Will Republicans Choose Cronyism Over The Taxpayers… Again?

It is truly disappointing when you elect members of a party, thinking that affiliation with that party means advancing the ideals that party espouses. While we should be used to the heartbreak from Republicans, it still stings when we see that we, the taxpayer, are actually not on their priority list.

Take, for example, GM’s electric car tax credit. It is a horribly cronyist policy that robs taxpayers’ wallets while enriching the big businesses who don’t need the breaks.

The Daily Caller News Foundation studied the effect of the tax credits – which are currently under consideration for extension in the Senate – and the numbers are not great for you and I.

There are more than 400,000 electric vehicles sold in the U.S. every year, according to somereports. If lawmakers nix the current cap electric vehicle makers enjoy, and the number of vehicles sold over the next decade remains constant, then taxpayers will get hit with a $30 billion bill.

That number might be a conservative estimate as sales of electric vehicles in 2016 and 2017 increased by 36 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Democrats introduced a bill in July that would, if passed, remove the cap and replace it with a 10-year limit. The GOP has etched out a different position.

The current limit is 200,000 qualifying vehicles — extending the credit through 2022 will cost roughly $7.5 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service.

But if that cap is eliminated and automakers continue producing 400,000 vehicles per year, then companies like General Motors and Tesla, among others, will make roughly 4 million cars over ten years. The DCNF multiplied that number by $7,500 to determine the cost to taxpayers over the period.

We’re looking at billions in wasted money, my friends.

I’m not a fan of the government picking winners and losers. It’s not who we’re supposed to be. The ideal is that we let them duke it out in the markets. Whoever makes the better electric car gets the business and makes the money. Offering them tax credits kills the competition.

Here’s a bit more from the Daily Caller.

Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming introduced a bill in October that would end the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric cars altogether and even tax them more. Recent reportssuggest lifting the cap would hurt Americans who are struggling to stay ahead of their finances.

Eliminating the cap would cause personal household income to fall $610 per household between 2020 and 2035, the NERA Economic Modeling noted in a report published Monday. It would also benefit wealthy Americans more than low-income earners.

The problem there? The $610 income drop per household effectively cuts the savings from the GOP tax plan by a third, and at a time when it looks like the economy will start to shrink again.

We still have a Republican Senate. It is time we use it correctly. Call your senators ASAP.

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