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'Free' money comes with strings

'Free' money comes with strings


'Free' money comes with strings

There's no such thing as a free lunch, and according to a research fellow for energy and environmental issues, the same can be said about the tax credits included in a new federal law.

This year marks the rollout of the Inflation Reduction Act's tax credits to individuals and businesses taking steps to reduce their energy consumption and helping move the country toward alternative energy technologies.

While liberal groups like American Progress claim it is great, conservative Katie Tubb of The Heritage Foundation disagrees.

Tubb, Katie (Heritage Foundation) Tubb

"With any 'free' government money … there are strings attached," she points out. "If you want the free government money, you've got to go buy a government-approved energy technology. Whether we're talking about heat pumps, electric vehicles, different house energy efficiency upgrades — all of these things require a citizen to invest money in order to get a kickback from the government."

Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (HR 5376) — also known as the climate bill — into law last August, calling it the biggest step forward on climate ever.

"It's going to allow us to boldly take additional steps toward meeting all of my climate goals — the ones we set out when we ran," the president said at the signing ceremony.

But according to Tubb, it actually has "more to do with good old-fashioned cronyism" than anything else.