A Fundamentally Weak Economy, Alternative Energy Mandates and Where Soros is Putting His Money
The White House budget director describes the U.S. economy as “fundamentally…weak.”
Maryland’s governor proposes legislation to require greater use of alternative energy sources.
Billionaire George Soros says the current fiscal crisis challenges the future of the free market system.
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1. ECONOMY
The White House budget director describes the U.S. economy as “fundamentally…weak.”
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on why, in the Obama Era, Washington, D.C. has become recession proof:
“People are suffering across much of the country, but not here in Washington, D.C., where the White House is throwing lavish parties and well-to-do residents are being enriched at taxpayer expense by Obama’s expansion of government. The expected hiring of up to 250,000 new bureaucrats by the Obama Administration is helping to prop up home values in Washington’s inner suburbs, while siphoning money out of less fortunate regions of the country. The bureaucrats’ pay will likely be much better than that of the far-more-numerous private sector employees whose jobs are being lost as a result of Obama’s deficit spending, which will crowd out private investment. Expensive restaurants and producers of luxury goods in Washington, D.C. still seem to have plenty of business.”
2. ENVIRONMENT
Maryland’s governor proposes legislation to require greater use of alternative energy sources.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Energy Policy Analyst William Yeatman on how this policy will raise prices on consumers:
“This January, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley proposed legislation that he promised would fight climate change and ‘grow’ the economy. This week, the state Senate passed the bill, with one of those “Who could disagree with it?” titles the “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act.” If it becomes law, voters will slowly begin to see how reducing Maryland’s carbon footprint also hurts the state’s economic prospects. This isn’t rocket science. It’s basic math. Fighting climate change hurts the economy because almost all acts of economic production are powered by combusting fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), a process that emits greenhouse gases thought to cause global warming. Alternative ‘clean’ energy sources such as wind and solar power are said to be the solution to climate change, but they are much more expensive than fossil fuels. So more clean energy = higher production costs.”
3. BUSINESS
Billionaire George Soros says the current fiscal crisis challenges the future of the free market system.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Steve Milloy on where Soros, long-term funder of global warming alarmism, is putting his money:
“According to a February 17 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, investment funds managed by Soros own more than $112 million worth of stock in Arch Coal and CONSOL Energy — the third and fifth largest coal companies in the U.S. Other SEC filings indicate that Soros began investing in coal during 2008 — hardly an auspicious time for such investment. Not only did the stock values of coal companies fall sharply, but the future of coal use in the U.S. became less certain. Since 2006, climate activists have pressured state regulators to deny permits for 83 coal-fired power plants.”
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