THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume IX, Issue # 143, July 31, 2007
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE DEMOCRATS' ENERGY TAX BILL:
PROPOSAL FOR AN ENERGY DISASTER
By Alan Caruba
THE RENEWABLE ENERGY & ENERGY CONSERVATION TAX ACT OF 2007: A PARTICULARLY NOXIOUS PIECE OF
ENERGY TAXATION LEGISLATION BEING PROPOSED BY DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADERS IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES -- LEADING CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS PLAY POLITICS WITH WITH AMERICA'S ENERGY NEEDS &
ECONOMIC FUTURE -- PARTISAN DEMOCRATS IGNORE THE REALITIES OF ENERGY ECONOMICS, DISSEMINATE THE
PROPAGANDA OF POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS & GLOBAL WARMING ALARMISTS, & COME UP WITH THE WORST
POSSIBLE PLAN TO MEET THE ENERGY NEEDS OF THE U.S.A. -- PUSHING FOR PUBLIC POLICIES WHICH, IF ADOPTED &
IMPLEMENTED, WOULD GUARANTEE AMERICANS A BLEAK ECONOMIC FUTURE, INCLUDING SEVERE ENERY SHORTAGES
& SHARPLY RISING ENERGY PRICES, AS WELL AS LOW PRODUCTIVITY & HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT
FULL STORY:
Every time I hear or read some pronouncement on energy from Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi,
I think I am trapped in some nightmarish version of Wonderland where up is down and black is white. If anyone or any party
could have fashioned a worse plan to meet the energy needs of America, I cannot imagine it.
In an announcement on “Energy Independence” in late June, 2007, Speaker Pelosi described it as “a national issue, an
economic issue, and an environmental issue” -- and then immediately identified rising gasoline prices as the cause of much
pain. The millions of cars and trucks on the nation’s highways every day are essential to the nation’s economy, but the pain
being inflicted comes from the U.S. national government’s energy and environmental policies.
More to the point, no nation on Earth is or can be energy independent. Were that the case, there would be no vast matrix of
global trade in oil, natural gas, coal, and the uranium utilized by nuclear energy facilities. It should be noted that the United
States of America has been especially blessed with centuries’ worth of coal deposits and estimates of enormous untapped
reserves of continental offshore oil and natural gas. As this is written Congress continues to deny access to these reserves,
as well as much of Alaska’s vast oil reserves.
Apparently, too, no one has explained to Speaker Pelosi that oil is a global commodity, the price of which is set by the exigencies
of supply and demand. What, then, does she propose to do to drive down the price of a barrel of oil?
First, she would “invest in new energy technologies and innovations,” by which she means “the largest investment in history
to improve how we grow, produce, transport, and store biofuels that will fuel our cars and trucks.” Translation: more ethanol,
whose cost of production and transportation is already increasing the cost of food and gas to all Americans and could well
cause worldwide famines if more farm land is converted to this idiotic solution.
She wants to reduce “energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions” at a time when the U.S. population now exceeds three
hundred million people and growing. If the late, unlamented immigration “reform” had become law, the U.S. would have
instantly added anywhere from twenty to forty millions more, as the relatives of Mexicans and other illegal aliens who already
live here joined them. Only the great public outcry against this legislation stopped Congress from this colossal stupidity.
Representative Pelosi, like many members of Congress, has a hard time understanding that more people means more energy
use, i.e. more cars, more trucks, more highway use, more need to repair infrastructure, more commercial flights, more housing,
more everything. As for greenhouse gas emissions, she makes no mention about what she intends to do concerning its 95%
water vapor content. She is intent, however, on reducing carbon dioxide emissions that scientists tell us play a miniscule role.
She is talking complete and utter nonsense, but that never stopped any politician.
Speaker Pelosi proposes, “tax incentives for hybrids, not Hummers.” All manner of tax credits are suggested to get people to
drive vehicles dependent on batteries and “for individuals biking to work,” along with “encouraging mass transit” by
promoting “cleaner buses, ferries, and trains.” This is forced social engineering that has nothing to do with actually finding
new energy sources.
At a time when we are all dependent on “Big Oil” for gasoline, heating oil, and all the other petroleum-based products, Speaker
Pelosi wants to repeal “Big Oil giveaways.” She is advancing a measure that would repeal $16 billion in tax subsidies for Big
Oil. She wants to give tax credits to bike riders, while taking away subsidies that encourage Big Oil to undertake the
enormously expensive and risky business of finding new sources of oil and natural gas.
Moreover, she wants “Big Oil” to “pay their fair share of taxes,” but neglects to mention the billions in taxes collected by the
federal and state governments from every gallon of gasoline we purchase. Clearly Big Oil is Pelosi’s designated punching bag
while distracting voters from her idiotic “solutions” to the nation’s energy needs.
In fact, the Democrats rejected the Gas Petroleum Refinery Improvement & Community Empowerment Act of 2007. No new
refineries means less refining capability for a nation that has not seen a new one built since the 1970s. Just watch the price of
gasoline rise as that continues.
The proposed Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007 (H.R. 2776) totally ignores the fact that oil, gas,
and coal will remain the primary elements of the nation’s energy mix and would increase tax burden on U.S. based energy
companies by more than $16 billion in the decade ahead. If the bill becomes law, consumers will end up having to pick up the
bill.
Speaker Pelosi and her fellow Democrats, as well as and some Republicans, have essentially told Americans to use less energy at the
same time the population continues to grow and the growth of the economy is totally tied to the provision of the energy that
coal, oil, and nuclear power provides.
Meanwhile, as the Speaker continues to blather away about global warming, all around the world, global warming is an
increasingly discredited hoax. This does not deter the Speaker from believing that the United States “should lead the global
effort on a binding global warming agreement with commitments from all the major emitters, including China, India, and Brazil.”
The UN Kyoto Protocol doesn’t even include these nations. The U.S. Senate unanimously rejected U.S. participation in the
Kyoto Protocol ten years ago.
Just how deluded is the Speaker?
I don’t know, but I do know she scares the heck out of me!
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
American Politics & Political Competition:
Elections, PACs, & Political Parties
American Government & the U.S. Congress
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba’s new book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press.
© Alan Caruba 2007
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity