According to deniers, government regulations are job killers that are a drag on the economy and way too expensive to be worthwhile. A convenient side effect of this belief is, of course, the opportunity for deniers’ industry-funders to profit further from pollution that kills people--something deniers will insist is just a coincidence. Their anti-regulatory crusade is all about what’s best for the public, after all! (Or at least, that’s what they have to say to keep their nonprofit statuses.)
But for those of us that know better, what does Trump’s denier-driven, polluter profits-first agenda cost us? Trillions, apparently.
According to a new analysis by Public Citizen, Trump’s regulatory rollbacks means Americans will miss out on $2.1 trillion in economic and health benefits over the next 20 years. Energy efficient light bulb regulations, which have been repealed by the DOE, could have brought up to $14 billion in annual benefits to US coffers, the same amount that the glider truck rule will benefit Americans if Wheeler’s decision to revoke Pruitt’s rollback remains.
The biggest “winner” is the clean car standard, which would have saved Americans as much as 119 billion dollars... Every. Single. Year. In case you’re wondering, that breaks down to $16,000 per household. Imagine getting a raise of that amount every year. Now imagine Trump taking it away. Now realize that this isn’t imaginary. Fun!
And Public Citizen was only able to examine 13 policies, which don’t include the Clean Power Plan or Mercury standard because of complications and legal issues. Had they been included, the $2.1 trillion figure would go even higher.
That Trump will cost us over 2 trillion dollars is, if anything, an underestimate. After all, these are only a denier’s dozen policies, and there are certainly plenty of others that weren’t included.
For example, solar power purchasing advisor EnergySage reports in its analysis of Trump’s solar tariffs that the average solar consumer is now paying “$0.16 cents per watt more than they should have, or $960 for a standard 6-kilowatt solar panel system.” Adding up all the purchases made post-tariffs, singular write that Trump “effectively created a $236.5 million tax imposed on American consumers.”
If these rollbacks are successful, then trillions of dollars in health costs and other foregone savings is what the Trump presidency will cost Americans.
To say nothing of our national sense of decency, integrity and humanity.
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