Monday, September 8, 2014

Wherever the wind blows the taxpayers get fleeced

"The main federal handout for the wind energy industry has grown considerably despite the fact that it expired at the end of 2013. Over the past two years, IRS administrators have relaxed the eligibility requirements to make it easier for in-progress wind farm projects to qualify for government subsidies (known in Washington as the ‘production tax credit’ or “PTC PTC”). The IRS has done so repeatedly and quietly, often without action from Congress."

"Back in December 2012, while Senate Minority Leader McConnell and Vice President Biden were negotiating a last-minute deal to prevent income taxes from rising across the board, special interests in the wind industry engaged in a flurry of lobbying activity. Congress slipped in a provision in the Fiscal Cliff at the 11th hour that extended and greatly expanded wind subsidies through lower eligibility requirements. Previously, wind farms had to be placed in service and generating electricity in order to claim the credit; after the Fiscal Cliff deal, they only had to be in the beginning stages of construction." (read more

Forbes OpEd


21 comments:

Unknown said...

key quote:

'Wind energy cannot exist without the tax payer subsidy.'

ndspinelli said...

We need another William Proxmire.

The Dude said...

Without subsidies Golden Eagles would not be facing extinction.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Some great comments at the end about competing in the marketplace. How are we supposed to pay all these new "green jobs"/ "new energy" job? Someone must be taxed in order to pay the salaries, because so much of the "green energy" business model cannot compete honestly in the open market.

Unknown said...

I'm all for cleaner energy. A balanced approach that forces all the players to act on an even playing field without the tax payer.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Having congressional approval was a big efing deal when Reagan was trying to fund the Contras in Nicaragua.

Now? not so much.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I'd like to see tax subsidies for the wool industry.

ricpic said...

There is economic rationality, i.e. the market, and then there is government. Oil and water. There is no such thing as a "good" source of energy as opposed to a "bad" source of energy. There is only an economically viable or unviable source of energy. Only those freed from economic reality (how are they so freed? by living parasitically on the productive, by "working" in the public sector) can afford to entertain the frivolity of "virtuous" energy.

edutcher said...

You say this as if you were surprised.

PS Anytime you talk about Shotgun Joe, you're talking about wind.

Shouting Thomas said...

And those great evil demons, the Koch Bros., represent the very face of doom because they employ thousands of people in their petroleum products businesses.

I'm Full of Soup said...

This is just more evidence that convinced there are no internal controls on federal spending. The law says one things and bureaucrats do another.

Just last week, there was news that the taxpayers were getting $15 Billion from fines from one of the big banks and then we learn Eric Holder is already doling that out to bigtime, librul groups.

We need to just take the checkbooks away from them.

The Dude said...

Any ideas on how to do that?

I'm Full of Soup said...

Cut their hands off.

The Dude said...

LOL - too bad we can't get near enough, eh?

I'm Full of Soup said...

Wouldn't that make for a good movie plot? Conservative vigilantes kidnap some elected officials and amputate their check writing hand and then release them.

The MSM would be more outraged about that fictional movie than they are about Muslims decapitating real live American journalists.

The Dude said...

I would write, based on what I have seen, that it can't be done.

The correct response to that would be "Well, not with that attitude, mister!"

I'm Full of Soup said...

60: I know what you mean. Don't get old and lazy and complacent like me.

virgil xenophon said...

@AprilApple/

My Dear fave person. I'm afraid there IS NO such thing as a "balanced" approach to energy production. Wind, Solar, biomass, etc are ALL NON-COMPETITIVE UTTER FAILURES in terms of efficiency, cost, geographical footprint needed to produce a given joule of energy, constant, reliable source of energy that won't wreck the grid or manu plants, etc. Like "balancing" one's basket-ball team with midgets as well as 7-footers. THAT combo won't win any games..

Unknown said...

But I want to balance the basketball team with midgets!

;-)

Unknown said...

I'm no expert, but I think smaller scale green energy works best. Solar panels on homes and private windmills really do work to generate energy -- ONE home at a time.

Let the market sort it out, is my main point. The tax payer should not be involved. We have enough other government waste raping our productivity and freedom.