The best policies for reversing inflation, balancing the federal books, and saving Americans money.
Bike and transit infrastructure + E-bike/bike rebates
Invest in bicyle and transit infrastructure, and invest in rebates for e-bikes/bikes/cargo bikes redeemed at time of purchase. (If it's a deduction, people will be less likely to use the rebate, which limits the anti-inflationary benefits.)
For every $1 billion invested, this policy generates $6.02 billion in returns.
Investing $ into this policy generates $6,020,000,000 in returns.
Calculations and sources
Costs of car infrastructure
According to a 2019 study by Harvard, the public cost of maintaining the car economy costs $14,000 per household per year, and the private car of ownership is $12,000 per household (about $6,000 per vehicle) per year.
There are 123 million households in the United States, putting the total public cost of maintaining the car economy at $1.72 trillion per year (123 million households * $14,000 per household per year).
There are 272 million private cars in the United States, putting the total private cost of car ownership at $1.63 trillion per year (272 million cars * $6,000 per vehicle per year).
Together, the total cost of maintaining the car economy in the United States is $3.35 trillion per year.
Costs of bike infrastructure
In Utretcht, one of the world's most bike-oriented cities, the total public cost of maintaining cycling infrastructure is $55 million per year — or $150 per person per capita. (This is a conservative cost estimate — across the Netherlands as a whole, the cost for maintaining cycling infrastructure is $30 per person per year.)
The annual cost of e-bike/bike/cargo bike ownership and maintenance, including the cost of purchase, is up to $500 per person per year. (Assuming a price of $2,000 and annual maintenance costs of $300).
With 330 million people in the United States, the annual cost of maintaining a bike-centric infrastructure is $214.5 billion. (330 million * $150 public costs) + (330 million * $500 private costs)
Costs of transit infrastructure
In King County, Washington, home to 2.22 million people, the total operating cost of public transit (including buses, streetcars, and lightrail) is $2.3 billion per yer — $1.9 billion in annual operating costs, and $400 million in annual capital expenditures.
King County spends $1,036 per capita per year on public transit.
With 330 million people in the United States, the annual cost of maintaining transit infrastructure is $341.9 billion per year.
All together, the cost of bike and transit infrastucture in the United States is $556.4 billion per year ($214.5 billion for bike infrastructure + $341.9 billion for transit infrastructure).
Clean Electricity Performance Plan
Give money to utilities who increase renewable energy capacity, and fine utilities who fail to do so.
For every $150 billion invested, the clean electricity performance plan returns $432 billion in returns.
For every $150 billion invested, the clean electricity performance plan generates $907 billion of economic value.
Investing $
into a Clean Electricity Performance Plan generates $432,000,000,000 in returns.
âš¡ The CEPP is the best way to meet our emission reduction goals, in line with our IPCC responsibilities.
Calculations and sources
The $150 billion clean electricity performance plan would inject $907 billion into the U.S. economy and raise $154 billion in tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments. Source.
With Americans expected to pay $556 billion in electricity costs in 2022, a 5% reduction means $27,807,000,000 in savings per year. That is $278 billion in savings plus $154 billion in tax revenue, totaling $432 billion in returns over a ten-year period — for an investment that costs $150 billion.