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Congress Must Address Ethanol Mandates in Farm Bill
Tweet Share on Facebook August 28, 2012 CommentPete Sepp is executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union.
Taxpayers already have many reasons to oppose farm program reauthorization legislation currently worming its way through Congress. Actually, close to a trillion reasons: the multi-year price tags of both the House and Senate versions (including their provisions for entitlement programs like food stamps) approach one trillion dollars each. Yet there are other grounds for objection to these bills, owing to their close connection with energy policy. That link, unfortunately, leaves taxpayers, consumers, and food providers in an increasingly difficult bind due to drought conditions across a wide swath of America.
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The Real Reason Obama's EPA Targets Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas
Tweet Share on Facebook August 23, 2012 CommentDaniel Kish is senior vice president at the Institute for Energy Research.
Indicative of today's ideological schism over energy policy, Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia recently lectured the coal industry and his coal-mining constituents to embrace "a sustainable future … [and] stop denying science." Translation: Stop whining, side with climate alarmists, and support the Obama administration's coal-killing agenda.
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Iran Saber-Rattling Could Keep Gas Prices Rising
Tweet Share on Facebook August 22, 2012 CommentGregg Laskoski is a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com
Whether there's good news or bad news, either way it seems to work against American consumers where oil and gasoline prices are concerned. All we can do is provide context that will do one of three things: (1) inform sufficiently so that patience prevails; (2) incur contempt and frustration; or (3) inspire indifference. We're shooting for No. 1 to help everyone roll with the punches.
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The Oil and Gas Industry Fuels the Economy, Not Just Our Cars
Tweet Share on Facebook August 16, 2012 CommentPete Sepp is executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union.
Just days after presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney announced that Rep. Paul Ryan was his choice for running mate on the Republican presidential ticket, the candidates from both major parties hit the campaign trail in greater earnest. One of the first issues they stressed was America's energy policy.
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India Blackout Shows Government Failures in Energy Policy
Tweet Share on Facebook August 13, 2012 CommentMichael Lynch is the president and director of global petroleum service at Strategic Energy & Economic Research.
Aside from hearing "On, Wisconsin!" played thousands of times, the choice of Paul Ryan as a vice presidential nominee means a revival of the old debate between big government and minimal government, as usual with Democrats supporting the former and Republicans the latter. Well, kind of, or at least rhetorically. Republicans in recent years have too often honored their commitments for small government as they have fiscal rectitude: in the breach. Democrats vary their approach with budget realities (mostly). Addressing this issue has already taken books, but let me make a small effort to clarify one aspect.
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Army's Logic for Developing Wind and Solar Energy Makes No Sense
Tweet Share on Facebook August 10, 2012 CommentDaniel Kish is senior vice president at the Institute for Energy Research.
The Army Corps of Engineers recently put out a request for proposal for renewable energy developers to build energy facilities on Army bases. The Army says building renewables such as wind and solar on Army bases will promote "energy security," however this claim fails to acknowledge the inherent problem of reliability with intermittent sources of energy like wind and solar. The Army also claims that it wants to blunt the impact of electricity price increases, but instead of proposing low-cost sources of electricity, the Army proposes high-cost sources like advanced biofuels. The Army's justification for their plan does not make any sense.
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Enbridge Pipeline Leaks Causes Gas Prices to Rise
Tweet Share on Facebook August 8, 2012 CommentGregg Laskoski is a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com
If I lived somewhere in the Great Lakes region and had to commute to work by car, I suspect that I would probably suffer from anxiety, high blood pressure, and might even require professional help with anger management. Motorists in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, (Kentucky and Ohio, too) are subject to the most volatile gasoline prices anywhere in the United States.
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The Double Standards of Energy Tax Reform
Tweet Share on Facebook August 7, 2012 CommentPete Sepp is executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union.
It seems that in Washington words like loopholes, subsidies, and tax breaks have become so hackneyed they've lost any real, distinctive meaning. Yet, as these terms have grown more convoluted they've also become increasingly pervasive in the vocabularies of legislators and the president alike. As a result, many astute lawmakers have unwittingly ceded the power of semantics to their politically manipulative counterparts. For the sake of good public policy, particularly where taxes and energy intersect, it's unfortunate we've let them do so.
