Mobile homes are only 6 percent of US housing, but they are a 6 percent overwhelmingly dominated by the poor and seniors on fixed incomes. When the Biden administration forced new regulations on the sector in 2022, the argument was that it would curb emissions and save poor people money.
It's the kind of ivory tower thinking that is behind solar panels; sure, if you have $25,000 to spend, you can save $75 a month and even get poor people to pay higher utility costs to subsidize you so you can brag about saving the planet, but most poor people don't have the upfront costs. It's no different than a new regulation that will force new windows and insulation, while making the housing crisis in states like California even worse. If you are wealthy or even middle class, an extra $5,000 isn't a lot but these homes are often financed, and if you don't think $17 a month matters to poor people, you don't know any. The Biden administration claims these same people will save that amount in electricity bills annually but the former is real money, while the latter is as goofy and speculative as claiming onerous new virtual pollution regulations will lead to more years lived.
The Biden administration has conceded that none of their optimistic numbers including costs for testing and enforcement, they speculated about the output while ignoring the input, and that lack of real planning is why Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has asked to push back the implementation of the new costs, which once again puts Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in the awkward position of going along with White House mandates publicly while quietly asking the same energy companies he's attacking to increase production and bring energy costs down before the 2024 election.
If he refuses to budge, it will lead to more urban journalists mystified why poor people who should benefit the most from big government keep voting Republican - but it isn't a surprise to anyone who grew up poor. Poor people often don't want a handout from government, they want government to get out of the way so things can be more affordable without welfare.
