TRENTON, NJ – The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights might be above Governor Phil Murphy’s pay grade, but a new law that ties energy rates to a person’s income might want to make the governor take a closer look at the 14th amendment.
New Jersey’s latest energy policy experiment—an audacious plan to tie electricity rates to household income—has sparked outrage and raised serious constitutional questions. Unveiled as part of a broader push for “equity” by the state’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and championed by Democratic lawmakers under Governor Phil Murphy, this proposal would charge wealthier residents more per kilowatt-hour than their lower-income neighbors, regardless of usage.
While framed as a noble effort to ease the burden on the poor, this scheme is a blatant violation of equal protection under the law and a dangerous precedent for government overreach. You can’t charge rich people more at the supermarket, for health insurance, or for gasoline at the pump—so why do New Jersey Democrats think they can do it for electricity?…