Tag: subsidies

The Real Problem With CHIPS Subsidies

Commentary As the Senate and House of Representatives negotiate their so-called “China bill” or America COMPETES, one of the central issues is whether to give semiconductor companies subsidies to invest in the United States. This would be a big mistake. Like most of COMPETES, the bill’s $50 billion handout to the semiconductor industry has little…


We’re From the Government, We’re Here to Help

Commentary Another day, another government handout. The United States has become an economy that is addicted to cheap money. Subsidies for businesses are wrong. Period. Full stop. And yet another word has recently made its way into our vocabulary … the Public-Private Partnership (otherwise known as a P3). In truth, P3s are not new. They’ve existed…


Socialist President of Honduras Offers Free Electricity to 1 Million Families

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia—At her inauguration ceremony on Jan. 27, socialist President Xiomara Castro unveiled a plan to give free electricity to 1 million Honduran families. Castro said she intends to raise the electric bills of less economically disadvantaged residents to finance the measure. During her speech the nation’s first female president said, “More than a…


200-Day Lockdown, No Subsidies, Chinese Workers Devastated

Workers in Ruili, China’s gateway to Burma (also known as Myanmar) in Yunnan Province, are not just rattled, they are devastated, as they lose their livelihoods  because of a prolonged COVID-19 lockdown. Some said both their hopes and savings have been drained since the city started its restrictions in late March. “I filled out a…


7-Month COVID-19 Lockdown Leaves a Chinese City Devastated

Workers in China’s gateway to Burma (also known as Myanmar) in Yunnan Province are devastated as they lose their livelihoods because of a prolonged COVID-19 lockdown. Some said both their hopes and savings have been drained since the city started its restrictions in late March. “I filled out a lot of [application] forms but only…


UK Government Announces Subsidy to Incentivise Heat Pump Installation

UK taxpayers will foot half of the bills for replacing gas boilers with heat pumps in households as the government announced new subsidies on Monday. From April 2022, those who wish to install low carbon heating systems such as heat pumps will have their installation costs slashed by £5,000 ($6,913) through a £450 million ($622 million)…


Polish Spending on Energy Subsidies Could Top $1 Billion in 2022, Says PM

WARSAW—Polish energy subsidies for consumers could amount to as much as 3 billion-5 billion zlotys ($763 million-$1.27 billion) in 2022, Poland’s prime minister said on Friday, adding that the government planned to allocate at least 1.5 billion to help households cope with rising prices. Benchmark European gas prices have rocketed as tight supply has collided…


UK Seeks to Rally G20 Against Unfair Trade Practices

LONDON—British trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan will on Tuesday push her G20 counterparts to end what she called market-distorting practices and rally behind World Trade Organization reform. Trevelyan, who took up the post last month in a ministerial reshuffle, will pick up where her predecessor Liz Truss left off: arguing for a level playing field on…


Federal Child-Care Subsidy Could Generate Aid Dependency, Lower Wealth Levels, Experts Warn

The governing Liberals made universal child care an election pledge during a campaign stop in Ontario on Aug. 17, two days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an early election for Sept. 20. But as more provinces sign up for the federal government’s universal child-care program, experts warn that the subsidy could lead to aid…


In Biden’s America, Everyone Is Entitled to Everything

Commentary Despite its liberal tendencies, The Washington Post editorial board once acknowledged that in a democracy, “everyone can’t be entitled to everyone else’s money.” Well, it may have had that wrong because President Joe Biden is supersizing the entitlement state of America at a pace that makes President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society initiatives seem…