There are lots and LOTS of reasons government shouldn’t choose which energy sources We the People use.
Begin with – the marketplace is far and away the best decider. Of any and everything – always and forever.
Items like oil and coal didn’t instantaneously become hugely popular because of government mandates. They became hugely popular – because they produce massive amounts of energy per dollar spent.
Items like oil and coil have remained hugely popular – because they still produce massive amounts of energy per dollar spent.
Fake energy sources like wind and solar haven’t taken hold and taken off – because they produce a comparatively microscopic amount of energy per dollar spent.
We the People like things that make economic sense. Oil and gas make economic sense – wind and solar do not.
Because fake energy sources require so much more money, government has spent the last several decades hiding these costs – by dumping hundreds of billions of dollars into them.
Thereby bypassing our seeing the full price in our price tags. If we had to pay at the point of sale the full cost of solar, wind, electric cars,… – NO ONE would buy them.
To give but a few of the oh-so-many examples:
Tesla Stock Takes a Hit as GOP Unveils Tax Plan that Eliminates Electric Car Subsidy
It’s Confirmed: Without Government Subsidies, Tesla Sales Implode
Europe’s Green Energy Industry Faces Collapse As Subsidies Are Cut
UK Solar Power Installations Plummet after Government Cuts
If Wind Energy is ‘Strong,’ Why Does It Need Subsidies?
The Hard Truths about Renewable Energy and Subsidies: “(P)olicymakers have cut subsidies because, frankly, they have realized that some renewable energy sources are not reliable, and the costs to make them more reliable are astronomical.”
The Left always wants us to be more like Europe. Here I say – yes, please.
This global perspective on all things fake energy and dumb government – brings us to an extra level of government dumbness in New York state.
Where the government – led by radical-activist-posing-as-Attorney-General Eric Schneiderman – is giving huge favors to fake energy. While openly, actively attacking real energy.
New York Officials Pick Energy Winners and Losers
Ok – that title is a little off. New York government isn’t picking winners and losers. Government never does. Government picks losers at the expense of winners. Back to the piece:
“Like most important issues facing America today, energy policy has become deeply politicized. Pipelines, oil, natural gas, nuclear power, wind turbines and solar panels are either good or bad depending on which side of the political divide you stand.”
Everything has become deeply politicized – because government has rigidly insisted on inserting itself in EVERYTHING. Our politicizing things hasn’t grown – government has. If I sit on a plane next to a ballet dancer – I’m going to bump into her a whole lot less than if I am seated next to a sumo wrestler. More:
“Unfortunately, energy policy is often driven by special interests advocacy and campaign contributions, which combine to produce faulty science.”
Which is yet another reason you don’t want government involved in energy – or anything remotely science related. We have so many fraudulent “scientists” pitching so much fake “climate change” nonsense – because governments pay them tens of billions of dollars to do so. How much government coin do climate change skeptic scientists get? Here’s a hint. More:
“In New York State, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has set forth an ambitious goal mandating that by 2030, 50 percent of the state’s power generation will be from renewable sources. This so-called 50 by 30 target is now the fulcrum of energy policy and related decisions in New York.
“Pipelines that would transport abundant natural gas are rejected while wind turbines and solar panels that would consume tens of thousands of acres in more rural upstate New York are preferred. This massive upstate land grab is driven by politics, tax credits and investors. An ill-conceived state siting statute has virtually eliminated any local control over massive wind and solar projects.”
Get all that? As New York state government grew its role in energy to sumo size – it had to impose more and more mandates on the locals. To impose its will – by preventing the locals from deviating in any way from the central plan. More:
“Unfortunately, Cuomo is not the only statewide official to use energy policy as a means to further his political ambition. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been on a crusade against Exxon Mobil for over a year….
“Schneiderman’s dogged pursuit of Exxon Mobil is in stark contrast to his reaction to claims of investor deception by an alternative energy company in which the state has made a huge financial investment. That company is SolarCity, a publicly traded company that last year became a part of Tesla Motors. Schneiderman has subpoenaed 3 million pages of documents from Exxon Mobil and has yet to make a valid case against the company. On the other hand, Schneiderman has ignored troubling signs at SolarCity.
“One would think that the state’s top law enforcement official would be concerned about claims of misrepresentations to Wall Street investors by SolarCity simply based on the fact that the state of New York paid $750 million for the construction of a huge production facility in Buffalo predicated on SolarCity’s promise of delivering 5,000 jobs.
“Because the market for residential solar panels is shrinking, the company now projects at best 500 jobs, a staggering investment of taxpayer dollars for so little return. The bait and switch regarding job projections in Buffalo alone should attract Schneiderman’s attention, to say nothing of claims about deceiving investors or consumers.”
Herein lies a panoply of problems with government involving itself in things (energy).
Chief law enforcement officer Schneiderman – isn’t interested in dispassionate and equitable application of the law.
Because he and his New York state government cohorts – have chosen sides.
They have chosen the fake energy losers – at the expense of the real energy winners.
They have chosen fake energy with their government money handouts. They have chosen fake energy with their laws.
And they are now choosing fake energy with their law enforcement.
New York state is persecuting real energy – with zero evidence of any actual crime committed.
And giving an ongoing, rolling pass to fake energy – that is clearly ripping us off in multiple directions.
All of which (and more) – is yet another reason government shouldn’t be involved in energy.
This first appeared in Red State.