• ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
    hexagon
    ·
    edit-2
    6 months ago

    The inflation reduction act is a perfect example of an idiotic policy that failed to achieve either reducing inflation, which is still climbing, or making any impact in terms of reducing emissions. In fact, U.S. fossil fuel production was reaching new highs in 2023 https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=50978

    Then the bipartisan infrastructure bill finally had some halfway decent funding for rail instead of scraps.

    And what are the tangible effects of this bill?

    The Biden administration set a goal of making the power industry net zero by 2035 and the US net zero by 2050.

    Once again, tangible results point in the opposite direction here as seen above. And now US is criminally putting tariffs on Chinese solar panels and EVs in a middle of a climate crisis to make things worse.

    That’s just kind of how things usually work, you throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.

    All the policies that have been passed do have a common theme though. What has happened consistently during Biden admin is that the oligarchs have increased their wealth substantially while the working majority became more poor. The purpose of the system is what it does.

    • pingveno@lemmy.ml
      ·
      6 months ago

      reducing inflation, which is still climbing

      Wrong. So wrong. Inflation in the US is around 3.5%, down from a high of 7%. Whether that's attributable to the IRA is, of course, up for debate.

      fossil fuel production

      Regardless of fossil fuel production, actual CO2 equivalent is dropping and has been dropping for a long time.

      And what are the tangible effects of this bill?

      What has happened consistently during Biden admin is that the oligarchs have increased their wealth substantially while the working majority became more poor.

      Those numbers are complex because the Biden administration has dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout its entire existence. But recently, wage growth has been catching up, with the lowest wage workers getting the strongest growth. Inflation is slowly getting under control. But then too the stock market has been on a high. Will that burst at any moment? Hard to tell.

      • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
        hexagon
        ·
        6 months ago

        Wrong. So wrong. Inflation in the US is around 3.5%, down from a high of 7%. Whether that’s attributable to the IRA is, of course, up for debate.

        The rate of inflation has slowed, but the inflation is still rising https://www.bankrate.com/banking/federal-reserve/what-is-inflation/

        And the elephant in the room is of course the way inflation is measured which excludes key things that affect people the most such as rent and gas prices since they're deemed too volatile. This gives a very skewed picture of what's actually happening with real inflation, as in the rise in cost of living that people are experiencing. (more on that later)

        Regardless of fossil fuel production, actual CO2 equivalent is dropping and has been dropping for a long time.

        This is largely a result of deindustrialization because US doesn't produce much of anything domestically with industry being only something like 11% of the economy. So, all this shows is how US increasingly outsources emissions for the goods consumed in US. And the oil that US exports is used to fuel those emissions.

        EV infrastructure (mixed feelings on this, but its an improvement over ICE)

        the improvement https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2024/03/28/ev-charging-stations-slow-rollout/

        Incentives for solar and wind, which are working

        false https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61943

        And this is going to get a lot worse with Biden's tariffs on cheap solar panels and batteries from China.

        Those numbers are complex because the Biden administration has dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout its entire existence.

        🤨

        Last I checked the pandemic was a global event, so why is China's economy growing at over 5% with people's savings hitting a record high?

        https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-jones-bank-earnings-01-12-2024/card/chinese-household-savings-hit-another-record-high-xqyky00IsIe357rtJb4j

        But recently, wage growth has been catching up, with the lowest wage workers getting the strongest growth. Inflation is slowly getting under control. But then too the stock market has been on a high. Will that burst at any moment? Hard to tell.

        And now we can circle back to the reality of the rise in cost of living compared to wage growth:

        • https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/3014700/2024-about-economy-stupid-specifically-inflation/
        • https://www.nbcwashington.com/inflation-economy-housing-prices-recession-vibes/a-tale-of-2-economies-wages-are-going-up-why-do-we-feel-like-we-cant-afford-anything/3536747/
        • https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-outlook-economy-hard-landing-jpmorgan-forecast-low-income-wealth-2024-5
        • https://fortune.com/2024/05/19/economic-outlook-consumer-sentiment-inflation-high-rates-saving-american-dream-spending-labor-market/
        • https://streetlightnews.org/homelessness-older-adults/
        • pingveno@lemmy.ml
          ·
          6 months ago

          I'm going to stop arguing since this has nothing to do with a wealth tax. That said, you should reread the source you gave:

          false https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61943

          Wind capacity is at an all-time high. There was less wind than usual that year, so less electricity was generated.

          • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
            hexagon
            ·
            6 months ago

            It has everything to do with your original point that the tax law was rejected because it was a bad idea. What I've demonstrated for you is that the policies that have been implemented don't actually work any better than the rejected tax law in accomplishing their stated goals.

            Wind capacity is at an all-time high. There was less wind than usual that year, so less electricity was generated.

            very clearly showing there's no tangible increase in capacity, with it decreasing slightly in 2023

            Show

            Again, here's what we see in a country with a functioning government that's able to pass effective policies. World wind report shows that China's wind capacity is now more than the US, EU and UK combined. Meanwhile, the US installed less than 1/2 of what it did 2 years ago, and lowest level since 2014.

            https://gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GWR-2024_digital-version_final.pdf

            • pingveno@lemmy.ml
              ·
              6 months ago

              You're confusing capacity factor and capacity. Take a look at both graphs in that document, including the one that shows a steadily increasing capacity. It's the graph you apparently cut out of the above image, can't miss it!

              • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
                hexagon
                ·
                6 months ago

                I'm not confusing anything. I'm pointing out that the actual tangible change in electricity production is effectively non existent. The increase in overall capacity is not actually very large, and that's why the capacity factor is effectively flat. Again, compare the increase in capacity in US with the increase in capacity in China to see what actual progress looks like. It's incredible to me that you're incapable of accepting what's happening.

                • pingveno@lemmy.ml
                  ·
                  6 months ago

                  The increase in overall capacity is not actually very large, and that’s why the capacity factor is effectively flat.

                  Capacity and capacity factor are not connected. You could have one wind turbine or a thousand and they would tend to have a similar capacity factor, all else being equal. If you need another illustration of this, consider this table of China's stats, which includes the capacity factor. It stays steady at around 20% in a time period where capacity has increased by a factor of over 300.

                  • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
                    hexagon
                    ·
                    6 months ago

                    You're right, but steady capacity factor with the total capacity doubling every year is a very different situation from what you see in US where it took a whole decade to double, you get that right?