Naturally, the US Senate has a solution to the energy problem.
And, naturally, that solution requires you to purchase some Vaseline and bend over.
With the the concurrence of the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Charles Grassley of Iowa, and others (Gordon Smith of Oregon, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Pat Roberts of Kansas, all Republican), the committee is proposing $29 billion in new taxes on oil companies. The tax is to subsidize wind and solar power, hybrid vehicles and biofuel. The bill calls for a sharp increase in the use “renewables,” including heavily-subsidized ethanol, up from 8.5 billion gallons next year to 36 billion gallons by 2022. And it requires, too, that utilities would be required to buy at least 15 percent of their energy from wind, solar and other “renewable” sources.
Lemmeesee, heah, Gomer. Grassley and Roberts. Iowa and Kansas.
Do I smell Corn-a-Hole lobby?
Just as a reminder:
Ethanol requires more energy to produce than it generates as fuel, to say nothing of the water required for irrigation in areas like drought-stricken South Georgia. It’s subsidized by taxpayers with a 51-cents per gallon tax credit, and it’s subsidized again at the pump with a 54-cents-a-gallon tariff on imported ethanol.
Not to mention that using corn to push cars around causes Mexicans to...oh...not EAT!
So--what's $29Bn in new tax going to cost you?
The legislation “could result in significantly higher prices for gasoline consumers,” according to Heritage Foundation researchers. “A review of S. 1419, including the just-completed section on tax changes, reveals that the bill could increase the price of regular unleaded gasoline from $3.14 per gallon (the early May national average) to $6.40 in 2016 — a 104 percent increase,” write Heritage Foundation researchers William W. Beach and Shanea Watkins.
“Gas consumers can expect to pay between $3.16 and $3.79 a gallon for gas in 2008 after adding in the estimated impact of the Senate energy bill. By 2016, all states can expect gas prices in excess of $6. As a result of S. 1419, consumers would spend an average of $1445 more per year on gasoline in 2016 than in 2008,” they write
No question about it: there are better uses for pitchforks than just shoveling hay...
HT: AnkleBitingPundits
Yes, YOU will have to buy Vasoline since I already cornered the market on KY. But Dad, I'll always be happy to give you the "good guy" rate if you want some of the good stuff.
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