(1) The legislative process is out-of-date, an Enlightenment device that is way past its prime. Once thought to restrain kingly power, parliaments and legislatures are past due; and we are paying exorbitant penalties that are compounding at a rapid rate. If the outmoded and outdated package is wrapped in new paper, a change of faces in Washington, will the contents be any less rancid when we open it? If we spray the outside of the bottle with Lysol, will the spoiled milk inside become more palatable?
(2) Certain energy agencies are instructed to favor biodiesel or hybrid engine technologies when they buy vehicles, the goal being energy efficiency. The lawyers in Congress have already decided what is cost-effective and what is not. The National Biodiesel Board that represents the biodiesel industry says that it "is currently tracking more than 160 pieces of biodiesel legislation at the state level. The bills include incentives, use requirements, point of taxation clarification, authorization of studies, state fleet use requirements, biodiesel promotion, and others." The individual states of this nation share the Congressional disease. Meanwhile Congress has enacted tax breaks for biodiesel and other of its favorites.
(3) What incredible grief is brought on by such laws! What an incredible waste of energy! The compliance costs alone outweigh any supposed energy savings. And we can be confident that society will experience no energy savings from these laws anyway. We can be certain of net losses in welfare. With Congress bypassing and disrupting free markets while subsidizing its chosen favorites such as ethanol, we can be sure that society is getting net losses in energy and welfare compared with Congress doing nothing at all.
If i post any more i should copy the whole article - well worth the read.
1 comment:
One more objection I might add is that the decision to subsidize biofuels is as much a political decision as a scientific or policy decision. Big Ag aims to benefit from a bizarre combo of nationalism and environmentalism.
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