Republican stimulus packages, calls for Green Recovery, and more

Elon Musk, whose Tesla Inc. was a major beneficiary of government stimulus in the wake of the last global financial crisis, has soured on the concept.

The outspoken chief executive officer of both Tesla and U.S. government contractor SpaceX tweeted Friday that “another government stimulus package is not in the best interests of the people,” in his opinion.

Big banks may get a big gift in the stimulus bill being drafted by Senate Republicans.

Lawmakers are expected to include language that would give the Federal Reserve authority to relax a requirement surrounding capital levels at the biggest banks, essentially allowing firms to load up on riskier assets, according to three people familiar with the effort.

The push is the culmination of a monthslong effort by industry lobbyists and a top Federal Reserve official to change a restriction put in place in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to prevent banks from engaging in risky behavior.

Most experts agree that one way or another, it’s going to require massive infusions of government money to prevent a second Great Depression. So why not spend it on one of society’s most critical and intractable challenges: building a sustainable clean-energy infrastructure?

As the global pandemic barrels forward unimpeded, Pennsylvanians are having a crisis of confidence.

Inadequate leadership from Washington and Harrisburg is exacerbating the stress and anxiety already being felt by Pennsylvanians beset by high unemployment, economic and social restrictions, and an uncontrolled virus.

Rather than reinforcing residents’ pessimistic view of political leadership, state policymakers should embrace a positive vision for the commonwealth’s future: a green recovery agenda that preserves and grows our homegrown, nature-based, agriculture and clean-energy industries to put people back to work rebuilding our sustainable infrastructure.

American corporations want the post-pandemic recovery to be a green recovery, according to a July 21 letter to Congress. Renewable energy could indeed play a role in the recovery from COVID-19, analysts say, but the details of the plan will determine its success.

The letter is signed by 32 companies, mostly in the food, technology and apparel industries, and it does suggest some details. It asks that any COVID-19 stimulus package include provisions to modernize the grid and incentivize electrification and energy efficiency. It also requests a delay in the phaseout of the production tax credit and investment tax credit for renewable energy investments, and create direct pay options under both those programs to address industry concerns about liquidity.