NAT GAS Act naturally bad

Americans for Prosperity argues, rightly in my opinion, that Congress needs to focus on simplifying our tax code, not picking winners and losers. Last spring a Republican and a Democratic member of the House introduced H.R. 1380, the NAT GAS Act. It proposes the expansion of tax breaks--and creating some new ones--for the sale, production, and the conversion of natural gas-powered vehicles.

We're not talking nickles and dimes. According to the Heritage Foundation, among those breaks are a $64,000 tax credit for each natural gas-powered truck and $100,000 for each fueling station.

AFP composed an open letter to Congress about this boondoggle, which you can read here.

Who could be a major beneficiary of this crony capitalism valentine?

Leftist gazillionaire George Soros is one, and another über-rich guy, T. Boone Pickens, who was blowing wind power down our throats four years ago, is another.

UPDATE February 2: John Sullivan is the Republican who introduced the NAT GAS Act, and he is the recipient of a $4,800 campaign contribution from Pickens.

Technorati tags: Democrats politics economy government energy crony capitalism