Posted on 07/24/2008 4:50:56 PM PDT by calcowgirl
- Jerry Taylor is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.
Virtually every claim made by T. Boone Pickens to justify the lavish subsidies he is seeking for his wind energy investments is flat wrong.
First, oil imports are not the cause of high gasoline prices. On the contrary, oil imports serve to keep gasoline prices down. After all, we import oil for a reason -- it's cheaper than the domestic alternative. If we were to restrict our energy diet to energy produced in the United States, it would make domestic energy producers (like Mr. Pickens) far richer and energy consumers (the rest of us) far poorer, and GDP would be reduced as well. While one can understand why Mr. Pickens is attracted to the idea of "energy independence," for the rest of us, keeping the country open to imported goods is pro-consumer, whether we're talking about oil, steel, textiles or athletic shoes.
Second, we are no more forced to rely on the "goodwill" of foreign oil producers when we shop for petroleum than we are forced to rely on the "goodwill" of supermarkets when we shop for eggs and milk. Oil producers export crude oil because it's a great way to make money -- and for many, the only way to make money. And once that oil is in the global marketplace, market actors, not oil producers, dictate where it goes. Hence, we are betting on producer greed -- which is a pretty safe bet.
Third, if wind energy were a sensible economic investment, it would not need the lavish federal and state subsidies already in place or the additional largesse sought after by Mr. Pickens. Likewise, if compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles are an economically sensible alternative to conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, then no government "master plan" is necessary to deliver them to market. Price signals will induce investors to invest and consumers to buy, without government having to lift a finger. The same goes for all the other energy-related R&D Mr. Pickens would like the taxpayer to dole out. If that R&D is promising, it will be pursued, whether government subsidizes it or not.
Fourth, if reducing our carbon footprint is the goal, then the most direct and efficient means of reducing that footprint is to impose a tax on carbon emissions and then leave it to the market to sort out how to most efficiently order affairs under those new prices. Maybe it will mean windmills and CNG, but maybe not. Perhaps it will mean more nuclear power, new hydrogen-powered fuel cells, "clean" coal, the emergence of cellulosic ethanol, battery-powered cars or hybrids -- or a continuation of the existing energy base but less consumption as a consequence.
Of course, if the market were to go into any of those directions, Mr. Pickens would be out a lot of money, which is probably why he wants to hard-wire the market to consume the things he's investing in and have the government lavish him with subsidies in the course of doing so. I wish Mr. Pickens well in his wind energy business, but I see no reason why taxpayers, ratepayers or consumers ought to be forced to sacrifice in order to fatten his already ample bank account.
And I just pretend to go to the Gas station for gas.
“First, oil imports are not the cause of high gasoline prices”
People say this all the time and I have yet to hear a logical explaination. If you want to say that the oil refineries are part of the problem, fine, but to argue oil and gas prices are not tightly related is a waste of time.
LOL !
T.Boone is a snake oil sort !.......:o)
Have ya seen his new dig’s up near Canadian ?
T. Boone Pickens = Follow the Money!
And he knows it..
Really? How many supermarket cartels are there that intentionally restrict the price of eggs? How many supermarket cartels tell the POTUS to get stuffed when he goes begging for more eggs? Please.
Oops. Should read “restrict the supply of eggs”.
Sure have. He likes the Romans...
I looked at pickensplan.com and didn’t find a single sentence on how he will store wind electric when the wind don’t blow, or how he’ll store solar electricity when the sun don’t shine. A fatal flaw.
Back up, redundancy, is absent. He’s an empty 80 year old suit co-opted by Al Gore look-alikes to make a bundle on speculations.
Ya’ll doing Ok ? haven’t seen ya around in a while ! Your bird is doing GREAT in the sandbox !
Congrats to all your folks !.........Well Done Sir !!
I am still gonna make the effort to get to one of your open houses......(honest) !!!
Stay safe !
We’re doing OK over here... I haven’t been posting much much lately. I did stir up some trouble in one of the other T Boone threads..
Yeah and there’s no “ramping” with hydro to smooth out those starts and stops of wind and solar you mentioned... I used to kind of look up to the guy because of his help with the Swift Boat Veterans, but now this just proves what I’ve said about billionaires and celebrities... Their resources don’t always prove they’re smarter than everyone else!!!
Sure glad you found and posted this!!! Thanks...
Well some days ya just have too stir !......:o) Be it good or bad .........stir !
Good for the forum at times !!
My Dad went too AHS with T.Boone and has nothing good too say about the guy. Is ole George Chapman still going ahead with his nuclear power plant plan ??
You Stay Safe !
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