Marathon Pundit: State of the Union hangover: Obama's war on fossil fuels continues

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

State of the Union hangover: Obama's war on fossil fuels continues

Glenview, IL, January 24, 2011

"I'm asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I don't know if you’ve noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own." President Obama's 2011 State of the Union address.

Among those "gifts" include are Section 199 tax credits which encourages American firms to hire workers and applies to any American manufacturers not only the oil and gas industry. Didn't Obama promise a "laser-like focus" on jobs last January?

Obama has had his eye on the dual-capacity credit--which again is not an energy industy-exclusive benefit--for a while. That credit prevents U.S. companies from being double-taxed on earnings from abroad.

Louisiana State University Professor Joseph Mason has estimated that the elimination of these credits would cost our economy $154,000 jobs.

Last night Obama had this to say about green jobs:

Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they’re selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: by 2035, 80% of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all – and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.

Which leads William O'Keefe of the Marshall Institue to criticize green subsidies:

"If 30 years isn't enough for the industry to stand on its own feet, you have to ask how long it will be," said William O'Keefe, chief executive of the Marshall Institute, a think tank. "There's just been too much given to alternatives that cannot sustain themselves."

O'Keefe doesn't buy the job creation argument, saying it doesn't make sense to pay people to produce things that don't make money.

From agriculture to automakers, O'Keefe is against subsidies for any industry.

He's all for funding R&D into new, cheaper renewable technology. He just doesn't want to fund the production of electricity at rates that he says are too high. This is especially true, he says, at a time when renewables account for a small part of our overall energy demand.