WASHINGTON – In response to news that the tax compromise package the Senate will vote on Monday afternoon includes an extension of the 1603 grant program for certain renewable energy sources which originated in the stimulus and an extension of the ethanol tax credit, Institute for Energy Research President Thomas J. Pyle released the following statement:
“Despite the loud, clear message the American people sent to their elected representatives this past November, it seems the lame-duck Senate is insistent on keeping politics as usual. These subsidies are nothing more than a way for politicians to funnel special interest payoffs of hard-earned taxpayer dollars to companies that wouldn’t exist in the market absent massive government handouts. Thanks to Washington’s business-as-usual attitude, taxpayers will continue to pay through the nose for the excesses of Washington. You’d think a good shellacking at the polls would have sent a message, but after this news, one thing is clear: Washington hasn’t learned a thing.
Ethanol tax credits and renewable energy grants are among the worst government programs ever conceived. As we have seen in countless examples around the world, policies that promote the green economy myth achieve nothing but increased government spending and higher energy prices for consumers.”
