OPINION:
The political version of the story about the preacher caught in the brothel is the politician who tells everyone about how much he or she cares for the common man, but whose actions make their lives much worse. Lower-income people spend a much higher percentage of their income on food and fuel — so the tax of inflation is particularly cruel on them — but many in the political class appear not to care.
Climate czar, former senator and presidential candidate John Kerry recently said something to the effect that “climate crisis” is much more important than concerns about the war in Ukraine or inflation. Mr. Kerry is very rich and only travels in private jets, yet may not know how to operate a gas station pump or bag his own groceries. But never mind the fact that the “climate crisis” to date has increased crop yields because of the increase in CO2 and longer growing season, and reduced cold-weather-induced mortality. It is a long-term, not a short-term problem. But right now, tens of thousands are being killed in Ukraine, and the rise in energy costs will cause serious health effects for millions.
If one listens to the “green lobby,” it is easy to conclude that the lives they care about saving are people who may be alive a hundred years from now, while the rest of us are dispensable because our mere existence harms the environment.
The Biden administration has deliberately reduced the supply of oil and gas. As brain-dead as they are, they know their actions increase the price of energy, hurting the very people they claim to care most about. A new poll shows that only 26% of Hispanics (who were assumed to be reliable Democrat voters) now support Mr. Biden. This shift in political alliance is not surprising given that on average Hispanics have lower incomes, and thus suffer most from inflation. Most hold traditional values, causing many in the political class to treat them with disdain.
California (of course) is now seeking to prohibit new gasoline or diesel cars by 2035. Sounds wonderful if you hate fossil fuels. But there may be a few problems.
There are too few electric charging stations even for the limited number of electric vehicles on the road. Who is going to build all of the necessary charging stations so that almost everyone has access to them when they need them? If one does happen to inadvertently run out of power in the middle of the desert, how is the car going to be recharged — given that it will no longer be as simple as getting a can of gas to get to the nearest station?
The California electric power utilities will have to engage in a massive expansion to satisfy all the new demand. Yet, the “greens” oppose unsightly power lines, nuclear power, hydro-requiring new dams, and gas and oil-powered electric plants. What’s left are windmills and solar farms.
Windmills are ugly, noisy and kill perhaps a million birds and bats each year (not nice). They require the wind to blow fast enough to turn the blades but not too fast to damage the equipment, and the wind often does not blow at the time of greatest electricity demand. Windmills also require a vast amount of land on high ridges or hills, destroying natural vistas. Other than those downsides, Mr. Kerry, windmills are just fine!
Solar farms also require a vast amount of land. They do produce reasonable amounts of electricity at midday at low latitudes on sunny days. But the electricity has to be stored to meet demand surges, nights and cloudy days. Storage batteries are very costly, have short-life times and need to be replaced every few years.
At the moment, many of the components in the wind and solar systems are made in China and other less than reliable countries. Also, there will need to be a great increase in mining special-use metals (with all the polluting side effects), and backup from traditional energy sources will still be needed — oh, well, nothing is simple.
Those who demand that every oil and gas well be shut down appear to have also overlooked the fact that many of the most important fertilizers are made from natural gas. Without plentiful low-cost fertilizers, food output will decline and food prices will soar. The mere threat that Russia will no longer be producing and selling fertilizer to the rest of the world has caused near panic among some food producers and food-importing nations.
To keep the common man from acting freely, the government — the instrument of the political class — engages in endless coercion, mainly through regulation and taxation, rather than gentle persuasion. H.L. Mencken said it best: “The kind of man who demands that government enforce his ideas is always the kind whose ideas are idiotic.”
Those who rule by coercion rather than reason almost always show their hand when gaining even a little power, by trying to shut down free speech and the right to defend oneself. The good news is that when people have had enough, they rebel. In Democratic countries, they most often do this at the ballot box where they periodically throw the rascals out. In non-Democratic countries, watch out!
• Richard W. Rahn is chair of the Institute for Global Economic Growth and MCon LLC.
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