Who will "Repower America"?
You have probably seen, as I have, the spate of commercials lately to “Repower America”. Although the economy has replaced energy as the primary issue on everyone’s mind, just as energy replaced immigration, the fundamentals of our energy situation have not changed. We still import seventy percent of our oil. Yes, the ban on offshore drilling was lifted but with Democrats in control and the fickle nature of congress in general, oil companies are reluctant to invest a lot in such activity for fear that halfway through the process, Washington with curtail their activities again. Nothing has changed and while oil is down from its highs of the summer, one event, war with Iran for instance, could send it even higher.
So the folks behind “Repower America” have attempted to keep this issue before the public, as it should be. But the point of the commercial reveals what is wrong with the American attitude towards problems. The point of the spots is to get people to say that “We the people” demand clean, renewable energy, the assumption being that we are demanding action from the government. Now there is no question that government restrictions and regulations that have curtailed our development of domestic supplies of energy are a large part of our problem, suddenly demanding that the government take more of our money to solve a problem it has created is not a wise solution, to say the least. Our economic mess with the mortgage industry and credit is the same way. Government created the problem so we give more power to the government to solve it. Do we see the basic fallacy here? Government wants power, it is the nature of government to grow and seek more. If every time they make a mess of things we give them more money and power, is that not an incentive for government to keep manufacturing crises to “fix”? Government has no incentive to solve problems because the more problems there are the more power they can demand to solve them.
Once upon a time it was the ingenuity and hard work of ordinary Americans that solved problems. Our energy crisis could be solved not by more government intervention but less. Let the market find solutions to new power sources and the development of alternative energy. The government should no more mandate energy than to choose between VHS and Beta. If government would just get out of the way, get rid of regulations about the development of domestic energy of all types and stop subsidizing politically correct solutions, the market will work. Why can’t we have compressed air cars like they do in India? Why can’t we have large portions of our power generated by nuclear or hydroelectric plants? Why don’t we have cars and trucks that run on domestically produced natural gas if it’s so much cheaper?
Here’s another solution I will offer. A large percentage of Americans live in single family homes in suburban or rural areas. There is no reason why most people could not spend less than half the price of a new hybrid putting solar panels on their homes. Just think what would happen if each non urban household in America generated even half its own electricity through solar power or even a low profile wind turbine. This is current technology that is readily available if we, as individuals, only choose to make the investment. No government involvement or taxpayer money required. And if the government wanted to do anything, it could give a tax credit to cover the cost. It would stimulate a whole new industry, give all those contractors in the slumping housing industry something to do and wean us from foreign energy all at the same time. But then again, devolving power and reducing dependency are not what our government is all about, is it.
So the folks behind “Repower America” have attempted to keep this issue before the public, as it should be. But the point of the commercial reveals what is wrong with the American attitude towards problems. The point of the spots is to get people to say that “We the people” demand clean, renewable energy, the assumption being that we are demanding action from the government. Now there is no question that government restrictions and regulations that have curtailed our development of domestic supplies of energy are a large part of our problem, suddenly demanding that the government take more of our money to solve a problem it has created is not a wise solution, to say the least. Our economic mess with the mortgage industry and credit is the same way. Government created the problem so we give more power to the government to solve it. Do we see the basic fallacy here? Government wants power, it is the nature of government to grow and seek more. If every time they make a mess of things we give them more money and power, is that not an incentive for government to keep manufacturing crises to “fix”? Government has no incentive to solve problems because the more problems there are the more power they can demand to solve them.
Once upon a time it was the ingenuity and hard work of ordinary Americans that solved problems. Our energy crisis could be solved not by more government intervention but less. Let the market find solutions to new power sources and the development of alternative energy. The government should no more mandate energy than to choose between VHS and Beta. If government would just get out of the way, get rid of regulations about the development of domestic energy of all types and stop subsidizing politically correct solutions, the market will work. Why can’t we have compressed air cars like they do in India? Why can’t we have large portions of our power generated by nuclear or hydroelectric plants? Why don’t we have cars and trucks that run on domestically produced natural gas if it’s so much cheaper?
Here’s another solution I will offer. A large percentage of Americans live in single family homes in suburban or rural areas. There is no reason why most people could not spend less than half the price of a new hybrid putting solar panels on their homes. Just think what would happen if each non urban household in America generated even half its own electricity through solar power or even a low profile wind turbine. This is current technology that is readily available if we, as individuals, only choose to make the investment. No government involvement or taxpayer money required. And if the government wanted to do anything, it could give a tax credit to cover the cost. It would stimulate a whole new industry, give all those contractors in the slumping housing industry something to do and wean us from foreign energy all at the same time. But then again, devolving power and reducing dependency are not what our government is all about, is it.
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