Contrary to the Biden administration’s talking points, small energy start-ups are not the primary beneficiaries of these green subsidies. Companies with more than $1 billion in revenue receive more than 90 percent of the tax benefits, over half of which are banks and insurers, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. While the law gives handouts to massive corporations, it mobilizes an army of 87,000 IRS auditors to come after law-abiding citizens and job creators. Originally, Treasury Secre- tary Janet Yellen pledged that the IRS would not deploy additional agents to audit Americans making under $400,000. But it only took a few months for IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel to admit that the self-imposed limit will change in a few years. HISTORIC JOB CREATION “We’ve created more jobs in two years than any administration has in a single four-year term,” Biden boasted to the receptive crowd in the East Room. He neglected, however, to mention that more than 70 percent of all job gains since 2021 were jobs recovered from the pandemic. What’s more, job growth has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, nearly two million more Americans have left the labor force altogether since Biden took office. And despite Biden’s claims that the IRA creates manufacturing jobs, the Tax Foundation estimates that its burdensome taxes on manufac- turers will cost 29,000 jobs — a key reason why the National Association
of Manufacturers staunchly opposed the bill. CUTTING THE DEFICIT Noticeably absent from the opening of Biden’s speech was the mention of the alleged goal of the law, along with reducing inflation: reining in the deficit and achieving a fiscal surplus within a decade. While Biden did ultimately mention the deficit reductions in the context of modest drug pricing cuts, he ignored the elephant in the room — the green tax credits are proving far more costly than anticipated. The Joint Committee on Taxation recently adjusted the estimated cost to more than $650 billion, 240 percent higher than original projections. Goldman Sachs estimates the costs will be even higher, totaling $1.2 trillion . As a result, economists now esti- mate that the IRA will likely add to the government debt, rather than reduce it, further burdening Ameri- can taxpayers and endangering the fiscal strength of our nation. ADDRESSING THE CLIMATE CRISIS Perhaps the claim that comes closest to being true is Biden’s assertion that the Inflation Reduction Act combats the “existential threat” of climate change, but even this achievement is exaggerated at best. The Biden administration estimates that the IRA’s climate regulations
will reduce US carbon emissions by one billion metric tons. Such reduc- tions could come to fruition — at the astronomical costs outlined above — but Biden fails to mention one important detail. Even as the United States has steadily decreased emissions since the mid-2000s, China’s emissions continue to skyrocket, as do those of other Asian nations. The IRA does nothing to compel China or other Asian nations to reduce these emis- sions, meaning that the global effect of US reductions will be negligible. All the while, these new crippling green energy regulations will lead companies to offshore more American manufacturing jobs, weaken our supply chains, and deepen our reliance on the Chinese Communist Party. FACTS OVER FICTION In the coming months, as Biden tries to sell his economic achievements to the American people, conserva- tives must ensure that their friends and neighbors know the truth. That is why AMAC is committed to provid- ing real news to our members. We will continue to present the facts over the fictional narratives that the Biden White House is trying to spin. Because when the American people are presented with the truth, they always choose the right course for our nation.
Rebecca Weber Chief Executive Officer, AMAC
24 • AMAC Magazine
Powered by FlippingBook