It’s awkward when red districts go green

Biden's “woke climate" money helps the GOP the most. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a sweeping, idealistic dream of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Republicans are [seeing green](. - Ozempic [helps addicts]( get clean. - Trump could end the [tip screen](. - A [Walmart salary]( fit for a queen. Isn’t It [Ironic](? An “inconvenient gift” could be many things. A vegan gets a year’s subscription to Omaha Steaks. A bald man wins a giveaway for hair-care products. A teen with braces is given a popcorn machine. An introvert receives a free trial for Soho House. The list could go on. Liam Denning has a big one to throw into the mix, and it might be worse than all of the above: North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District gets a check for $13.9 billion. At first, a gift of billions of dollars doesn’t sound inconvenient. At least not until you realize this: The money is tied to a green-energy initiative called the “Toyota Liberty Project” that benefits from a panoply of subsidies included in the [Inflation Reduction Act]( — IRA, for short — that was signed into law by President Joe Biden and was unanimously opposed by Republicans in Congress, including one [Richard Hudson](, who represents North Carolina’s 9th district and once said the IRA would “throw money at woke climate and social programs that won’t work.” In fact, as Liam shows, the IRA has benefited red districts — some in swing states — by far the most. This is politically inconvenient, to say the least, and some past comments from members of Congress (see Hudson comma Richard, above) now read as beyond cringe. By 2030, the Toyota facility near Greensboro could be employing more than 5,000 of Hudson’s constituents. How humiliating! “Hudson’s district epitomizes a peculiarity of the US energy transition — and a growing problem for Republicans,” Liam writes. “There is a certain luxury enjoyed by politicians who can be rhetorically against something while still quietly welcoming any dollars and jobs that it brings to their constituents.” To illustrate this awkward dichotomy, Liam and Bloomberg Opinion’s data editors, Elaine He, Carolyn Silverman and Taylor Tyson joined forces with Jeff Davies, founder of [EnerWrap](, which specializes in insights on the US energy system. The result? A truly spectacular display of charts that map the US cleantech projects announced under Biden: There’s no way I can do all the charts justice in a newsletter, so you must [read the whole thing here](. It’s free and interactive, so you can search or hover over a bubble to learn more about clean energy investments in your district. What Tour? The World Tour. Although [all]( [those]( [memes]( [about]( [Justin]( [Timberlake’s]( arrest in [the Hamptons]( are undeniably hilarious, drinking and driving is very, very serious. And now is as good a time as any to talk about it. In 2023 in the US, drunk drivers killed more than 28 people every day — a total of [10,511]( deaths. More broadly, heavy drinking contributes to [more than 178,000]( deaths a year in the US, the majority of whom are men: Lisa Jarvis [says]( one solution to the scourge might be right in front of us. Consider all the people taking obesity drugs right now. Not only are they eating less, they’re drinking and smoking less, too. “The latest promising evidence on the addiction-fighting effects of semaglutide, the ingredient in Wegovy and Novo’s Ozempic, comes from a small study that tested its impact on people with alcohol use disorder. Although these patients were not trying to drink less, they did: They cut back much more than those given a placebo, and the drug’s effect appeared stronger than the currently approved medicines for alcoholism,” she writes. Too bad Big Pharma isn’t too interested in using GLP-1 drugs to treat substance abusers. Follow the money and you’ll understand why: “Obesity drug sales could cross $93 billion in 2030,” she explains. “In comparison, the opioid and alcohol dependence treatment Vivitrol had sales of $400 million in 2023.” That greed, Lisa says, is “a colossal shame” and a “failure of public health.” The Tipping Point Remember when Donald Trump [promised]( restaurant workers that he was gonna make their tips tax-free if elected? Yeah, well, Allison Schrager would rather see the former president get rid of [the practice]( altogether: The only way to end tipping is through policy change. And the policy is definitely not to encourage more tipping by giving it tax advantages. It’s to make tip pooling the norm or, better yet, to phase out tipping entirely. The other day, I went to pay for two breakfast sandwiches and two large iced lattes — what, it’s [hot]( outside — and tapped the 20% option on the screen without even thinking. Turns out, the tip was nearly $10, making the total more than $55. And it’s not like I was [pulling]( a David Brooks at the [Newark Airport](! It was at a cafe in my hometown. Many other Americans feel similarly shocked when the iPad swivels in their direction — and some of them don’t end up leaving a tip: “It all adds up to a tipping system that is disliked and resented by everyone,” Allison writes. Read the [whole thing]( — for free! Telltale Charts Apparently, Google is [calling]( its Gemini era “magic.” But it isn’t, and that could lead to some serious disappointment: “When sweeping, idealistic dreams trickle down into sales and marketing channels, AI’s potential uses become unclear,” Parmy Olson [writes]( (free read). “Framing AI as a general-purpose Swiss Army knife for productivity inevitably leads to paralysis for its end users.” Although Nvidia is riding high in the stock market, a recent [survey of 2,500 business leaders]( tells a different story. The proportion of companies planning to increase spending on AI is slipping. “To avoid a painful correction, tech companies must start managing expectations properly,” she argues. Being a store manager at a Walmart does not sound like an easy job. You’ve got to deal with disappointed [Snoop Dogg fans](. Convicted [sex offenders](. People [trying to return]( well-worn underwear. And don’t get me started on the fresh produce. Last week, one woman found [a dead mouse]( in her spinach. If I had to handle all that while installing [electronic shelf labels](, I would want to take home a big paycheck! Luckily, Walmart executives seem to understand this. In January, they [boosted]( store managers’ pay significantly — so much so that they can take home $500,000 a year if they hit all their marks. And more recently, they [added a new bonus]( for hourly store workers. “It’s a smart move for Walmart — and given the company’s influence as the world’s biggest retailer, could be good for society too,” Andrea Felsted [says](. Further Reading [“You’re fired”]( works better on reality TV than in real life. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Japan’s [AI unicorn]( has a lot to teach Silicon Valley. — Catherine Thorbecke The Supreme Court just [made it easier]( to be convicted of a crime. — Noah Feldman Donald Trump isn’t doing the best with [Black voters](. — Nia-Malika Henderson China’s “[ham war](” with Europe is purely strategic. — Javier Blas Netanyahu’s refusal to craft [a day-after plan]( is unacceptable. — Marc Champion Messi’s foray into US soccer is [a worrying sign]( for Latin America. — Juan Pablo Spinetto Let’s remember [the Black voices]( who called for a more perfect union. — Frank Barry ICYMI Actor [Donald Sutherland]( passed away at age 88. The FBI [named a suspect]( in the Shenandoah murders. Kendrick Lamar took [a victory lap]( at his [Juneteenth concert](. America’s top export might be [anxiety](. Kickers A [sock war]( is afoot between millennials and Gen Z. White skirts are [everywhere](. Thanks, [Lizzy McAlpine](. Is it aesthetic to call everything [an aesthetic](? Asking for a friend. There’s Przewalski [horse drama]( in the equine community. Beluga whales made an [intense journey]( across Ukraine. Notes: Please send inconvenient gifts and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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