By Milt Harris ——Bio and Archives--February 4, 2024
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Can</span you say loophole? How about lobbyists? Maybe “Good Ole Boys Club, I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine” is the best way to explain Biden’s latest ridiculous decision. Anyway you look at it, Biden once again is misappropriating money and trying to justify it with paper thin reasoning.
Within his Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is itself an oxymoron, there is an electric vehicle (EV) charger tax credit program. The idea was to subsidize EV charger stations in “low income” and “non-urban” areas of the country. This was the Biden’s administration’s way of placating people, “on paper” at least, that can’t afford an EV in the first place. This administration is great at giving lip service and spending money on projects that have no chance of working, but of course always affords them the fall-back built-in excuse of “they were doing it for the environment.”
“This tax credit provides up to 30% off the cost of the charger to individuals and businesses in low-income communities and non-urban areas, making it more affordable to install EV charging infrastructure and increasing access to EV charging in underserved communities,” the White House stated on Jan. 19.
However, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation, their analysis of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) interactive eligibility map, that explanation doesn’t hold up. Areas such as Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts, Montauk and Fishers Island in New York, areas known as wealthy established locations, are classified as “low income” which means they are eligible for the subsidies.
In order to meet the definition of “low income” a Census tract must have a poverty rate of 20% or more. However, an area can qualify if the median family income is below 80% of the median family income in the wider metropolitan area or in its state if a given Census tract is not part of any particular metropolitan area, according to section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code.
In reality, the latter definition definitely skews the concept of “low income.” According to the DOE’s interactive map, over half of the landmass of Nantucket Island qualifies as low income, which one could argue is a deliberate loophole that allows the wealthy to benefit from the discounts.
The Vineyard Haven area of Martha’s Vineyard, which is another destination frequented by New England’s wealthiest citizens, is also unbelievably eligible as a “low-income” area. Many of the homes in the covered area are worth well over $1 million, with several properties valued between about $2 million and $5 million. Barack Obama owns a massive $11.7 million estate on the island, yet it is somehow a “low income area.”
Large pockets of Cape Cod are also eligible for “low income” EV subsidies. This includes Hyannis port, which everyone knows is the longtime home base of the Kennedy family, and Great Island, which features numerous multi-million-dollar homes.
The “old money” hub of Fischer Island, New York is classified as low income as well, which according to The Wall Street Journal is “an exclusive enclave where generations of iconic families gather to golf and sail.” Historically, such well known American families like the Roosevelts, Rockefellers and DuPonts have traveled to Fishers Island to vacation, according to the New York Post.
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Other areas that the Biden administration considers as “low income” include Montauk on Long Island, that has homes valued at $6 million, $10 million and $17 million among others, well to do areas on New York’s east side, and of course expensive areas on the west coast in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
In my opinion, the entire EV concept is nothing more than a liberal pipe dream. The only people that can afford these environmentally disastrous, money/fire traps are the wealthy, and not average Americans. So, in order to get at least some on the road, who do you have to accommodate? That’s right, the wealthy, and even many of those that can afford the purchase price don’t want the inconvenience or the expense of owning one of these current-day Corvairs.
Biden and his administration know all of this, but for appearances they will continue with the farce to appease the radical left. The damage and waste of both resources and American tax dollars are of no consequence to this group. All that matters is the pursuit of their agenda, one that even they understand is beyond reality.
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Milt spent thirty years as a sales and operations manager for an international manufacturing company. He is also a four-time published author on a variety of subjects. Now, he spends most of his time researching and writing about conservative politics and liberal folly.