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If these technologies were so promising there would be private capital out there to finance them. The fact that greenies in government have to tax away capital from the private sector to “invest” in these companies shows a lack of faith by investors that these companies are viable. The rash of bankruptcies in DOE backed companies in the last year or two seems to back up the private sectors viewpoint. As for windmills, the ones that used to be scattered throughout the landscape were not paid for by the government and were used for limited purposes. Because a windmill is used to pump water does not make it a good choice for electricity, especially when it requires billions of taxpayer dollars to make it work. As soon as economics, rather than green zeal and rent seeking opportunists, begin to drive the equation, the windmills will be abandoned and become just a visible monument to wishful thinking. For a real life example just google “windmills in Spain.”

As for electric cars, which one does not have a huge government subsidy?



Using that logic we should quit using gasoline immediately because oil companies receive the largest subsidies of any industry ($409 billion in 2010). In March there was a bill to end the oil subsidies. It got 51 votes but it was filibustered.



Right you are Chet, with research subsidies, tax breaks, anti-free market protections, etc., the petroleum industry is indeed heavily subsidized. Not to mention the high cost of militarily protecting the oil rich regions in the Middle East.



First the $409 billion number is subsidies world wide and considering the 13 or 14 largest oil companies are government owned that's not surprising. Actually most large oil companies in the world are nationalized.

In the US the "subsidies" are pretty much agreed, with liberal definitions, to be $4.5 billion in 2010. Of that, $1 billion is IRS SEC 199 investment tax credit given to all US corporations, designed to keep employment in the US. Oil companies take 6%, all other US companies take 9%.

Another $1 billion goes into the Strategic Oil Reserve, the reasons for that are obvious.

Another $1 billion is off road and farm use exemption from petroleum fuel excise taxes. In other words, farmers and construction companies don't pay the "road use' tax at the pump for vehicles not using the roads.

A little over 1/2 billion goes to low income energy assistance. The other $2- billion go to all kinds of efficiency research and different items congress critters and special interest have carved out.

For a minute, let's pretend that all the Middle East problems were solved. Does anyone believe our military would shrink back to pre-WWII size. No, it won't because the world is a dangerous place and it's in the free world's interest to have a modicum of stability. Don't blame big military budgets on big oil, blame it on our allies that free ride, we subsidize their military, their military is us.

Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. H. L. Mencken