Economy

Gov. Cuomo: McConnell’s Bankruptcy Suggestion ‘One of the really dumb ideas of all time’

Published

3 years ago

April 23, 2020

New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after he told FOX News’ “Bill Hemmer Reports” Wednesday that the U.S. Senate is “not interested in revenue replacement for state governments,” who he claims are trying to “take advantage” of the coronavirus epidemic by requesting assistance to pay off their rising deficits.

Cuomo called it “one of the really dumb ideas of all time” in the following Twitter thread.

Let’s talk about fairness, Mitch.

NYS puts $116 billion more into the federal pot than we take out.

Kentucky TAKES $148 billion more from the federal pot than they put in.

But we don't deserve help now because the 15,000 people who died here were predominately democrats?

— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 23, 2020

“We’re interested in trying to help them with anything related to the coronavirus … [but] we are not interested in solving their pension problems and all these other things that they would like for us to finance,” McConnell told FOX News.

Prior to his interview with Bill Hemmer, McConnell told the “Hugh Hewitt Show” that he would prefer states declare bankruptcy rather than sending additional federal dollars to governors who have been begging the federal government for immediate financial assistance.

“What I’m saying is, we will take a pause,” McConnell told Hemmer. “We’re gonna wait at least until May the 4th … before we provide assistance to state and local governments who would love for us to borrow money from future generations to make sure that they have no revenue losses. Before we make that decision, we’re going to weigh the impact of what we’ve already added to the national debt, and make certain that if we provide additional assistance for state and local governments, it’s only for coronavirus-related matters. We’re not gonna let them take advantage of this pandemic to solve a lot of problems [and] bad decisions they’ve made in the past.”

McConnell’s remarks come one day after the Senate reached an agreement on an interim stimulus package that would replenish funds in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). At first, he planned to have the bill include funding for the PPP only, but Democrats delayed the legislation until they could add other elements to the package. Sen. McConnell did cave to some of their requests, but he kept funding for state and local governments out of the bill, which is expected to be voted on in the House of Representatives on Thursday.

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Economy

San Francisco gas-furnace ban will gouge residents and strain vulnerable electric grid

Published

4 days ago

March 22, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Progressive California is digging itself deeper and deeper into a literal energy crisis. Last week, twenty members of the Air Quality Management District “approved the plan to phase out and ban gas-powered systems that emit nitrogen oxide, or NOx, and that contribute to air pollution. Three board members were absent, and one member abstained” writes National Review.

The ban will phase out the sale of new gas furnaces and water heaters in Northern California. As a result, it will “be costly for residents, will further burden an already stretched electric grid, and will have minimal environmental impact” energy experts and economists told National Review.

“The move is emblematic of California’s approach to energy, which involves ramping up the demand for electricity while gutting the state’s ability to meet its electricity needs,” they said.

Specifically, it is “a regressive policy that’s going to increase costs in a state that is already unaffordable, it’s going to do minimal in terms of reducing [greenhouse-gas] emissions, and it’s going to stress a problem that we already have no plan of addressing, which is [that] our grid is going to be unable to provide reliable electricity,” said Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics at the California-based Pacific Research Institute who is studying the state’s electricity shortfall.

Winegarden said California already has a major housing-affordability problem. “And now we’re going to make it even less affordable,” he said. While there are state and federal incentives and subsidies for people to purchase and install electric heating systems, Winegarden, an economist, called it a “shell game.”

“Subsidies don’t get rid of the costs,” he said. “They just redistribute the costs.”

The board’s vote did not address natural-gas stoves because it doesn’t regulate indoor air pollution, notes National Review. However, earlier this year, the Biden administration’s Consumer Product Safety Commission was considering restrictions, and possibly a ban, on natural-gas stoves.