Remember President Obama’s signing of the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009?
At the time, it was sold as an “infrastructure” bill aimed at stimulating the economy to recover from the Great Recession.
Two weeks after signing the bill, Obama announced, “Because Joe [Biden]And since all the governors and mayors, county and city officials are helping to implement the plan, I can say that 14 days after I signed the Recovery Act into law, we saw the shovels land. “
Two years later, Obama lamented: “The preparation is not as ready as we expected.”
Obama’s so-called infrastructure plan also includes substantial assistance to politically connected “green” energy companies.
Will Solyndra ring the bell? How about the beacon power supply? Or A123? Rich in solar energy? Energy 1?
Unsurprisingly, despite the federal government’s funding of hundreds of millions of dollars, many of these companies filed for bankruptcy protection.
Always remember that the federal government has a poor record of picking winners and losers.
This is why free market capitalism is superior to government central planning.
However, the Biden administration, Congressional Democrats, and too many Republican senators seem to have lost this point. They fully support President Biden’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan “infrastructure” bill.
As Yogi Berra said, “Everything is deja vu again.”
according to Biden Administration, “The two-party infrastructure agreement will promote economic growth, enhance our competitiveness, create good job opportunities, and make our economy more sustainable, resilient and fair.”
The White House added: “This transaction will create high-paying union jobs. According to the President’s “Rebuilding for Better Agenda”, these investments will add an average of about 2 million jobs per year over the next ten years, while accelerating the achievement of full employment and employment in the United States. The way to increase labor force participation.”
So, is large-scale government spending now a panacea for all economic difficulties? Didn’t we try it in 2009?
Like Obama, Biden has also made big bets on green energy (with taxpayer money of course).
According to the Biden administration, “The bipartisan infrastructure agreement helps us cope with the climate crisis by making the largest investment in clean energy transmission and electric vehicle infrastructure in history; powering thousands of schools and buses across the country; and Create a new Grid Deployment Authority to build a clean 21Yingshi Century Grid. “
They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.
However, President Biden is very aware of how disastrous Obama’s “investment” in green energy is, and he is doubling down on the government’s “investment” in so-called green energy.
The following are some of the green energy “investments” in the Biden Infrastructure Act:
“The bill invests 7.5 billion US dollars to establish a national electric vehicle charger network. This is the first time that the United States has made a national investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and it is also the Biden-Harris government speeding up the adoption of electric vehicles in response to the climate crisis and supporting domestic manufacturing employment. The key element of the plan.”
I want to know where the power to charge these electric cars comes from?
“The transaction will deliver thousands of electric school buses across the country, including in rural communities, to help school districts across the country buy clean, American-made, zero-emission school buses, and replace the yellow school bus fleet for American children. The transaction is zero-emissions. US$2.5 billion was invested in buses, US$2.5 billion was invested in low-emission buses, and US$2.5 billion was invested in ferries.”
How many students take the ferry to school?
“The transaction invested 21 billion U.S. dollars for environmental remediation. It is the largest investment in solving the legacy of pollution that has endangered the public health of communities and communities in the history of the United States, creating high-paying union jobs in the severely affected energy communities, and advancing economic and environmental justice.”
What is environmental justice? What does it have to do with infrastructure?
And, “The $73 billion investment in this transaction is the largest single investment in clean energy transmission in the history of the United States.”
How much of this $73 billion will go to politically affiliated companies and individuals friendly to the Biden administration?
Sadly, most of the $1.2 trillion in Biden’s latest spending bill will be sucked away by corrupt companies that have colluded with the government. Call it crony capitalism or a simplified version of socialism.
However, under no circumstances should we allow the Biden administration to claim that this is an infrastructure bill that will repair the crumbling roads and bridges of the United States. That’s not it.
We have seen this movie before, as early as 2009.
It didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now. That is, unless you are an avid fan of green energy, huge capital from large companies, inflation, stagnant growth, and high unemployment.
Chris Targo ([email protected]) Is the senior editor of The Heartland Institute.
