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Cato Scholar Comments on New Energy Bill
Cato Institute ^ | December 19, 2007 | Jerry Taylor

Posted on 12/19/2007 10:12:53 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

The energy bill to be signed by the president today is arguably the worst piece of energy legislation ever enacted into law. It will substantially increase the price of automobiles, increase highway fatalities, increase fuel prices, worsen air pollution, and force consumers to buy products (like super-efficient light bulbs) that they manifestly -- and for very good reason -- do not want to buy. It will transfer huge amounts of wealth from the consumer to the farm lobby in the course of promoting a dubious product -- ethanol -- that will make energy supplies less reliable and greenhouse gas emission higher than necessary.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 110th; airpollution; automobiles; cafe; cato; cfls; climatechange; congress; consumers; energy; energybill; energysupplies; ethanol; farmers; fuelprices; globalwarming; greenhousegases; highwayfatalities; nannystate; presidentbush; rentseekers; wealthtransfers
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

The bill does not call for new drilling, new nuclear plants, or new coal plants. Given that energy independence is a top national security priority, this energy bill helps our enemies. I for one see no reason why I should give up one iota of privacy to government spying or the patriot act if we are going to have wide open borders and be dependent on our enemies to sell us fuel. The borders and our energy policy prove to me that we are not serious about winning the war on terror.


21 posted on 12/19/2007 11:01:44 AM PST by mysterio
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To: Doodle

Amen to that. I am a scientist and what these people support is more religion than science and is an outright abuse of scientific method. They skip straight from the hypothesis step to the conclusion step, all the while ignoring or paying mere tangential attention to the repeatable testing experimentation step.


22 posted on 12/19/2007 11:03:44 AM PST by mbs6
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To: Badeye

I can let it go no prob! I learned my lesson. I can teach you nothing.

In fact, I’m just handing you off to other freedom-loving posters to have their way with you as they see fit. Perhaps they can help you where I have failed.

I’ll keep trying, because you deserve nothing less, “bless your heart,” as we say in the south.

Enjoy!


23 posted on 12/19/2007 11:05:14 AM PST by sam_paine (X .................................)
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To: sam_paine

You really need to get that ego in check, SP.

Have a good day.


24 posted on 12/19/2007 11:07:41 AM PST by Badeye (No thanks, Huck, I'm not whitewashing the fence for you this election cycle)
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To: mysterio

You nailed it.


25 posted on 12/19/2007 11:09:06 AM PST by quant5
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To: mbs6

10) what kind of car seats our young children sit on.


26 posted on 12/19/2007 11:18:22 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Tagline auction at this location, 01/01/2008)
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To: mysterio
This Energy Bill could hardly be worse and all that voted for or signed it are very suspect. It does nothing to move this economy towards Energy Independence. This is no more than feel good crap that these public servants think will mollify their idiot constituents!
27 posted on 12/19/2007 11:18:26 AM PST by iopscusa (El Vaquero. (SC Lowcountry Cowboy))
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To: mbs6
"Random thought: if they can ban light bulbs, they will find a way to ban firearms."

And now I'll have to horde 100 watters like ammo. LOL!

28 posted on 12/19/2007 11:18:32 AM PST by penowa
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To: Eric Blair 2084

Wondering what you thought about all this.


29 posted on 12/19/2007 11:24:06 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Tagline auction at this location, 01/01/2008)
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To: tryon1ja

Sorry, you’re a nanny-stater.

I’m sticking with incandescents, thanks. They don’t give me headaches, and they don’t oscillate.

Tell you what - how about we let the market decide, m’kay?

By the way, a bag of Fritos just doubled in price, which pisses me off, and my car pings from the 10% ethanol in the fuel I HAVE to buy.

Buy a magazine, find a corner, and regulate yourself, but leave the rest of us be.


30 posted on 12/19/2007 11:26:53 AM PST by RinaseaofDs
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To: tryon1ja

We will never be able to conserve our way into using less energy. We have a growing population that is growing more affluent each and every year. New electronics are invented all the time, all using electricity. The ONLY affects of stupid laws like this one are to infringe upon our liberties and create market distortions, forcing people to buy what they don’t really want.


31 posted on 12/19/2007 11:28:21 AM PST by Bastiat_Fan
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To: Calpernia

..


32 posted on 12/19/2007 11:29:24 AM PST by Calpernia (Hunters Rangers - Raising the Bar of Integrity http://www.barofintegrity.us)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Bad!! But, but, but, Senor Jorge Bush said it was a good bill. But, then he is a RINOcrat, full of himself as he destroys the conservative movement. I am beginning to think he was a Marxist plant in the republican party, to destroy conservatism and republicans, then come back to them as a conquering hero.
33 posted on 12/19/2007 11:31:12 AM PST by RetiredArmy (Better prepare, come Nov 08, we have a Marxist Commissar President and Marxist Congress.)
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To: tryon1ja
Perhaps you will benefit by the ridiculous mandates in this bill. You favor central planning. This bill is just a Soviet style central plan. I can remember the laughs after each Soviet central plan was made. No one thought that the central plans could be achieved. The market can find the solutions demanded by consumers, not central planners. When fuel and energy prices are high, substitutes and other measures will be found. The market will determine winners and losers by the collection of individual choices of consumers and producers.

These mandates will lead to boondoggles. How do these wise central planners know how much bio fuels should be used in our fuel supply 20 years in the future? Why do we need massive subsidies and mandates when the prices of fuel and energy are so high? How do these wise central planners know which technologies will be appropriate?

Bush knows better about energy policy. I cannot believe that he would sign such a monstrous bill. Shame on Republicans for promoting this sham.

34 posted on 12/19/2007 11:42:12 AM PST by businessprofessor
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To: tryon1ja

B.S., eh?

Does this Bill allow the streamlining of new refineries? New nuclear power stations? Cut away the red tape to replace and/or renew the power grid infrastructure? Remove the restrictions that put nearly all of our own oil and coal off limits to extraction?

No. It does none of that. Instead, it merely continues and reinforces the same imbecile dem party enviro-nazi schemes and sloganworthy pop-culture cures that have been shown through hard experience not to work. In fact, in nearly all cases they make matters worse.

President Bush has just stabbed us all in the back again.


35 posted on 12/19/2007 11:47:54 AM PST by BrewingFrog (I brew, therefore I am!)
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To: BrewingFrog
President Bush has just stabbed us all in the back again.

My only surprise is that people are surprised by this still.

36 posted on 12/19/2007 12:10:12 PM PST by Dead Corpse (What would a free man do?)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

“”The energy bill to be signed by the president today is arguably the worst piece of energy legislation ever enacted into law.””

I’m not sure that I agree with this sentence. The way I would say it is “If the USA were a locomotive headed for a cliff, this bill is like a crepe paper barrier across the tracks...it will do nothing to slow down the locomotive”.

Although mileage standards for new autos will increase by 40%, the ‘total vehicle miles travelled’ over that period will more than double, so when the new CAFE regs are fully implemented we will be consuming more oil. In reality the bill is bad not because of what is in it, but because of what is not in it...access to more oil. That folks is what is going to hurt America more than anyone can imagine.


37 posted on 12/19/2007 12:18:11 PM PST by NRG1973
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To: tryon1ja

Government planners can never ever do things as well as a capitalist free market economy.

Plus this is just wrong. Government has no right to tell us what kind of lightbulb we can put in our homes. Where in the constitution is this? Are they going to send in the federal police to check to see if we have the right kind of lightbulbs. Plus it’s getting colder not warmer as the global warming hoax says it’s supposed to be getting warmer ( most of the country is freezing if you haven’t noticed).

Plus these governemnt idiots messed up again. It’s because of this liberal media socialist hoax, Global warming that they are mandating us to change our lightbulbs. and These new lightbulbs have mercury in them so if one breaks good luck in cleaning that up and not poisoning your family (government planning at work).

Plus many workmen use those big f-350 trucks . Are they now supposed to drive these little tiny cars to haul the thing they need to keep our economy going? What’s going to happen to these full sized trucks? Socialism has never worked.

We need smaller government, less taxes, less government. less laws. Capitalism works. government doesn’t .

They have so many laws now that anything we do or don’t do is bound to break some laws so that we are all criminals now and the government can crack down on all of us as is the intent. this is about increasing government power. this is not what America was created to be or is intended to be. The constitution and founding fathers created a very limited government. These politician morons have completely violated the constitution and are crazed with power. America should be about freedom. And guess what freedom works in the economy too . government regulations, laws and planning don’t work and just cripple private industry.


38 posted on 12/19/2007 12:34:50 PM PST by Democrat_media (Democrats are communists/Socialists.Socialism is an economic disaster.)
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To: Dead Corpse

Not surprised, so much as driven each time to a new depth of disappointment in the man.


39 posted on 12/19/2007 12:35:50 PM PST by BrewingFrog (I brew, therefore I am!)
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To: BrewingFrog
I’m a “gun nut”. I wasn’t happy about voting for him to being with. Why should I vote for someone who wants to make me a criminal for exercising my Rights?
40 posted on 12/19/2007 12:38:17 PM PST by Dead Corpse (What would a free man do?)
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