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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (69146)	1/30/2009 3:14:46 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

Green Stimu-less By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Thursday, January 29, 2009 4:20 PM PT Recession: Polls show Americans care most about jobs right now, and couldn't care less about global warming. So why does the economic stimulus plan attempt to marry the two? In Washington, there's a breathless rush to turn the economy around by greening it. But are "green-collar" jobs and green infrastructure really the jobs and industries of the future that our "brilliant" new economic planners claim? Most Americans don't seem to think so. According to the latest Pew Research poll, they rank the "economy" and "jobs" as the nation's top two priorities. The "environment" stood 16th out of 20, and "global warming" finished dead last. Average Americans certainly aren't making the same connection between these issues as the political elite in Washington, who are confident replacing lightbulbs will simultaneously save the planet and the economy. Does government really know better? Or is this whole "green economy" push just one more big boondoggle — like ethanol? Recall the ethanol bandwagon that government got industry to hop on in 2007. It was boosted by the passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act, requiring the consumption of 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2020 — a fivefold increase over current levels. Not only did it not lower energy prices as promised, it has sent food prices through the roof. Corn-based ethanol yields almost a third less energy per gallon of gas, so miles per gallon in internal-combustion engines drop significantly. The per-mile cost is actually higher at the pump. Meanwhile, growing more corn to make ethanol has raised food prices at the supermarket by raising the cost of feed, as well as the corn syrup that food manufacturers use in practically every product now, from bread to spaghetti sauce. The experts in Washington picked ethanol, and now it's a big loser. Five of Iowa's 32 ethanol plants are in bankruptcy. Nationwide, the ethanol plant failure rate has climbed to 9%, and is expected to more than double by the end of this year. The same wonks who pushed ethanol are now pushing green economic stimulus as part of President Obama's brain trust. They plan to create millions of new jobs by building solar panels and wind turbines — two terribly inefficient energy producers. Solar panels achieve about 35% efficiency, while windmills get only slightly better — 50% efficiency. Efficiency means how much of the energy source can actually be converted to electricity. Wind and solar are inefficient because they demand vast amounts of land. For example, wind power requires about 10 square feet of land to generate enough wattage for a light bulb. A natural gas plant takes up to 200 times less space to generate the same power. But don't tell that to the new administration. "We can create 5 million new jobs all across America," President Obama recently proclaimed, by among other things "wind turbines and solar panels — the kinds of clean energy approaches that should be the driver of our economy over the next century." And now he and his team want to redirect hundreds of billions in public investment flows into these cherry-picked industries, crowding out even more private investment. The president honestly believes wind and solar farms will be the economic drivers of the future. Just like ethanol was supposed to be the fuel of the future? Once again, "experts" in Washington who've never worked a day in the private sector think they can pick winners and losers in private industry — despite their awful track record. The best way to create jobs is to create incentives for small businesses to create jobs through real, meaningful innovations based on market demand. And the best way to do that is to cut the tax rates that sap their profits and creative energy. ibdeditorials.com

To: Sully- who wrote (69146)	2/2/2009 9:56:24 PM
From: Peter Dierks	1 Recommendation Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 90947

Another Cheater On Team Change Mon, 02/02/2009 - 11:56 — Judicial Watch Blog A second Barack Obama cabinet pick who for years evaded taxes suddenly became motivated to pay them during the vetting process and the administration famously known for promoting change wants Americans to forgive and forget. A few weeks ago it was the cheating Treasury Secretary—considered by some to be a brilliant financial markets specialist—who committed an “honest mistake” when he forgot to pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes on his lucrative salary over several years. Timothy Geithner still got confirmed and now heads the crucial agency that promotes economic stability and ensures the nation’s financial security. That probably means that Obama’s nominee for Health Secretary (former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle) may also get confirmed because, like his Treasury counterpart, he has made amends with a hard-to-swallow public apology and a long-overdue check to the Internal Revenue Service. Daschle finally paid $140,000 in back taxes on the millions of dollars he has raked in over the years as a health industry “consultant” to firms that incidentally stand to gain millions from the work he’ll do as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Daschle even wrote a heart felt letter to the ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee, who will meet with him this week to discuss the matter. In the letter, published by several media outlets, Daschle writes that he’s “deeply embarrassed and disappointed” by the errors which he assures were “unintentional.” He apologizes for his wrongdoings and profoundly judicialwatch.org