Renewable energy is possible the most important new field to emerge through capitalism, and trust us, it will emerge, especially once some form of carbon pricing is created.
However, Democrat policies are creating a green corporatist state:
As this alternative energy industry expands, it is evolving along a very different path than the fossil fuel giants followed. Most of the clean-energy industry's leading voices think that their prosperity depends upon government involvement on four fronts: regulating carbon emissions so that coal, oil, and other fossil fuels bear the cost of their contribution to climate change; mandating that utilities use more renewable power; setting stiff energy-efficiency standards; and increasing federal research into new technologies.
It is important that people, not the government, decide which energy form to use, and beyond the necessity of creating a pricing mechanism, the rest of these threaten to turn the alternative energy industry into a dependent of the growing liberal nanny state.
Source: http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20090814_5569.php
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I think there is nothing wrong with the point about federal research either, or at least government funding for research (maybe using money from the carbon costs to fund said research? That might work...) But I agree about the other two (Mandating energy efficiency and renewable energy use). Both would put mandatory costs on average citizens and also increase the cost of electricity itself. Especially in a recession, such cost will not be accepted nor should picking and choosing of certain businesses exist.
ReplyDeleteI understand the concept of research funding sounding nice, but the problem is deciding what to research. The market can do a better job than government bureaucrats at deciding which alternative energy has a promising future (look at the amount of funding that goes into clean coal and used to go into fusion, both very cost-ineffective research), and once we put a carbon tax or something of the like to create a pricing mechanism, they will have the necessary incentive to do so.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but if the money is coming in from the taxes, it is either that or some other program (or tax cuts for the rest of us, but that may be declared a redistribution of wealth). And let them bid for it. Have them present their concepts to a board of experts in both economics and renewable energy (not congressmen) and apply for funding like you would with any form of research funding in the private sector. Just an idea.
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