(46 quotes found)
“If those technologies have economic merit, no subsidy is necessary.”
Jerry Taylor
“To the casual observer, one of the most striking things about President Bush's State of the Union address was his wholesale adaptation of the Democratic Party's rhetoric regarding energy. Veterans on all sides of the energy debate in Washington cannot fail to detect a strong whiff of political cynicism in the air.”
“If those technologies have economic merit, no subsidy is necessary. If they don't, no subsidy will provide it. Those subsidies have failed to produce economic energy in the past, and there is little reason to expect that they will do so in the future.”
“We seem to have economic amnesia. Decisions about what sort of technologies to invest in, what fuels to produce and in what quantity are best made by consumers and business, and not by politicians.”
“It's possible, but that kind of reduction doesn't protect us from supply disruption. If we don't import oil from Iran, if they removed themselves from the market, it would increase crude prices regardless of where we're getting our oil.”
“The goal of reducing Middle East imports is a meaningless goal.”
“The president offered bracing new rhetoric about where he would like to take energy policy in the coming year, but he suggested little more than a bit more money for the same old programs that have failed in the past. It's the political equivalent of the triumph of hope over experience.”
“It's not the government's job to design automobiles. Also, there's a great deal of unrealistic expectation about what fuel-efficient cars can do. If the government really wants to secure reduction in oil consumption for cars, it should just leave gas prices alone. With enough time, consumers will reduce their consumption in response to higher costs.”
“Clearly politicians are better off when they are handing sack-loads of loot to farmers. If you're interested in the 2008 elections, ethanol is surely going to interest you.”
“This is less about Americans' addiction to oil than to Republican politicians' addiction to polls. The rhetoric is bracing but the proposals are mercifully trivial.”
