October 2008

MEPs will tomorrow (7 October) vote on key legislation designed to slash the EU's CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020. But the vote comes amidst a worsening economic crisis, with several member states indicating that they want to put the brakes on any rapid adoption of the measures.

Last month National Review Online contributor Lawrence Kudlow proclaimed that this was the "energy election." After seeing the Veep debate, however, I must disagree with Kudlow’s assessment. The contest between Arizona Senator John McCain and Illinois Senator Barack Obama cannot possibly be "the energy election" because both candidates have the same crummy energy policies.  

The similarity of the candidates' crappy energy plans was apparent last night during the vice presidential debate between Delaware Senator Joseph Biden and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. For one thing, the term “free market” was employed frequently by each candidate, but always as a pejorative. Accordingly, they both endorsed windfall profits taxes to punish “big oil,” and they both want the government to waste taxpayer money on dubious sources of renewable energy. Last but not least, while they differed on the causes of global warming, Biden and Palin championed energy rationing cap-and-trade schemes that would have the federal government seize the reigns of energy production in America.

So there's no choice. Both the Republicans and Democrats want statist energy policies that would increase energy costs and hurt the American economy.  

Wall Street is in chaos, and the U.S. economy may be entering a prolonged recession that could drag down the rest of the world with it. So why isn’t everyone celebrating?

The Democratic and Republican nominees also spoke at the annual pow-wow of the Clinton Global Initiative this week. Senators Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Az.) presented almost indistinguishable plans to ration energy with a cap-and-trade program and save us from global warming.  They also both vowed to reduce global poverty and revive the U. S. economy. The little difficulty that no one asked them about is that cap-and-trade will create chronic economic stagnation and increase poverty around the world.

Two days ago, I happily blogged that the renewable energy tax subsidies were doomed due to a territorial dispute between the House of Representatives and the Senate. This was good news because the federal giveaways are a waste of taxpayer money.

To add insult to injury, the energy tax provisions are being used as a means to pass the bailout, which is an even worse waste of federal dollars. Charity for renewable energy is popular among a bipartisan swath of Congress because the money gets spread around to boondoggle energy projects in Congressional districts across America. So Senate leaders added it on to the bailout to make the bill more attractive to their colleagues.