Javier Sierra
Posted April 3, 2025
Have you noticed that your wallet is getting thinner and thinner? That the grocery bag is returning lighter and lighter? That energy is getting pricier and pricier?
You are not alone. The cost of living keeps rising and in 2025 there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. The Federal Government estimates the following for this year:
- The prices of goods and services for all businesses will increase by up to 5.4 percent.
- The inflation rate will keep steady at about 3 percent.
- Food prices will go up by 3.4 percent.
- And wholesale energy prices will rise about 7 percent.
In energy terms, for us Latinos the situation is even more worrisome. A study by Indiana University revealed that two out of five Latinos have not been able to pay at least one of their electricity bills and at least 18 percent of Latino consumers have seen their electricity cut off at least once. In other words, the energy burden for Latino families is 20 percent higher than that of white households.
The solutions and benefits needed to help make your family’s lives and finances brighter already exist but are under threat. The Trump Administration is trying to stop the funding of the Home Efficiency and Appliance Rebates Program. Fortunately, money appears to be flowing again, which will particularly benefit low-income families.
Also potentially under threat in Congress are important tax credits, like the 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Tax Credit, which makes energy saving upgrades—such as new windows and doors, insulation, or super efficient heat pumps to replace your furnace and AC—a lot more affordable.
These initiatives were part of or expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which dedicated billions of dollars to help Americans save money on their energy bills. Despite the political attacks on the IRA, there is growing Republican support for keeping clean energy tax breaks for the manufacturing sector, where good jobs are being created to build batteries and electric vehicles.
These pocket-book saving programs should not become a political football because they benefit everyone in an eminently nonpartisan way. Every state but North Dakota applied for and was approved to launch these rebate programs. Twelve states—including several with great Latino populations, such as Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico—have already launched their rebate programs. And 15—such as Texas, Ohio and Virginia—have been awarded funding after the November election.
These initiatives are hugely popular. In 2023, more than 3.4 million families received more than $8.4 billion in tax credits to upgrade their homes and make them more efficient. They also helped create 142,000 jobs in the growing clean energy economy in 2023, 56 percent of the employment generated in the energy sector.
In short, the rebate program and tax incentives manage to:
- Reduce the energy inflationary costs
- Create local employment
- Strengthen the manufacturing sector
- And bolster both the electrical grid and US energy security
The country’s consumers face a great inflationary pressure, the uncertainty of a weakening labor market and the impacts of the climate crisis. These programs constitute the respite consumers, especially low- and moderate-income families, deserve.
Javier Sierra is a Rewiring America spokesperson.
- In Defense of the Consumer - April 3, 2025
- The Energy We So Urgently Need - July 25, 2024
- Society Is Beginning to Repay a Debt of Gratitude to Latina Mothers Across the Country - November 29, 2023
