexAI, my chatbot for energy and climate answers:
Popular links
EnergyTalkingPoints.com: Hundreds of concise, powerful, well-referenced talking points on energy, environmental, and climate issues.
My new book Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas—Not Less.
“Energy Talking Points by Alex Epstein” is my free Substack newsletter designed to give as many people as possible access to concise, powerful, well-referenced talking points on the latest energy, environmental, and climate issues from a pro-human, pro-energy perspective.
Keep up the great work!
Thank you for your work, Alex!