Its not. Its balanced on the back of the middle class.
The programs that keep coming up on the chopping block are largely for the poor (e.g. school lunches, SNAP and other direct assistance, unemployment). Although, it's true that we simply can't balance the budget on the backs of the poor because there literally isn't enough money in those programs. Of course, the real prize for conservatives is entitlements, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, but they often hesitate to actually call for that because it's vastly unpopular, even within their base.
I would rather see the money go towards rehabing schools and other infrastructure.
It's not an either/or proposition. We can fund green energy and schools and infrastructure. If we don't have the money, tax the rich.
Electric utilities are a business.
Kinda. They are heavily regulated monopolies.
The government owns and operates the large dams. The transmission and other power generation is all privately owned except for municipalities that own and operate their own systems.
I'm a little unclear on the relevance.
Up front costs for solar and wind are far from moderate.
You can finance the installation of rooftop solar with a monthly cost less than the savings when you factor in the relatively small tax credit. But it's a high enough cost that a large number of people simply don't have the credit for it. That's where solar leases and PPAs can help, but those arrangements leave the people who use them with long-term commitments that include cost increases.
I'd like to see the government subsidize low-income housing with solar as a basic feature. There are few things more liberating than cutting out a regular monthly expense.
As an electrical engineer working in the renewable industry, I would never install roof top solar. With the changing regulations, it has a negative pay-back meaning you NEVER recover your initial investment.
As the purchaser of a home solar electrical system, I can assure you that you don't know what you're talking about. Of course the economic calculus varies by state, but for me, it's been an enormous savings from day 1, in addition to offsetting a lot of my carbon footprint.
If you wish to invest because it makes you feel like you are doing something good for the planet, go ahead. For those that build and operate large wind and solar projects, rest assured, it is ALL about profit.
Of course, the companies that build these green energy projects need to make money. Who cares? But the point is, the reason that these technologies for generating green power are becoming affordable for the average person is that the government has subsidized them extensively. The price for home solar has dropped by whole factors in the last few years, and the growth has been enormous. If there aren't some folks making their daily bread off of it, it wouldn't happen.
