TPA’s Director of Policy Ross Marchand sat down with our friends at FreedomWorks this week to talk about surprise billing (see video here ([link removed]) ). We appreciate the opportunity to talk about this pressing issue and point out the perils of government meddling in healthcare. TPA has been leading the charge against rate-setting as a “solution” to surprise billing and recently formed The Coalition Against Rate Setting ([link removed]) to hold lawmakers accountable for proposing failed price-fixing schemes. This group of free market and taxpayer organizations has and will continue to point out the many unintended consequences of government healthcare “fixes.” We received news of an unlikely new ally this week and you’ll never guess who it is…it’s Rev. Al Sharpton. In response to legislation that would involve rate-setting, Sharpton asked, “Why are both parties in Washington, DC lining up behind legislation that would allow
insurance companies to protect their billions in profits while low income Americans are left holding the bag?” Amen, Rev. Sharpton.

Taxpayers Beware: Republicans have their own Green Pipe Dreams

The country doesn’t amass trillion-dollar deficits and debts without both parties failing taxpayers. And, no political party has a monopoly on bad ideas. For example, we all know about the Democrats’ love for lavishing generous heaping handfuls of taxpayer dollars onto wind and solar energy boondoggles. But, now, Republicans are responding in kind with handouts to their own preferred “clean” projects. On February 12, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced the introduction of Republican bills that would launch a “trillion trees” gimmick and expand payouts to the already-bloated carbon sequestration industry. Leaders from both parties must take a stand against these endless budgetary tack-ons and let taxpayers off the hook from costly “green” energy endeavors.

Most “green” projects on the market rely on the hazardous extraction of rare Earth minerals from third-world countries, create power intermittency issues, and are all-but-impossible to recycle. But, some of the alternatives proposed by the GOP are little more than science fiction meets the Lorax. Carbon capture and sequestration technology is frequently touted by members of both parties as a “solution” to (already-declining) carbon emissions, despite the findings of a 2019 study published in Energy and Environmental Science that, “it reduces only a small fraction of carbon emissions, and it usually increases air pollution.”

A gas-fired power station has to burn 16 percent more gas than they otherwise would in order to capture their own carbon. This is hardly the model of energy efficiency. But the technology’s cheerleaders won’t let evidence nor common sense thwart the recently introduced "Enhanced Carbon Oxide Sequestration Credit Act,” which would make permanent the tax credit for capture and sequestration projects and increase payouts by 25 percent. Even if this wacky technology could somehow save the planet (spoiler alert: it won’t), backers such as Reps. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) and Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) can’t seem to explain why the tax credit will make the approach viable after more than $1 billion in failed, direct government financing from the Department of Energy.

Other members of Congress pine for a prettier approach to combat climate change, proposing the planting of a trillion trees. The “Trillion Trees Act” would condition foreign aid on…you guessed it…reforestation and create a National Reforestation Task Force that would create decadal planting targets. This policy is irresponsible enough applied just to the U.S. where an overconcentration of trees has led to devastating wildfires. In recent years, the government has made it far too difficult for harvesters to get anywhere near forests, leading to lax lumber liquidation in America’s lush forests. The results, according to Texas Public Policy Foundation vice president Chuck DeVore, are predictable: “As timber harvesting permit fees went up and environmental challenges multiplied, the people who earned a living felling and planting trees looked for other lines of work. The combustible fuel load in the forest predictably soared.” Taxpayers need sensible, free market policies, not crony handouts
and “woke” posturing by both parties.

Who is Responsible for the Strong Economy: A Stimulating Argument

President John F. Kennedy said that, “victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan,” which has morphed into the popular saying, “success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.” That seems to be exactly what is happening in the latest feud between President Trump and former President Obama. On Monday, Obama tweeted, “Eleven years ago today, near the bottom of the worst recession in generations, I signed the Recovery Act, paving the way for more than a decade of economic growth and the longest streak of job creation in American history.” Really?

When the bottom fell out from under the economy at the end of the last decade, then-President Obama promised Americans that hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded “stimulus” spending would boost the economy and bring jobs back. The 44^th President delivered on spending nearly $1 trillion in hard-earned taxpayer dollars, but failed miserably in delivering the steady, rapid recovery promised to the country. The result was soaring deficits and one of the slowest job recoveries since the Great Depression. Yet, former President Obama has the audacity to claim credit for the historic job and wage growth that Americans are benefiting from today. Unemployment is at historic lows and salaries are soaring so it’s easy to forget the hardships experienced eleven years ago. In the months and years following the Recovery Act’s signing, taxpayers got used to regular reports detailing the systematic misuse of their hard-earned dollars. Taxpayers watched as $2.4 million was awarded to the Winter
Haven Area Transit Authority in Florida to purchase five new buses, even though the authority only averaged two to three riders per hour. The boondoggles never seemed to end, with travesties such as the city commission of Bozeman, Montana taking $49,140 in federal stimulus money to construct little-used tennis courts at a local park. Solyndra, the “green” poster child for government waste, received funding. And, the electric vehicle tax credit, which subsidized wealthy electric vehicle owners and Elon Musk, was expanded under the stimulus package.

The truth is that the 2017 tax reform and President Trump’s deregulatory agenda has fueled the economic growth over the last three years. Things are certainly not perfect, and President Trump must address trillion-dollar deficits. But pro-market reforms have led to surging growth and greater opportunities for all Americans. Former President Obama can try to revise history all he wants, but his record speaks for itself.

Blogs:

Tuesday: The High Costs of Vaping Taxes ([link removed])

Tuesday: Watchdog Corrects Record After Former President Obama’s Stimulus Claims ([link removed])

Wednesday: Time for the Postal Service to grow up ([link removed])

Thursday: Watchdog Praises Reverend Sharpton for Opposing Rate-Setting to “Fix” Surprise Medical Billing ([link removed])

Friday: TPA Welcomes New Board Member ([link removed])

Media:

February 17, 2020: I appeared on WBOB Radio (600 AM and 101 FM; Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about trade and the anniversary of the stimulus package.

February 18, 2020: The Economic Standard ran TPA’s op-ed, “Labor Department pursues Obama era agenda with opaque methods.”

February 18, 2020: Complete Colorado mentioned TPA in their story, “DU Professor: Municipal Broadband experiments failing nationwide.”

February 18, 2020: TPA policy director Ross Marchand appeared on “The Real Side” (Genesis Communications Network; nationally syndicated) to talk about Obama v. Trump on economic growth.

February 19, 2020: I appeared on “The Joe Pags Show” (nationally syndicated) to talk about Obama v. Trump on economic growth.

February 19, 2020: The National Interest ran TPA’s op-ed, “Snake-Oil Proposal: The Green Deal Is a Raw Deal for Europe.”

February 19, 2020: The Epoch Times quoted TPA in their story, “‘Zombie’ Federal Programs That Congress Hasn’t Authorized in Years Cost Taxpayers $332 Billion.”

February 19, 2020: TPA policy director Ross Marchand appeared on “The Alan Nathan Show” (Main Street Radio Network; nationally syndicated) to talk about Obama v. Trump on economic growth.

February 20, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about the proposed tax increases to fund the Kirwan Commission recommendations.

February 20, 2020: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “Smart Use of Unlicensed Spectrum Key to Closing the Digital Divide.”

February 21, 2020: I appeared on the “Issues and Ideas” radio show (Conn., N.J., and N.Y.) to talk about Obama v. Trump on economic growth.

February 21, 2020: The Center Square ran TPA’s op-ed, “White spaces key to bridging digital divide.”

Have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for your continued support.

Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org ([link removed])

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