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When Will We Ever Learn?
When Will We Ever Learn?
Last week I sat with a friend of mine who is part of a solar technology company. It is a neat thing that they are developing and selling, as I understand it a solar film that can be applied in a variety of ways. To my very non-technical mind the easiest use to understand was for solar roof shingles. When used there is no ugly contraption on the roof of the house so you get energy from the sun and no eyesores. Cool stuff. But there are problems with the technology like it is expensive compared to traditional power sources and the utilities are not cooperating on crediting the homeowner when the system generates more power than the home needs and can feed the excess back into the grid. I don’t want to get too deep into this, but let’s just say that there are obstacles to be overcome and the company thinks it will succeed. I hope so.
Now, maybe they will and maybe they won’t. The free market should be the judge of that, but not if you listen to politicians talk about the issue of energy and new technologies. Barack Obama for one talks about the complete transformation of the US economy and the creation of millions of new jobs as a result. Again, it sounds cool but then comes the hard part. How would he accomplish that feat?
I mean, the US economy already runs perfectly well on primarily fossil fuels and ALL new technologies have big problems either in the science, the delivery, the storage, or the cost. And there are thousands of new companies pushing their versions of wind, solar, ethanol, you name it. Which ones would the government back and which would get the short shrift? I mean, if you are going to provide funds and tax incentives that means making choices. Again, how? And who? How do you prevent conflicts of interest?
Most politicians including Obama are lawyers. How are they qualified to make a choice of technology to commit our entire economy to? And if we have hearings and ask experts, aren’t they going to push the technology that pays them? In reality if the government gets involved in any way it is going to make choices based upon whose congressional district the company developing the subject technology is in and whose vote is needed, not on economic viability or which is truly the best. Just look at the idiotic use of corn to make ethanol the hard way and you get my point. Only the creative destruction of the free market can insure efficient outcomes.
Once again it comes down to the realization on the part of us all that the government is NEVER the best arbiter of what is good for us. We need to learn that lesson and throw out any politician who makes ludicrous promises, and worse, actually tries to keep them. They do much more harm than good.
Posted by Herb Kay on Thursday, August 21, 2008
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