by Paul Mueller
The American Institute for Economic Research
The national debt surpassed a mind-boggling $35 trillion last week — approximately $100,000 for every man, woman, and child living in the United States. This means a family of four’s share of public debt, ~$400,000, is likely more than they owe on the mortgage of their house. Runaway government spending is no surprise. What is surprising is that one bill passed a couple years ago may end up costing trillions, with a “t,” more than the public was told. That bill is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Many have rightly called the IRA ‘the New Green Deal Lite.’ The massive bill was primarily geared towards funding green energy projects. Some of that funding took the form of direct subsidies for conservation and energy efficiency projects. The main goal was to divert hundreds of billions of dollars into green energy projects. The uncapped lion’s share of the cost comes in the form of special tax credits through the internal revenue code.