The Electric Truth

If you choose to seek out different electricity providers, you will find they offer a statement listing their power sources. What is ironic is that some of the companies that like to view themselves as green have almost exactly the same sources in the same proportions as the bad old electric companies. This means that like it or not a bulk of our energy comes from three sources: oil, coal and nuclear. These sources are all held in disdain by the Obama Administration and cap and trade seeks to make it more costly to use these abundant and efficient fuels. In fact, Congress seeks to force the hands of power providers to create alternative energy even when the technology is more costly and less efficient. If you have ever been shopping for swimsuits with a teenaged daughter, you understand this mentality. The left wants something that doesn't exist. They want a clean power source that is efficient and cost effective but it simply isn't there. But they are willing to do without energy at all if it means having what they want. This is a very petulant attitude and seems to be matched on all sides by congressional actions and those of the president's staff. I mean, you could put the cast of The Hills in these roles and the results would be the same kind of snarky, sneaky double dealing we have seen in the past week. I don't know if it has to do with California or just leftists in general, but this is no way to run a country.

"...Electricity is a good thing. It powers your computer, drives economic growth, transmits images from Tehran streets, keeps preemies alive in hospitals, prevents meat from rotting and enchants and cools you in movie theaters.

Yes, electricity is a good thing. Where does it come from?

In the U.S., electricity is produced from these sources. If you are reading this on a handheld and can't read Wikipedia's wonderful pie chart, here is the breakdown:

48.9% -- Coal
20% -- Natural Gas
19.3% -- Nuclear
1.6% -- Petroleum

Got that? A tick over 88% of U.S. electricity comes from three sources: coal, gas and nuclear. Petroleum brings the contribution of so-called "evil" energy--that is, energy that is carbon- or uranium-based--to almost 90%.

The remaining sources of U.S. electricity, the renewables, are, by comparison, tiny players:

7.1% -- Hydroelectric
2.4% -- Other Renewables
0.7% -- Other

Hydroelectric accounts for 70% of renewable energy in America. But, of course, hydro is mostly tapped out. Almost every dam that could be built has been built. Ironically enough, political opposition to building more dams comes from the same crowd of tree huggers who oppose coal, gas and uranium..."

An Economics Lesson

There are many people who see taxing the Bad Old Corporations as a good thing. What with their overpaid CEO's and their profits, surely they are cash cows ripe for slaughter, right? But hold on there...do you know how pricing occurs? Read and learn
1. A corporation is NOT ALIVE. This is important to remember because although the economic health of a corporation is measured in dollars, it cannot live or die as a human would.
2. This means that when additional penalties such as taxes, fees, government sanctions are placed on a corporation on upon a product it makes, the penalty doesn't stay within the corporation. Instead it is rolled into the final cost to the cosumer. And yes, that includes PROFIT.
3. Profits are what the corporation makes AFTER COSTS. Costs include things like raw materials to make products, energy used to make and transport products, manpower to make products, locations to make products and all the ancillary fees, insurances and liability costs. So after they make the product, package the product, ship the product-whatever is left over is profit. Now some people see profit as evil. But profit is the fuel that allows corporations to grow. Whether is building a new factory, riasing employees compensation or creating more jobs, profit is the factor that allows that to happen. When government takes profit away through taxation or over regulation, it slows down or stops the creation of more jobs, more wealth and a more stable economy.
4. Local and state governments run off of tax revenues. Taxes are collected on sales, on production and on land. If corporations do not make a profit, the tax revenues go down. If the corporations close, then the local entities lose a taxable property and the resulting revenue. In addition, if fewer products are sold, then the local governments make less. That shortfall is what we are seeing now in Dallas. Socialists would insist that the federal government keep all programs in place by making up the difference. But at some point that cannot be sustained. And slowing down corporations is what puts a wrench in the system.
5. When corporation go out of business, aside from job losses, there is also a loss of choice to the consumer. Part of the reason people oppose Walmart moving into an area is because other grocery stores move out. Lack of choice means lack of competition. Lack of competition means higher costs to consumers. If you are the only ice cream source in town, you can charge more than if there are two others in place. This is why it is not necessarily cheaper to live a bucolic life in the country. Without the competition, costs stay high.
6. Over regulation of any industry makes it unresponsive to the market. We have seen this over and over and frankly, the government control of GM is troubling because no government program comes without countless rules in place. If those rules all worked toward the simple principles of making good products at a fair price, there would be no problem. But when politicians get involved, they put pet project in place. This is what happened with American companies. The foreign companies didn't have the same culture of gratitude created by the UAW and the Congressional leadership. So they could make adjustments to allow a good car to be built for a good price. That's not to say that Americans can't build a good car-I have 16 year old Venture so I know that isn't true-it's just that interference by government costs more down the line and doesn't provide an efficient solution.
I hope that clears up some confusion and that when you listen to the bills being offered that you consider that bigger isn't always better and that people in Washington really don't care that much about people in Tupelo, Richardson or Tucumcari.