On Friday, it was announced by President Trump that Brian Miller would be nominated for the role of special inspector general watching over $2.3 trillion in coronavirus-related fiscal spending during the pandemic recovery. Unfortunately for Miller, there are a lot of people who believe that he is not qualified for the roll. Many of the congressional democrats, including Chuck Schumer and house speaker Nancy Pelosi were not shy when it came time to express their feelings on the matter at hand.
The responsibilities of ‘Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery’ include but are not limited to overseeing the $2.3 trillion Covid-19 related fiscal spending. The position will have a $25 million budget, which according to Richard Blumenthal “was created to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations of the making, purchase, management, and sale of loans, loan guarantees, and other investments by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.”
Pelosi and Schumer might actually be justified this time, when you consider Brian Miller, a member of Trumps own staff, was selected for this roll by Trump himself the very same night Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the U.S. intelligence community was fired, by Trump. Atkinson played a large roll in sparking Trumps impeachment.
Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi raising a valid concern should not be ignored, since they do it so infrequently.
Coronavirus could hurt the value of solar
The effect of COVID-19 on things like oil prices is obvious, but damage to other industries may not be so clear. One of thoses is the solar energy space. The CARES act, which is the $2.2 trillion rescue package has components that adresses problems in specific industries, but nothing set aside for solar.
“As a result of this pandemic, the solar industry stands to lose half of our jobs — that’s 125,000 families who will no longer receive a paycheck, said President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association Abigail Ross Hopper. “Congress can help stem this tide. Economic stimulus legislation can help our companies sustain families and invest tens of billions of dollars into the economy over the next couple of years. We remain committed to helping our economy recover from this pandemic. We fully expect to work with Congress on any broad economic stimulus package. This will ensure that when this awful chapter in America’s history comes to an end, the clean energy economy is well-positioned to lead our nation’s economic recovery.”
Solar has the same opportunities within the CARES act available to them as any business, but there’s nothing targeting their industry, directly. As this unfolds, we should keep an eye on a specific exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Invesco Solar ETF (NYSEArca: TAN) which started back in 2008, tracks the investment results of the MAC Global Solar Energy Index, which attempts to provide exposure to companies listed on exchanges in developed markets that get most of their revenue from solar power, equipment producers and supplies to the solar industry. TAN is down 41.4% as of Thursday.
Democratic Convention Delayed
Markets can be affected by many factors, and as we saw in the days before the novel coronavirus, the market could ebb and flow depending on who was winning at that moment in the race for the Democratic nomination for president.
Well, at this point in time former vice president Joe Biden is still leading, and senator Bernie Sanders is still in the race. The way that it used to work, as Biden won primary states the stock market went up, especially health care stocks and pharmaceutical stocks. As Bernie Sanders gained in the polls the stock market went down, especially health care stocks and pharmaceutical stocks.
With Biden holding such a commanding lead, many people wonder why senator Bernie Sanders is still in the race. There was some speculation that he was waiting for the Democratic National Convention to try and convince his supporters to back former Vice President Biden against president Donald Trump, or potentially to try and hold the nomination hostage with a brokered convention. As the lockdowns continue, the chances of states delaying their primaries increases the chance of Joe Biden remaining short delegates for the majority he needs to avoid a contested convention.
Well, the Democratic party just took steps to prevent that by delaying their convention until the first week of August. Obviously, the main reason is to prevent further spread of COVID-19 but it serves another purpose. It’s another hurdle that senator Bernie Sanders is just too old and tired to jump over.
A Portable Port
As electric vehicles slowly become the way of the future, it’s about time we start thinking about more energy efficient ways to power them. Envision Solar has come up with a great product to charge your electric car without having to be plugged into the electrical grid.
They call it the EV Arc, and it’s a pretty cleaver charging port that can be placed anywhere cars can park and the sun can shine. It offers 9.5 feet clearance to park under, and because the solar panels and energy storage are nestled at the top, the thing is darn near flood proof!
Because the EV Arc’s solar canopy can move to follow and soak up the sunlight, it can generate up to 1,100 miles per day. It can even continue to charge your car throughout the night due to the built-in energy storage.
This is a solar-powered EV charging infrastructure solution that needs no trenching, construction or permitting and because it is off grid there are no utility bills to worry about. The best part is can be deployed in minutes; it’ll just take some time to fully charge before you can take advantage of it.
Gator King
Police in Ohio said they were investigating a reported robbery at a home when they made an crazy discovery — an alligator in a closet. Columbus Police said they were called to an east side home mid-afternoon, Sunday on a report of a gun being pulled during an argument over the return of an Xbox.
The department said officers were investigating talking to witnesses at the home when they found the alligator in the closet. The Ohio Department of Agriculture was called in to take custody of the 2-year-old animal.
Police said it is legal to own an alligator in Ohio with the proper permits, but the home’s resident did not have the required paperwork, just the gator.