De-Clogging Energy Legislation

Energy bills are a dime a dozen in Washington and many state capitals. They are the multipurpose solution reputedly solving every energy problem; they do everything from raising taxes for oil and gas companies, to subsidizing ethanol and plug-in hybrids, to threatening oil company executives with prison for “price gouging,” to promoting wind power (except, of course, when it might spoil Ted Kennedy’s sailing). Every gasoline price spike yields a cascade of proposed legislation and an outcry from politicians.