There are few things in America today that are as big of a scam as the so-called “green” movement. When people joke that “Green is the new Red,” as in communist, you laugh because it’s true. Hilariously, the people who have anointed themselves as heroes of the planet also label themselves as social justice warriors fighting for the little guy. Yet, curiously, so much of what they advocate for benefits the rich at the expense of the poor and middle class.
I try to keep up with the news everywhere, but where I have family is of particular interest. Michigan, where I grew up and my family all still live, is on top of the list. Right behind it is Florida, where my wife’s family is from and, if I’m being honest, is appealing as a place to possibly live one day because they’re free and have no income tax, though the oppressive humidity most of the year is a strike against it.
But even in the free state of Florida, where Republicans control the government, the Green Menace is creeping. I saw this op-ed the other day entitled, “Time to end Florida’s outdated rooftop solar free ride,” and clicked the link. I didn’t know what to expect, but I should have.
Florida, like a lot of places, is encouraging people to “go green!” with their houses. If you, for example, put solar panels on the roof of your house, you not only will save money on your electric bill, you can “sell” back to the power company and pay almost nothing for your electric bill. Due to a program called “net metering,” the power company is forced to pay those homeowners with rooftop solar a “retail” price for the excess electricity they put back onto the power grid. This makes sense…unless you think about it a little deeper.
As the “solar free ride” column points out, people selling excess energy back to the power company aren’t disconnected from the power grid. They use the grid to sell their excess power back to the electric company and the grid is also there for their use when the Sun doesn’t shine.
That’s all well and good, if you’re one of the rich people who own their homes and can afford the reported $20,000 for the solar panels. If you rent or don’t have piles of cash laying around, it’s a different story. Those folks who don’t have solar panels are forced to pay for almost the full maintenance of the electrical grid. Never mind that people with solar panels are also using the power grid; those rich folks just get to use it for free thanks to everyone else.
According to some reports, Floridians without solar panels are subsidizing those with solar panels to the tune of $30 million a year. Unless net metering is fixed, this subsidy will only continue to grow.
This situation in Florida also reminds me of the electric car boondoggle.
The people who buy electric cars tend to be wealthier and more liberal than the general public. In the long run, they save a lot of money, especially now, by not having to buy gasoline. But if electric cars are so wonderful, why do they need to be subsidized to the tune of thousands of dollars?
Do rich people really need a $7,500 tax credit to buy an electric car? I realize it’s available to everyone, but electric cars are expensive. So qualifying for $7,500 off a $50,000 car is great, if you can afford to drop $42,500 out of your pocket on a car. Most people can’t, so they become virtue-signaling toys for the rich.
Add to that the additional pressure liberal politicians always put on raising the gas tax to “pay to maintain the roads,” and you begin to see how this seemingly environmental cause becomes a redistribution scam for wealthy liberals. Government incentivizes the purchase of cars that don’t use gas, gas tax revenues go down, government calls for an increase in the gas tax to make up the difference.
You can add in new cars and how they get significantly better, government mandated gas mileage. Rich people are much more likely to be driving new cars with better mileage than everyone else who buy older used cars. That increases the burden of the cost of the gas tax on those least likely to be able to afford it.
So much of the Green agenda, either intentionally or not, is a wealth shift from the poor to the rich, all in the name of “progress.” All these subsidies, local, state or federal, should be wiped off the books. If you want to drive an electric car, good for you, go do it. Just don’t ask everyone else to help pick up the tab. If you want to use solar panels to power your house, knock yourself out, but don’t expect us to cover any of the costs and pick up your part of the load for a power grid you still use when the Sun goes down.
All of this makes sense once you realize communism is the ultimate wealth-shift from the poor to rich. Stalin, Mao, all the Kims, etc., were fat while the people they ruled over were starving. We aren’t there…yet, which is why we have to keep the concept in check everywhere it pops up its ugly head. Because, as I said at the start, “Green is the new Red.”
Derek Hunter is the host of a free daily podcast (subscribe!), host of a daily radio show on WCBM in Maryland, and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.