Over the past year, US taxpayers have learned that one of the chief lessons of Bidenomics 101 is doling out billions of dollars in green energy subsidies for wealthy corporations. This was what the trifecta of legislative accomplishments – Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – was all about. President Joe Biden traveled to Philadelphia, PA, this weekend to again tout Bidenomics and announce several billion dollars in so-called federal investments for hydrogen projects.
$7 Billion for Green Energy Subsidies
Stumbling twice on a short flight of stairs, President Biden took to the stage to award $7 billion in federal grants across 16 states, from California to Pennsylvania, for developing seven regional hydrogen hubs as part of the administration's broader decarbonization initiative. What companies will receive some of these green energy subsidies? A range of businesses will be involved, but three of the most prominent names on the list are Amazon, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil, worth a combined $2.2 trillion.
While critics would likely ask why some of the wealthiest corporations in the world need a handout from Uncle Sam, President Biden noted that the giveaway is essentially seed money to help jump-start the production of clean hydrogen by having the critical infrastructure established. Additionally, the total investment in these hubs will reach $50 billion because of the substantial private investment also being made.
"I'm here to announce one of the largest advanced manufacturing investments in the history of this nation. It’s all part of my plan to make things in America," Biden said.
Of course, the administration's latest announcement focuses on clean energy, but observers are omitting one key thing: Green energy subsidies are just more corporate welfare. Politicians are, once again, transferring resources from taxpayers to special interests.
Is Hydrogen the Answer?
Hydrogen is considered a crucial component for achieving the world's net zero carbon emissions objective by 2050. Hydrogen emits only water when burned as fuel or inside a fuel cell for automobiles. However, hydrogen production requires an immense volume of energy, meaning that, depending on its source, it might not be as green as its proponents would contend. So, for instance, hydrogen can be produced from natural gas, and this so-called bridge fuel has received enormous criticism from climate activists.
Consider this statement from Maggie Coulter, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute, who told the Associated Press: "Throwing billions at hydrogen hubs deepens our dependence on fossil fuels and worsens the climate emergency."
Indeed, hydrogen could only be labeled green if new renewable sources are built to power hydrogen output rather than relying on the present grid and other carbon accounting programs. In other words, it might have the same environmental effects as fossil fuels. For now, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation, the world is greenwashing green hydrogen.
Trickle-Down Bidenomics
(Photo by Marijan Murat/picture alliance via Getty Images)
US administration officials have repeatedly asserted that Bidenomics is about growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up, abandoning the concept of trickle-down economics of the past three decades. However, this pejorative term – economic policies that disproportionately favor Corporate America and the 1% – can apply to the president's economic doctrine.
As Liberty Nation has regularly reported, the White House, state governments, and city officials are spending trillions of dollars on corporate welfare. No one in the Oval Office or inside the Democratic caucus on Capitol Hill wants to admit this because the taxpayer-funded subsidies are allocated to their preferred sectors, mainly green energy.
President Biden has demanded that corporations must pay their fair share while signing over checks to these same entities. Moreover, global leaders, like United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, have called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies. This should be a welcome call to action as long as it includes renewables and green energy. Otherwise, they pick winners and losers, favor one industry over another, and engage in hypocrisy. Leftists are not opposed to corporate welfare. They just want the money to go to another set of special interests for a specific cause. That is Bidenomics 101.
