Government Investments Are Meaningless If You Can’t Pay for the Household Necessities.
Governments often discuss “investment”—in innovation, infrastructure, clean energy, and national defense. But for many, this progress feels out of reach. If you can’t afford food, heat, or housing, what does any of it matter?
Big economic goals don’t mean much when just getting by is a struggle. That’s the situation for many North Americans today. Politicians announce new spending, but families are burdened by higher rents, food prices, and energy bills.
The issue isn’t just how much governments spend; it’s what they decide to prioritize. Investments in big projects and incentives for corporations seldom address the basic question every family asks: Can I afford to live?
A government can display a healthy budget while its citizens sink deeper into debt.
The widening gap between macro and micro prosperity
GDP growth, stock indexes, and productivity metrics make good headlines, but they reveal little about household security. Governments across North America are investing heavily in high-tech ventures — electric vehicle plants, carbon capture, AI hubs — while neglecting that an increasing number of citizens cannot cover basic expenses.
In 2025, food banks in Canada and the U.S. are seeing record demand. Renters in big cities face steep price hikes. Energy costs swing with global markets, forcing families to pay bills they can’t control.
What good is an energy transition if it leaves most families colder and with less money?
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Much of this “green investment” could actually lower living costs if used differently.
The promise of Thermodynamic Geoengineering — the heat of global warming converted to wealth
One promising but little-known solution is Thermodynamic Geoengineering (TG), a technology that generates power from the thermally stratified layers of the tropical ocean, rather than adding more heat to the planet.
Unlike traditional energy sources like coal, oil, gas, or even nuclear fusion, TG systems are endothermic. They utilize the existing heat in the environment. This means they don’t add to the planet’s energy problem; they fix it.
Put simply, most energy production adds heat to the planet, but TG systems remove it.
And the benefits don’t stop at the environment. TG energy would make electricity and heat more affordable by harnessing the natural temperature differences in the oceans, which store 90% of the heat from global warming and will reemerge at the surface over time.
It is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition.
If TG energy is used widely, it could lower power bills and make energy both cheaper and cleaner for everyone. Since energy costs influence the prices of food, housing, and other essentials, TG systems could directly help make basic needs more affordable for every household. In fact, regarding the sea level rise implications of the technology, it is negative cost energy.
Energy quietly shapes every household budget. It affects the price of food, housing, and even water. When energy prices go up, so does the cost of everything else.
That’s why our energy choices matter. Traditional systems, even “clean” ones like fusion, add waste heat to the environment. The more energy we make this way, the more we heat the planet, and the more families have to spend on cooling, food, and repairs.
By doing so, TG systems not only help the environment but also lower energy bills. This dual impact offers both climate and cost relief.
Even redirecting a small part of the government’s proposed investments in the military to renewable energy, as former European officers have urged, would provide immediate, tangible savings for households.
Lowering the costs of energy, food, and housing boosts the entire economy. When families have more money to spend, local businesses and communities benefit; a true ‘trickle-up’ effect from real-world energy savings.
Yet despite this, leaders continue to prioritize investments that benefit companies first and families last. While they pursue long-term competitiveness, people are left struggling to pay last month’s bills.
Economic growth that doesn’t make daily life better isn’t progress; it is just business as usual. Governments can build advanced reactors, fast AI, or green factories, but if people can’t afford heat or fresh food, the system isn’t working.
Building a modern economy means more than just chasing the latest bright, shiny object. It is about achieving balance; making the most of our resources so that everyone can live well.
If we focus our efforts on technologies like TG that cool the planet and lower household costs, we can bring together fairness and climate action.
The time to reimagine investment priorities is now. Demand that government action focuses squarely on lowering basic costs—so no one has to choose between food and electricity.
Let’s urge policymakers to make every investment count for real people. Prioritize policies that lower the costs of daily essentials for everyone—starting now.