Free Republic

Subsidizing the purchase of electric cars in Canada is an inefficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is not cost effective, according to a Montreal Economic Institute study released Thursday. "It's just a waste," said Germain Belzile, one of the authors of the study, which examined electric vehicle subsidies offered by Canada's two biggest provinces Ontario and Quebec, which can rise to as much as a third of a vehicle's purchase price, depending on the model. "Not only do these programs cost taxpayers a fortune, but they also have little effect on GHG emissions," he said. The government of...

If you are in a hole, don’t ask Bernie Sanders or Andrew Cuomo for help. They'll keep digging. "College tuition alone has shot up by more than 500 percent since 1985—more than health care, gasoline, and food prices," Jimmy Sengenberger, president and CEO of the Millennnial Policy Center in Denver, wrote in The Weekly Standard last month. "Student loan debt now totals more than $1.4 trillion and surpasses all other forms of consumer debt." "The College Board reports that tuition and fees for the 2016-2017 school year averaged $9,650 for in-state residents and $24,930 for out-of-state residents attending public four-year...

Few in the odd coalition of Left and Right pushing for reauthorization of the 81-year-old Export-Import Bank have been louder than Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “It’s wrong that candidates for president, who really should know better, are jumping on this bandwagon,” she said at a May 22 campaign stop in New Hampshire. “It’s wrong, it’s embarrassing. . . . The idea that we would remove this relatively small but vital source of funding for our businesses to compete is absolutely backwards.” Clinton’s defense of Ex-Im may be motivated by more than mere concern for American businesses. Critics have argued...

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, threatened to leave two White House advisory councils should President Trump pull the U.S. out of the landmark Paris Climate Agreement. Musk said he will have “no choice” but to depart the councils if Trump makes the decision. Don't know which way Paris will go, but I've done all I can to advise directly to POTUS, through others in WH & via councils, that we remain.............

Wealthy investor Doug Derwin is spending a lot of his own money in an attempt to convince billionaire Elon Musk to step down from President Donald Trump’s business advisory council. Why? He doesn’t like Trump and doesn’t think business leaders should embrace the president because, well, he opposes him politically. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter; he’s opened the bank vault and is spending liberally to pressure Musk, who may or may not eventually capitulate. Whatever eventually comes of the pressure, President Trump should not wait to see if Musk will cave and remove him now. Nothing against Elon Musk, he’s...

Solar company Suniva Inc. filed for bankruptcy Wednesday after receiving millions in government subsidies to manufacture solar panels. Suniva blamed its bankruptcy on competition from cheap Chinese-made solar panels, but the company received about $20 million in support from federal and state taxpayers, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “For many years, Chinese manufacturers of solar cells have benefited from favorable, state-sponsored financing and lower labor costs, allowing them to flood the United States market for solar cells and modules with cheap imports,” David Baker, the company’s restructuring officer, said in a statement. “This has negatively impacted manufacturers based in the...

State officials are asking Congress to guarantee billions of dollars in health insurance subsidies under a legal cloud as a result of Republican opposition to “Obamacare.” In a letter Wednesday to congressional leaders, the nonpartisan National Association of Insurance Commissioners said the so-called cost-sharing reductions are essential for keeping insurance markets stable next year. Insurers use the money to reduce deductibles and copayments for people with modest incomes. …

In fact, it’s not “inexplicable” at all. ___ Tesla shares rose to $313.38 this morning, giving the company a market capitalization of about $51 billion, surpassing GM for a moment as the most valuable American automaker. This left some industry insiders wondering about tulip bulbs. “It’s either one of the great Ponzi schemes of all time, or it’s all going to work out,” mused Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation, the largest dealer group in the US. He was speaking at a conference hosted by the National Automobile Dealers Association and J.D. Power. “It’s totally inexplicable, as far as its valuation,”...

<p>Among the many new directives and executive orders already issued by the Trump administration is a little-noticed order to halt a scheduled cut in mortgage insurance fees levied by the FHA.</p> <p>Earlier in January, the Obama administration announced it would cut the FHA's insurance premium by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.60 percent, effective on Jan. 27.</p>

Dan Gilbert, a developer and owner of many private companies in Detroit, has been urging the Michigan House of Representatives to approve Senate-passed bills that would give some developers and business owners more taxpayer-funded subsidies. Gilbert defended his position in the Detroit Free Press: He noted that some critics oppose the incentives for ideological reasons, or say the government shouldn't try to pick winners and losers. “That all to me is legitimate and I get that,” Gilbert said, “but there’s a lot more to this than, ‘Hey, rich guys are getting this and neighborhoods are not getting anything.’” That characterization...

Here is my health coverage proposal: BABIES Babies, born and unborn, would be covered under their mother's (or father's) policy until the end of a policy term. Mandatory issue coverage for babies would be available: a. effective at the end of that policy term or b. effective the six month after the sign-up month Mandatory issue baby coverage would only cover the care of the baby after it is delivered. SUBSIDIES [The Founding Fathers would be astonished at the mere thought of federal health care/product coverage subsidies, but federal patent exclusivity and state law crimping of provider supply and (drug...

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - The Harris County Toll Road Authority collected about $760 million in tolls the last fiscal year, yet it is improbable that any Harris County toll road will ever be “paid off,” Channel 2 Investigates has learned.   “Not with system financing, which allows us to borrow money at a favorable rate to build new projects,” said Patti Evans, the authority’s assistant director of communications.In other words, tolls collected today are not only used to pay down system-wide debt, but to construct more toll roads in the future.    “I think it is important to say —...

Joule Unlimited ready to start construction on biofuels demonstration plant in Hobbs, New Mexico, that will convert sunlight, CO2 waste into up to 75 million gallons of biodiesel, 125 million gallons of ethanol per year Nov 11, 2011 – as Headlines are rewritten for editorial clarity. The original story and headline begin below. Original Headline: Construction to begin on NM biofuels plant HOBBS, New Mexico, November 11, 2011 (as) – A Massachusetts company is ready to start construction on a biofuels demonstration plant in New Mexico. Joule Unlimited Inc. plans to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide waste into biofuel at...

In 2006, Chris Hausman, a fourth-generation Midwestern farmer long accustomed to depending on government support for survival, traveled across the world to witness a revolution in agriculture. It had been more than 20 years since a left-leaning government in New Zealand chose to eliminate government subsidies for farmers, and Hausman was surprised at what had transpired since. “I will tell you it was a shock to their agricultural system,” says Hausman, 58, who farms corn and soybeans on a 1,500-acre plot 150 miles south of Chicago. “You had a system dictated by government programs that was thrown out the window...

$11 Billion In Missing Obamacare Subsidies From Mass Tax NoncomplianceComplications arising from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits (PTCs) are causing millions of people to effectively break the law. People who benefit from advance premium tax credits (APTCs) must file tax returns and include a form to reconcile the advanced amount to the actual end-of-year entitled amount. The failure of so many people to fulfill this new legal requirement has led the government to spend more than it should have as APTCs tend to be higher than legally entitled amounts. The big news is that tax filers,...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the 2016 presidential campaign (all times EDT): 4:20 p.m. Donald Trump is telling Iowans that one of his campaign goals is to "make America grow again." Speaking at a rally Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, Trump touted his plans to boost economic growth and help American farmers, including his proposal to lower the tax rate on family farms to 15 percent....

It’s not coincidence or bad luck that causes government economic development programs to so reliably fail to meet their promises — there are good reasons to expect this. So why do politicians keep returning to this dry well? Sadly, even an unconventional, non-careerist politician like Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is taking a turn with an executive order that appears to embrace the flawed economic central planning vision that inspires such programs. He is doing so despite having expressed skepticism about such programs in his first election campaign and reducing their scale after he was elected. The governor's executive order creates...

Like a crazed serial killer, the liberal green groups are celebrating their “victory” of putting America’s major coal producers out of business — to say nothing of the tens of thousands of miners placed in unemployment lines. Several thousand more mining jobs were lost last month. Now to get their next homicidal high, the leftists have turned their ambitions on the oil and natural gas industries. Here is how the Sierra Club spokeswoman, Lena Moffit, explains the grand, green vision: “We have moved to a very clear and firm and vehement position of opposing gas. We oppose any new gas-fired...

The oil price rout has caused a lot of headaches in the renewable industry, especially in the heavily subsidized U.S. solar sector, which is suffering some setbacks even as solar installations are growing rapidly. Solar power suppliers are scaling back operations as demand is growing slower than expected, and the sector is wondering where to go from here. Investors have, of course, sensed the uncertainty. An industry that showed so much promise—particularly against the background of international efforts to curb the effects of climate change—is now in the doldrums. So what went wrong?

Judge Rosemary Collyer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion today declaring that the Obama administration violated the Constitution by funding Obamacare subsidies for which Congress did not appropriate funds. “Congress passes all federal laws in this country,” the judge wrote in her opinion in the case of U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell. “The Court will enter judgment in favor of the House of Representatives and enjoin the use of unappropriated monies to fund reimbursements due to insurers under Section 1402,” the judge said. …