President Donald Trump’s attempt to create U.S. jobs by taxing solar panel imports could backfire.
That’s according to the CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association trade group, who says it’s domestic workers that will feel the pain.
“We have been the fastest growing form of new energy...and this is putting the brakes on that crazy growth,” Abigail Ross Hopper told Cheddar in an interview. “These are not people who are looking for what nationality the company they work for is. They just want to feed their families and pay their mortgages. And those are the people whose jobs are at risk.”
Earlier this week President Trump signed a law that would impose a 30 percent tariff on imported solar panel and sells, a move the administration says will encourage domestic manufacturing.
But the SEIA says the vast majority of the 260,000 Americans employed in the industry work in peripheral industries like installation. Ross Hopper says the bill will result in 23,000 layoffs this year and delay or cancel billions of dollars of investment in the sector.
She also says it might dissuade U.S. consumers from going green.
“Most [businesses and consumers] want to choose solar because it saves them money,” she said. “This decision changes that calculus.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/solar-power-in-america).
In the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, many people quickly pointed to mental health as the issue at hand. The quick pivot from guns to mental health once again raises the question - how does the media treat white shooters versus people of color?
In the wake of the Parkland shooting, President Trump and a number of Republicans have suggested raising the minimum age for buying a gun to 21. Will President Trump actually follow through? The Root's Michael Harriott and CRTV's Jon Miller discuss.
Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL) represents Parkland, Florida and the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. He joins Cheddar to discuss the state of gun control reform as Congress returns to Capitol Hill.
Congress is back in Washington as gun control jumps to the top of the legislative docket. Rare Politics' Jack Hunter joins Cheddar to break down the current state of the gun reform debate.
The Supreme Court declined to take up the Trump Administration's appeal on DACA. The nation's highest court refused to hear Trump's challenge to a lower court ruling that temporarily block the government from winding down the Obama-era immigration program. Rafael Bernal, Staff Writer at The Hill Latino, explains what this means for Congress's March 5 deadline on immigration reform.
When the shooter is white, we focus on mental health issues, says The Young Turks' Francis Maxwell. But when he's a person of color, we focus on immigration.
Florida Congressman Ted Deutch says he's hearing from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle that this could be the opportunity to get "weapons of war" off the streets.
James Yoder, founder and CEO of Chat Sports, shares his thoughts on the biggest moments from the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Yoder says he was underwhelmed by the closing ceremony and the performance of the U.S. team.
Kelly Macias, staff writer for Daily Kos, and James Arkin, congressional reporter for RealClearPolitics, discuss the release of the Democratic counter memo in response to the Republican memo released weeks earlier.
There is no shortage of opinions on Barack and Michelle Obama's official portraits. Both break the mold, and look completely different from any other presidential portrait hanging in the National Portrait Gallery. Cheddar Chief Art Correspondent Cheryl McGinnis explains the historical significance of the two works of art.
