Monday, August 06, 2007
About that "Energy" bill
I don't really have room for all of the quotable paragraphs in this editorial...
Investors Business Daily doesn't think much of it:
"Her bill is a stripped-down version of the Senate bill and doesn't include things like renewable energy mandates and raising fuel-economy standards. But while it rewards trial lawyers, a companion energy tax punishes American consumers with $15 billion in taxes to pay for tax credits for renewable energy. When liberals aim for the rich, they hit Joe Sixpack between the eyes.
Sterling Burnett , a senior fellow of the National Center for Policy Analysis, points out that families earning between $10,000 and $25,000 per year spent 13% of their earnings on energy. Those earning more than $50,000 pay just 4%.
The bill also holds $1 billion in new spending to promote 'clean energy' in developing countries. Presumably this includes buying solar panels and windmills for China, which qualifies as a 'developing' country under the greenhouse-gas-cutting Kyoto Accords.
Beijing has other ideas, planning 40 new nuclear plants for the next 15 years and 562 coal-fired plants in less than half that time. And it's seeking oil resources offshore, just like the Russians.
As we diddle and debate, Chinese geologists are helping the Cubans drill test oil wells 45 miles off Florida's coast. China's offshore energy sector is growing 15.3% a year. Chinese companies have deals with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and have submitted a bid for a tract off Jamaica."
