Mainers have always believed in hard work, independence and doing what’s right without waiting for permission from Washington. For generations, we’ve powered this nation the honest way — through fishing, forestry, manufacturing and farming.

But under former President Joe Biden, those values weren’t just ignored — they were under attack. His so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), pushed through Congress without serious conservative input, was sold as a clean energy plan. In reality, it was a reckless green giveaway that benefited China, rewarded wealthy elites, inflated our national debt and punished working Americans.

Around here, we call it for what it is: Biden’s Green New Scam.

The centerpiece of Biden’s law — $7,500 subsidies for electric vehicles — might sound good to the lobbyists and activists who helped write it. But for the rest of us, it’s a joke.

According to Gallup, only 7% of Americans own an electric vehicle (EV). What’s more concerning for the industry, however, is that nearly half say they never plan to own one, up from 41% the prior year. And fewer say they are likely to consider one in the future. Why would they?

Try hauling lobster traps out of Boothbay Harbor with a Tesla. Try driving through a February snowstorm in Jackman without a real truck. EVs aren’t built for the way Mainers live — or for the weather we face every year.

Meanwhile, the companies that have cashed in on these subsidies aren’t American job creators. They’re Chinese conglomerates, some of which are tied to slave labor and human rights abuses. Biden’s plan hasn’t rebuilt America. It’s bankrolled Beijing.

Some bureaucrats claimed the IRA would help Mainers by funding weatherization projects, heat pumps and energy-efficient appliances. But these so-called savings depend upon families spending thousands of dollars up front — money most working Mainers don’t have.

Even worse, the IRA included a slush fund for radical left-wing nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that are at odds with Maine values. These groups support defunding the police in the name of “environmental justice.”

And let’s be honest: In Washington, “help” usually means more red tape, more middlemen and more consultants getting rich off taxpayer dollars. Without real conservative reforms, the benefits haven’t reached the families that need them most. They’ve been swallowed up by special interests as Mainers’ heating bills have only gone up.

We know what actually works — strong borders, tough trade deals, American-made energy and lower taxes. President Trump’s policies brought factories back and put our workers first, and we expect that to happen again during his second term.

We don’t need another bloated government program. We need to fix what’s left of the IRA or roll it back entirely by stripping out waste, reversing the disincentives for pharmaceutical innovation, shutting down the China cash-outs and investing in real American energy that respects how we live in Maine.

As Congress repeals the Green New Scam, some bipartisan provisions that were lumped into the Inflation Reduction Act should be kept.

For example, the 45X advanced manufacturing tax credit, which creates the incentive for companies to manufacture here in America, is a core part of an America-first trade policy. A recent poll from the Rainey Center found that 59% of voters support clean energy incentives, but only when the products are made in America by American companies.

Only 16% want these credits to end. However, voters don’t support tax credits going to foreign companies — these policies need to end.

Another key provision of the IRA that makes sense is technology-neutral tax credits. Rather than creating a system where the government picks winners, technology-neutral tax credits let carbon capture, geothermal and clean fossil fuels compete on the same level as solar and wind.

A recent report from the Clean Energy Buyers Association shows why. They found that a full repeal of the technology-neutral investment and production tax credits would lead to an annual average yearly increase of more than $110 for annual electricity prices. Instead, projections suggest these positive aspects of the IRA will boost Maine’s GDP by $200 million in 2030.

Biden’s Green New Scam has dominated headlines in Washington since its passage in 2022, but in Maine it’s been nothing but a raw deal. In fact, recent revelations of waste, fraud and abuse across the whole of federal government has been quite shocking. We deserve better — and we should demand it.