My native South Carolina is host to some early presidential debates this election season. The Democrats gathered at South Carolina State University last Thursday and Republican hopefuls will be at the University of South Carolina on May 15.
Palmetto State Republicans are stirred about about energy. Forty-four GOP state House members and 10 GOP state Senate members recently signed letters urging White House contenders to discuss our nation’s energy future.
A good starting point for this discussion would be Congressman Bob Inglis’s (R-SC4) recent “triple play” metaphor: New low-carbon energy innovations will create US jobs through research, clear our air through reduced pollution, and improve our national security through less oil dependency.
This is a debate worth having, and Palmetto State Republicans are ready to have it. Nearly 80 percent of Republicans in the state believe the government should take steps to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and on the tougher question of whether shifting to cleaner energy will help the economy, 54 percent believe it will, according to polling by my fellow Terra Rossa contributor Whit Ayres.
I also hope our White House hopefuls discuss how they would promote new energy innovations. Here at Terra Rossa we think market-based solutions that take advantage of America’s entrepreneurial can-do spirit are the best approach. Government subsidies and new taxes are staples of the liberal left (evidence CA Democratic Rep. Pete Stark’s new bill and MoveOn.org’s support of a carbon tax). Conservatives can do better than that.
Newt Gingrich recently said Republicans need to adopt a “green conservatism.” I hope the we hear more of smart talk from all our White House hopefuls.
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 at 10:25 am and is filed under Uncategorized . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 3rd, 2007 at 3:16 pm
At the state level, we have some great new legislation coming through that will help spur the private sector to work towards these goals. (actual, honest to God bipartisan legislation that is beneficial to the general population!!! I can die happy now) Even a South Carolina hick such as myself now has access to both the information and financial resources to start my own biodiesel refinery. Come visit us in the Upstate!
May 4th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Step One should be a primary “old time” conservative value; “User pays”. Pay 100% of the costs of highways, roads and streets through gas taxes and tolls. Today they pay 1/3rd or less. Louiisana is talking about taking $100s of millions from the General Fund for new roads today as one small example.
Raise gas taxes, add tolls to interstates and cut property taxes and general taxes that now go to highways, roads and streets. Include state police and property taxes lost to land taken by roads as Step 1B (Railraods pay property taxes on their ROW, why not trucks for a level playing field ?)
That good Republican President Eisenhower originally wanted the Interstate Highway system to be tolled, but his Secretary of Defense talked him out of that. (This SoD was former GM President and famously said “What is good for GM is good for the United States”).
A good overview of road taxation.
http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/publications/gastax.htm
Best Hopes,
Alan
May 4th, 2007 at 7:44 am
Under the current financial set-up, the Dept of Energy cannot afford to replace the oil (just 4 of 11 million barrels) it sold from the SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) after Katrina.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4769698.html
The US is supposed to *DOUBLE* the SPR in the next dozen years. How do we pay for it ?
User pays.
A special SPR gas tax to pay for 750 million more barrels going into dtorage (and replace the 11 million sold during Katrina).
An old conservative dictum. If you want less of something, tax it. If you want more of something, subsidize it.
The government, at all levels, has subsidized auto and truck use for several decades now and we see the result. OTOH, railroads have pretty much “paid their way” (and they use 1/8th the diesel per ton-mile that heavy trucks do).
Best Hopes,
Alan