Posted on Sunday 29 July 2007
The U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on the Renewable Portfolio Standard next week. What’s that you may ask, well its a standard set by the Federal Government that requires a certain amount of energy be derived from renewable sources. Sounds good to me. But wait how is this paid for, oh yeah that’s right, its a subsidy to renewable technologies, paid for by taxes.
Now don’t get me wrong I fully support renewable energy, but why should I pay for someone else’s moral preference. If someone wants to pay more for their electricity, since renewables cost more, then I fully support that choice. Or better yet, they can pay for energy saving technologies or simply turn off their lights and electronics. We all make certain choices in our life that reflect our moral preferences. The issue I take up with, is someone enforcing their morals on me, by requiring that I pay for renewable energy by federally supported subsidies, which get paid for by the taxes taken from me.
If someone wants to support renewable technologies, then send a few bucks to a company developing those technologies. Or ,in some states you have the ability to select on your bill that your energy comes from renewables, so do that and pay the premium associated with such a choice. Do this instead of calling your representative to request that they pass the a national Renewable Portfolio Standard. Let others create their own morals and make their own decisions. And if you don’t like the decisions that make then convince them of why a different decision is better, don’t force them to do so through subsidies paid with taxes.
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