A New Biden Tax Credit Just Jacked Up the Price of Electric Vehicles
Last week, the Biden administration narrowly passed the $740 billion “Inflation Reduction Act” into law. You may have been led to believe that the bill was intended to fight inflation (primarily because it’s literally called the Inflation Reduction Act) but in reality, it’s a trojan horse for the typical, left-wing agenda.
One of the main aspects of the act is $369 billion of dollars that will be spent tackling climate change. Included in this is a tax credit for consumers to purchase electric vehicles. The federal government is offering select consumers up to $7,500 in discounts to buy an electric car.
The funny thing is, around the same time that this tax credit was proposed, both Ford and General Motors announced that they were raising the prices of their electric vehicles. By how much, you’re wondering? Well, in a total coincidence of course, the vehicle manufacturers raised their prices by about $7,500… the same amount as the tax credit.
Ford announced that their price hike will cost consumers anywhere from $6,800 to $8,500 more than last year. Likewise, GM is charging $6,250 more for their electric Hummer. These price hikes effectively cancel out the tax credit that consumers can receive from the federal government.
In the White House’s defense, the prices of these electric cars were likely to rise regardless of the newly-imposed tax credit; the electric vehicle market is growing and prices have been rising each year. With rampant inflation causing most consumer goods prices to rise as well, it’s no surprise that these automotive companies are raising prices on their electric vehicles. But again, the rampant inflation causing price increases is a direct result of this administration’s failed economic policies.
President Biden’s goal for the credit was to encourage electric vehicle manufacturing in this county. To reduce dependence on countries like China that export electric batteries to our country, the tax credit only applied to an electric vehicle that has a battery built in North America. Because of this factor, most electric cars won’t even qualify for the credit.
As The Post Millennial reports, “according to John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance of Automotive Innovation, only twenty-two of the seventy-two currently available electric, hydrogen, or plug-in hybrid models in the US would be eligible for the tax credit under the new rules.”
The fact that this tax credit was immediately canceled out by rising prices is par-for-the-course for this administration. This White House has repeatedly shown how out of touch they are with the average American during the economic recession we are in. You may remember when Biden ran for President, he literally promised to end fossil fuels. Or how about when Pete Buttigieg was asked what can be done about rising gas prices and he said consumers should just buy an electric car instead?
There’s a simple reason that explains why most Americans do not have an interest in changing to an electric car: it’s expensive. According to Kelly Blue Book, the average cost of a four-door, gas sedan is $35,000. The average cost of an electric vehicle is $55,000. To act as though this is a simple financial change most Americans can make on a whim is absurd.
Carbon-based energy sources are extremely efficient and low-cost. Those who are in the middle and lower class are not going to feel inclined to spend money they don’t have in order to “fight climate change.” The rich suburban family in Los Angeles can drive their Tesla around and feel good about themselves, but the average American who is already struggling to pay for typical goods is now dealing with a White House trying to force them to buy a car they can’t afford. But to the left, achieving their climate goals is more important than the financial well-being of the poor (even when their climate goals are inconsequential).
