On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced plans to require that two-thirds of all new car sales in the United States by 2032 be electric vehicles and to impose the “strictest-ever” emissions restrictions on gasoline-powered vehicles. As with much of Biden’s green agenda, the proposals will lead to an increase in costs for the average American while boosting profits for Democratic megadonors.
A recent CNBC survey found that 58% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and 70% feel financially constrained due to inflation, rising interest rates, and other factors. According to CarEdge, the average cost of an EV in February was approximately $58,385.
Already, automobiles are more costly than ever. During the first quarter of 2023, the average monthly payment for a new vehicle reached a record high of $730, an increase of more than 11% annually. As more Americans are compelled to purchase electric vehicles, increased demand will increase prices. As a result, Republican legislators are planning to intervene over concerns about the increase in the price and its effects on consumers.
“Electrification” leads to higher prices for everyone, said Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso, ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee. The statement was made in response to the 1,475 pages of new EPA regulations released on Wednesday. Likewise, Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) noted that the average price of an electric vehicle exceeds the income of 46 percent of American families.
Larry Behrens, Power the Future spokesman, told Just The News that families are struggling to make ends meet as prices increase. At the same time, Biden “takes fossil-fueled transportation to yet another vacation.”
He added, “Due to Joe Biden’s war on American energy,” the nation is witnessing the highest gas prices in recent history and the worst inflation since Jimmy Carter.
Car and gasoline prices are not the only ones on the rise. As a result of Biden’s assault on the carbon-based energy economy, Americans’ utility bills have skyrocketed. Three-quarters of Americans say their utility bills have increased by at least 25% in the past year, according to a GOBankingRates survey. Approximately 22% of respondents reported a 50% increase in their bill, while 10% reported that their utility costs doubled. In the last six months, the price per kilowatt-hour of electricity in Connecticut has increased from 12 cents to 23 cents, as reported by EverSource.
According to Behrens, “continuing down this path” will lead to less energy that is more expensive, a weaker America in the eyes of the world, and less security.
As an energy expert at the Manhattan Institute, Mark Mills expressed similar concerns about prices on the John Solomon Reports podcast, saying that Biden has managed to transform the American energy industry to the detriment of ordinary Americans. Because of hostility towards drilling, Mills explained that consumers would be the ones paying more. According to Mills, it is not just for purchasing electric cars if that’s what they’re required to buy; they’ll also pay more for used cars and gasoline to run them. All the trajectories push this toward higher costs for everyone, which “the wealthy can afford” but “the average person” cannot.
Biden’s market interventions will benefit affluent green energy investors allied with the Democrats as middle-class consumers struggle with rising costs. Mills stated that to say the federal government has its thumb on the scale is an understatement., and it involves weighing the entirety of the government.
In February, the Washington Free Beacon discovered that Biden had awarded billions to green energy companies in which billionaire Democrat donors Bill Gates and Laurene Powell Jobs have invested. Both Gates and Jobs are initial investors in the rechargeable battery companies Ioneer and Redwood Materials. Biden has provided nearly $3 billion in loans to these two companies alone over the past few months. Ioneer’s stock price has increased by 33%, even though the results have not yet completely manifested.
Sludge, an investigative news outlet, reported that Gates’ foundation gave about $70 million to a payroll reporting agent for Sixteen Thirty Fund during the 2020 election cycle, which then gave tens of millions to left-leaning Super PACs, including those that supported Biden. A longtime Democratic donor, Jobs contributed over $2 million to Jon Ossoff, Angie Craig, and several other left-wing campaigns and PACs in 2020.
Additionally, Gates founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), a company committed to achieving net-zero emissions. CNBC reports that Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Jack Ma, Richard Branson, and others are cofounders of the energy titan. By 2019, BEV investors had already raised $1 billion and boasted a portfolio of over a dozen energy companies.
Long is the list of billionaires with a stake in renewable energy. According to the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation, billionaire John Arnold has “ultimate voting or investment control” over Centaurus Capital LP, an investment fund with a “specific focus” on the renewable energy industry. Reportedly, Centaurus Capital LP possesses over 131 million shares of Ioneer, the same green lithium-boron supplier with which Gates is affiliated and which Biden generously funded. Arnold has supported various leftist causes, including ranked-choice voting and litigation against Republicans. Through their foundation, he and his wife have contributed to both of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns and a prominent Democratic PAC and other causes.