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If only we could set up subsidies for this infrastructure in the same way we subsidize ag and oil…

• tomrod 2y ago
  Heck, no need to subsidize oil or ag, they are doing fine.
  • edoceo 2y ago
    How would they do w/o the current subsidies?
    • reaperman 2y ago
      Oil would be pretty much the same. Ag would be a chaotic disaster. The subsidies for ag were written in blood based on the need to smooth the natural forces of extreme cyclic market fluctuations that affect all inelastic commodities. But a society cannot afford those cycles to play out for their food supply. Prices need to be stable and we need a slight oversupply of staples to be robust rather than perfectly efficient. I’m not saying the subsidies are perfectly dialed in and that there’s no waste or pork. But some are very very necessary.
      • adgjlsfhk1 2y ago
        the big division we need to kill is ethanol in fuel. it's 30% less efficient than gas, much more expensive, produces more CO2 and gums up and destroys engines if you let it sit for a few weeks.
        • Vecr 2y ago
          You need some. Otherwise you would need to re-engineer for a different anti-knock. Tetraethyllead is unusable in modern cars.
          • fingerlocks 2y ago
            There are many premium gas stations that sell unleaded ethanol free gasoline
• jdminhbg 2y ago
  We passed legislation spending a few billion on charging stations and totally failed to get any built.
  • loeg 2y ago
    We passed legislation authorizing spending a few billion ($7.5B, 2021 Infrastructure and Jobs Act), and have deployed a portion of it. Most of the authorized $$$ has not yet been spent; it unlocks over the decade from 2021-2030. One fault of the bill is it depends on states actually doing the work to build these stations; the feds aren't doing it directly. If states drag their feet, stations don't get built.
    • jdminhbg 2y ago
      Ok. It's the failure to build that's the issue more than the spending.
      • cyberax 2y ago
        A lot of projects were planned to start this year. It takes a while to get all the surveys and permits.
        • derektank 2y ago
          >It takes a while to get all the surveys and permits. Yes, that's exactly the problem, an over regulated permitting regime. If we are in a climate emergency then we should treat it as such, which means that if the Federal government can't overrule local permitting restrictions, they should prioritize funding to states that are willing to relax permitting requirements and get shovels in the ground.
          • loeg 2y ago
            Feds could/should be reforming NEPA.
          • 2y ago
• rexpop 2y ago
  For context, US agriculture subsidies come principally in the form of Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC). These programs pay subsidies to farmers based on price or revenue losses for covered commodities like corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton. Farmers choose between PLC, which pays based on national average prices, and ARC, which pays based on county or individual farm revenue. ARC and PLC are projected to cost approximately $1.6 billion in 2025, which is more than triple their 2024 levels, but The American Relief Act of 2025 allocated $31 billion in ad hoc disaster aid to farmers. So maybe I was wrong about ARC/PLC being the principal method of subsidy? > Under current law, USDA’s total outlays for 2025 are estimated at $231 billion. Outlays for mandatory programs are $189.6 billion, 82.1 percent of total outlays.[0] 0. https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-usda-budget-summary.pdf https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-usda...