By Alan CarubaI am increasingly convinced that the Democrats who control Congress have gone completely insane. I am provided with evidence of this almost every day.
Consider the press release I received on Tuesday, March 24, the day of President Obama’s press conference. It was from the Office of the Assistant to the Speaker, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
“Van Hollen Introduces the Green Bank Act of 2009” was the title. The subtitle was “Bank will provide range of financing support to clean energy and energy efficiency projects in the United States.”
I can think of a whole range of projects to enhance and expand energy in the United States. The grid that transports and distributes electricity is in great need of expansion and upgrade.
People, however, have a lot of difficulty understanding that electricity is not magic.
In my home state of New Jersey eight towns in two counties are fighting the building of a much-needed high-voltage line. In the White House, President Obama keeps saying bad things about coal, the energy source of just over 50% of all the electricity Americans use. On television moronic commercials portray coal as “dirty” instead of invaluable.
Congressman Van Hollen, however, asserts that “Energy independence is central to our security, our economy and our environment. By creating the Green Bank, we will accelerate the development, deployment, and production of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies across the country.”
To do this the Green Bank would be “an independent, tax-exempt, wholly owned corporation of the United States” with “an initial capitalization of $10 billion through the issuance of Green Bonds by the Department of the Treasury.” The upper limit would be $50 billion in Green Bonds outstanding at one time.
A number of things seem to have escaped Cong. Van Hollen’s notice. The nation is in a deep financial funk as the result of having borrowed ourselves into an untenable position that threatens to devalue the U.S. dollar to a point where the purchase of anything these days is increasing.
We shouldn’t be creating new government entities to BORROW MORE money.
Beyond that, Cong. Van Hollen does not seem aware of the way the U.S. Congress has, since the late 1970s, destroyed the nation’s formerly thriving oil industry by refusing to let it drill anywhere, making the process of building a new refinery so onerous and costly that not one has been built in decades, and by requiring that virtually the entire annual crop of corn be converted into ethanol. This last mandate ensures less mileage per gallon of gasoline and an increase in auto emissions of CO2. It also guarantees worldwide food riots.
Energy efficiency sounds good, but what we need is more energy sources and the Green Bank will be making big loans exclusively to wind and solar energy projects that could not get funding elsewhere because they are so impractical and inefficient no sensible banker or venture capitalist would loan them any money. Without government subsidies and mandates, they would not exist. Together, wind and solar provide a minuscule 1% of the electricity we use.
The other initial sponsors of this idiotic Green Bank are Cong. David Loebsack (D-IA), Cong. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Cong. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Cong. Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam).
This is not an “investment” in anything more than an increase in the financial burden we now must bear and the future burden being proposed in an insane budget that will triple the national debt.
As the saying goes, “When you’re in a hole, stop digging!”
Congressman Van Hollen, however, asserts that “Energy independence is central to our security, our economy and our environment. By creating the Green Bank, we will accelerate the development, deployment, and production of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies across the country.”
To do this the Green Bank would be “an independent, tax-exempt, wholly owned corporation of the United States” with “an initial capitalization of $10 billion through the issuance of Green Bonds by the Department of the Treasury.” The upper limit would be $50 billion in Green Bonds outstanding at one time.
A number of things seem to have escaped Cong. Van Hollen’s notice. The nation is in a deep financial funk as the result of having borrowed ourselves into an untenable position that threatens to devalue the U.S. dollar to a point where the purchase of anything these days is increasing.
We shouldn’t be creating new government entities to BORROW MORE money.
Beyond that, Cong. Van Hollen does not seem aware of the way the U.S. Congress has, since the late 1970s, destroyed the nation’s formerly thriving oil industry by refusing to let it drill anywhere, making the process of building a new refinery so onerous and costly that not one has been built in decades, and by requiring that virtually the entire annual crop of corn be converted into ethanol. This last mandate ensures less mileage per gallon of gasoline and an increase in auto emissions of CO2. It also guarantees worldwide food riots.
Energy efficiency sounds good, but what we need is more energy sources and the Green Bank will be making big loans exclusively to wind and solar energy projects that could not get funding elsewhere because they are so impractical and inefficient no sensible banker or venture capitalist would loan them any money. Without government subsidies and mandates, they would not exist. Together, wind and solar provide a minuscule 1% of the electricity we use.
The other initial sponsors of this idiotic Green Bank are Cong. David Loebsack (D-IA), Cong. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Cong. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Cong. Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam).
This is not an “investment” in anything more than an increase in the financial burden we now must bear and the future burden being proposed in an insane budget that will triple the national debt.
As the saying goes, “When you’re in a hole, stop digging!”
Alan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing about this topic. I'm so frustrated and disgusted by the whole "green" movement, that I get writer's block when attempting to write about it. What a train-wreck!
TheCapitalist
http://thefreedompost.blogspot.com
Pick up a copy of Steve Milloy's new book, "Green Hell" from Regnery. It spells out just what these lunatics have in mind for us.
ReplyDeleteI think I have an idea. I'll pick up the book, but I'm a little afraid to. God forbid these (kooks) people have their way!
ReplyDeleteThis is from an article by James M. Carrillo that appeared on January 14, 2009, called, “The lag between cause and effect”, and apparently re-run today in the World Net Daily. He states;
ReplyDelete“Why are the U. S. dollar fundamentals so bad? Mass creation! If you take the time to look at the Federal Reserve site and look up the money supply growth you will note that we have created/printed more dollars in the past three months than in almost the entire history of the federal reserve! They are not done yet. This new money is backed by ONLY the full faith and credit of the United States which has lost faith internationally and within our own borders, and has its credit being downgraded worldwide. If it were you and me they would be repossessing the house.”
I know that this isn’t a green issue per se, but the same irrational misanthropic thinking applies.
Your "followers" really are a bunch of neanderthals! The garbage they write! ........... finding new depths of ignorance!
ReplyDeleteSO, he's back again huh? I love it when someone decides what I should think, and labels MY thoughts and opinions as "neanderthal" and "ignorant". I suppose this same person would also staunchly defend HIS right to free speech and thought, though, wouldn't he? Who's the ignorant neanderthal? Only an ignorant neanderthal would think that just because he has an "education", HIS truth is the only truth, and we should all just blindly swallow it up. The truth about education is simple ... garbage in = garbage out. INTELLIGENT people read, discuss, research, and discover the truth for themselves ... MORONS just suck up the party line , regurgitate it, and expect us to eat it. No thanks. I reserve my right to discuss things openly on forums like this, and I don't much care for being called ignorant for doing so.....
ReplyDeleteSaildog is totally bonkers. He is obsessed with this blog and, every so often I post his bile by way of giving us all a taste of what had to be rejected on a regular basis.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we could all start an office pool about the fate of this new government bank. The bet is two-fold: 1) how long before its assets are bundled and sold as credit default swaps (CDS), and 2) how long before the bottom falls out of these newly-created, leveraged-to-the-hilt "assets" and cause another catastrophic meltdown?
ReplyDeleteMy bet is 12 years.
Obviously, you are an optimist!
ReplyDeleteThe "carbon credits" or "emissions credits" or whatever else they're called are worthless for the simple reason that CO2 has nothing to do with a global warming that is not happening.
Only the force of law would require companies to purchase them and the price would be passed on to the consumer, driving up the cost of everything.
So, Alan, I'll put you down for "0 months" in our little contest. Personally, I think you're wrong because government can, and will, prop up ANY government program for as long, and as much, as it takes. Look at Fannie and Freddie --- still standing!
ReplyDeletePoint well taken, Doug. Given the way Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have nearly destroyed the financial system, perhaps a new Republican administration could be persuaded to get them out of the mortgage business and shut them down?
ReplyDeleteWe live in hope!