More for the Have Mores

At an annual Al Smith dinner in New York City, then President George W. Bush joked that the crowd included his voting base, the "have mores." Indeed, that's what the "Big Beautiful Bill" passed by Congress and signed into law by Donald Trump favors through business incentives and tax cuts that will largely benefit the wealthy. It explodes the national debt (as in 2017, Trump's tax cuts aren't paid for) while cutting services to poor and middle-class Americans and jeopardizing our future.

This linked story from Inside Climate News details how  the Big Beautiful Bill rolls back many of the programs and funding streams addressing climate change and environmental justice included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act: incentives for purchasing electric vehicles and efficient appliances and tax credits for installing wind and solar energy. Furthermore, the new law opens up more public land for oil and gas drilling, encourages more use of coal, and compromises protection of wildlife habitats.

President Joe Biden’s team left office expressing confidence that his climate legacy was secure because most of the $132 billion in private investment in clean energy manufacturing spurred by his programs was going to Republican districts and states. But nearly every Republican in Congress voted for the Big Beautiful Bill. Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?