The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on August 16, 2022, but the contents of the legislation are contradictory to its stated purpose.
A new Policy Study by The Heartland Institute titled “The High Costs of Climate Scams: Assessing the Green Giveaways in the Inflation Reduction Act,” explains how the real point of the IRA is the creation of an enormous renewable energy slush fund, paid for by deficit spending. The lion’s share of that spending comes in the form of tax credits to “green” energy sources such as wind and solar power, battery storage, and electric vehicle (EV) purchases. The IRA also directs substantial funding and subsidies for “environmental justice” initiatives and green lobbying groups, many of which are sketchy, newly formed entities.
After its enactment into law, Biden acknowledged the IRA had “nothing to do with inflation.” Rather, the green subsidies contained in the bill, which the Biden administration said would total $369 billion, amounted to what they described as “the most significant action…taken on clean energy and climate change in the nation’s history.” Since then, however, the price tag on these tax credits has increased substantially, with a wide range of predictions for how much they will ultimately cost. All credible estimates are significantly more than the Biden administration initially claimed, including one that puts the actual cost as high as $1.8 trillion.
The best way to eliminate the IRA’s enormous and wasteful subsidies would be a total and complete federal repeal of the IRA.
Tim Benson joined The Heartland Institute in September 2015 as a policy analyst in the Government Relations Department.
