Free Republic

"As fuel taxes plummet, states weigh charging by the mile instead of the tank.” That was the headline of a recent AP story, which should scare freedom-loving citizens everywhere. And you can place the blame squarely on government-subsidized EVs for this terrible new development. The background is that state and federal gasoline taxes aren’t raising “enough” money these days to pay for roadway construction and maintenance. And a big reason for the growing shortfall is the increase in electric vehicles. EVs get massive tax subsidies to convince people to buy them, but their owners don’t pay gasoline taxes, for the...

When the Oscars 2019 are handed out this weekend, some important players are sure to go unrecognized: US taxpayers. That’s a shame. After all, they paid to subsidize many of the movies that will take home the biggest awards. Of the Best Picture nominees, “Black Panther,” “A Star is Born,” “Vice” and “Green Book” all feasted on tax breaks from states they filmed in. Just about every year, the bulk of the films in the Best Picture category have some of their bills covered by taxpayers. Cities and states spend tens of billions annually subsidizing corporations that do everything from...

CEO Elon Musk said the plant, whose plans have reportedly been in the works for a year, would eventually have an annual production capacity of 500,000 cars, adding that he hoped it would be “completed very soon.” A joint announcement released by Shanghai’s government said a preliminary agreement had been signed to build the plant in the commercial hub’s Lingang district.“Shanghai will be the location for the first Gigafactory outside the United States,” said Musk. “It will be a state-of-the-art vehicle factory and a role model for sustainability. We hope it will be completed very soon.” The announcement has raised...

Today, in Pruitt v. Burwell, another federal court concluded that the IRS rule authorizing tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies for the purchase of health insurance in federal exchanges violates the text of the PPACA. In reaching this result, Judge White of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma concurred with the initial panel decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Halbig v. Burwell and rejected the conclusions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in King v. Burwell. A fourth case against the IRS rule remains pending in federal...

A reader who saw my column Your money’s gone with the wind (and solar) on Sunday sent this photo of the solar panels he has. . . . . .Solar panels get dirty. Just like roofs. But dirt on roofs doesn’t affect their efficiency.

Perhaps it would clarify the wind issue if some basic facts were understood. The term is WECS: Wind Energy Conversion Systems, not "farms," "ranches," or "parks." The structures are industrial-scale turbines. WECS will produce small amounts of energy with an efficiency range averaging 35 percent at most locations. WECS in Kansas in operation or under construction have the ability to produce 1,014 megawatts of electricity at maximum production; less than a quarter of that electricity stays in Kansas. WECS will not replace conventional coal, gas or nuclear plants, because wind energy is intermittent, unpredictable, unreliable and expensive and cannot be...

How would you like Uncle Sam to help you buy a digital television? Would a $500 government rebate be enough to get you into the store? A TV industry analyst believes that, for many Americans, it would, and that tax credits may be the very best way to solve the chicken-and-egg problem that has stymied acceptance of next-generation digital TV. YOU MAY THINK it odd that the federal government would even consider paying for a hunk of your new TV set. After all, it's not like the government doesn't have other things to do with the money. But money is...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. WICHITA -- Kansas could generate between 5 and 10 percent of its electrical needs by taking advantage of its abundant wind resources instead of buying coal from other states, a wind energy expert told the Kansas Livestock Association Friday. Dale Osborn, president of Colorado-based Distributed Generation Systems, told cattlemen the state's electrical system has a total generating capacity to handle that much added production from wind energy. He is among the energy experts advising the president on wind power issues. ''Kansas is going to do it or the feds are going...