DL Open Thread: Thursday, July 28, 2022
A Legit Climate Deal??!! Of course, once again we’re at the whims of Joe Manchin:
The agreement, which Senate Democrats hope to pass as early as next week, shocked even some who had been involved in the sputtering negotiations over climate legislation during the past year. The announcement of a deal, after many activists had given up hope, almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change.
And it was delivered by Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, the holdout Democrat who had been reviled by environmentalists and some of his own colleagues after he said this month that he could not support a climate bill because of inflation concerns.
The bill aims to tackle global warming by using billions of dollars in tax incentives to ramp up wind, solar, geothermal, battery and other clean energy industries over the next decade. Companies would receive financial incentives to keep open nuclear plants that might have closed, or to capture emissions from industrial facilities and bury them underground before they can warm the planet. Car buyers with incomes below a certain level would receive a $7,500 tax credit to purchase a new electric vehicle and $4,000 for a used one. Americans would receive rebates to install heat pumps and make their homes more energy-efficient.
Rethugs, per normal, are out of touch with Americans:
Senate Republicans are unanimously opposed to the legislation.
“It is nothing short of an attack on the American family,” Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, said in a statement. “If we want to reduce inflation, lower energy costs, and cut the deficit, the recipe is clear. Congress should cut spending and unleash American oil and natural gas production.”
Presented Without Comment:
Falwell U Continues To Rip Off Vets–And Pretty Much Everyone Else:
The article revealed how much Liberty — the second-largest provider of online education after the University of Phoenix — relied on taxpayer funding for tuition revenue: Its students received more than $772 million in total aid from the Department of Education by 2017, plus more than $40 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Military veterans are such a big market for Liberty University Online that it has a whole division assigned to them.
And the article described a “steep drop-off in quality from the traditional college to the online courses” that was “openly acknowledged among Liberty faculty.” It showed how the university managed to keep its costs in delivering online courses exceedingly low by relying on low-paid instructors and course designers. This helped explain how Liberty, which is a nonprofit organization, managed to pocket $215 million of net income on nearly $1 billion in revenue in 2016, but it also helped explain why students were filing complaints with Virginia’s higher education oversight agency.
That money spigot should be turned off ASAP.
D’s Have Clear Shot At Ron Johnson’s Seat. Well, almost. Mandela Barnes has consolidated support across political spectrum:
This week, two of Barnes’ main rivals dropped out ahead of the August 9th primary, clearing the path for the 35-year-old Milwaukee native. Barnes has already secured the endorsement of Senator Bernie Sanders and campaigned last weekend alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren. The race between Barnes and Johnson will be among a few set to determine which party controls the Senate.
The Barnes campaign has struck an interesting balance between the rival wings of the Democratic party. He’s endorsed by progressives like Sanders, Warren, Congressman Ro Khanna, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (though Barnes doesn’t list her support on his website). And also by Congressman Eric Swalwell and House Whip Jim Clyburn, the latter who famously helped end Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign when he issued his crucial endorsement of Joe Biden before the South Carolina primary.
On Monday, Barnes’ opponent to his left, Tom Nelson, the Executive of Outagamie County and a former delegate for Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential run, announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsed Barnes in a video posted on Twitter.
“I’m proud to say that the progressive vote is consolidated, and the progressive family is one,” said Nelson. He later added in a press release: “Unlike billionaire son-in-law Ron Johnson and some of the other Democratic candidates, Mandela Barnes knows firsthand what it’s like for families struggling with inflation, without health insurance or a lack of gainful work. He has a strong progressive record and is well positioned to finish Ron Johnson off.”
CRODA Loses Again. Must Be Stopped. The company is becoming the poster child for environmental racism:
An ordinance designed to limit the height of a landfill in New Castle County and give county leaders more input in the development of industrial properties will remain in full effect after a Delaware Supreme Court judge last week reaffirmed a lower court’s decision in a case challenging the ordinance.
Croda, a British chemical manufacturer that has a plant near New Castle on Cherry Lane, filed a lawsuit against New Castle County in 2020. The company claimed an ordinance passed by the county a year prior violated its due process rights.
The ordinance requires a special use review for future industrial uses in areas zoned for heavy industry. That means to win approval for future changes or expansion at the New Castle-area site known as Atlas Point, Croda will have to enter the lengthier and more discretionary review process for special use. Previously, it could have submitted a plan that would be approved “by right” as a heavy industry use in an area zoned for heavy industry.
This also helps illustrate why Deb Heffernan must be excised from the House. Just take a look at this bill that Heffernan buried in her committee:
This Act defines certain facilities which will require an applicant seeking a permit for a new facility, or expansion of an existing facility, or renewal of an existing permit, located in an overburdened community, as defined in the Act, to provide an environmental justice impact report. Facility includes the following commercial or industrial business: (1) Manufacturer of animal food, meat, seafood, tobacco, manufactured home, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum, asphalt, ready-mix concrete, primary metal, nonmetallic mineral products, ammunition or transport equipment; (2) pulp, paper, paperboard and sawmills; (3) rail or water freight dock; (4) landfill, transfer station, resource recovery, scrap metal or recycle center or compost operator; (5) sewage treatment center, animal waste processor or sludge processor; (6) commercial livestock and poultry growers; (7) medical waste incinerator (with the exception of those attendant to a hospital or university intended to process self-generated medical waste); and (8) commercial or industrial businesses not contained in (1)-(7) that currently contribute or upon permit approval would contribute to the cumulative pollution in an overburdened community.
I look forward to some House staffer rushing over here to defend Heffernan’s indefensible actions. You know, ‘Carney didn’t want it’. As if that’s a defense.
What do you want to talk about?
Oh Wow! Means tested tax incentives!
This guy gets it ⤴️
I assume you guys are talking about restoring the expired $7500 tax credit for EV purchases? Can’t tell if you are being snarky about it. Seems fine to me.
Means-tested for incomes less than $150K ($300K joint). Also seems fine. No need to comfort the comfortable; they’ve probably already got a Tesla in their garage.
I guess as the sole Dem victory it is weak sauce. Maybe that is worth a little snark.
Purchase price of EVs is a barrier to switching. I’d love to own an EV but am not willing to take on the debt.
Right now the cheapest vehicle is a paid-off gas car. All the cost-of-ownership fanboy analyses ignore that for most ICE owners the initial purchase price has already been absorbed and can be ignored.