While on my way to the Western Economics Association meetings this year (sitting in the airport ready to visit Vancouver for the first time in 14 years), I run across this statement from our president courtesy PowerLine:

The list goes on and on, but the point is this: this legislation will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy.

Note the definite article "the". It makes one type of energy at the expense of another. And how does it propose to do this? He's already told us once.

So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can � it�s just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that�s being emitted.

That was January 2008. As of last week energy experts were determining the likelihood that cap-and-trade will favor natural gas over coal. This government is engaged in picking winners, an industrial policy that more and more represents the second Carter Administration. That didn't turn out so well, as I recall.

But 25 senators (soon 26) represent states that produce more than average amount of energy from coal sources. If we can't rely on the sensible economic advice that Obama supposedly is receiving -- perhaps not listening -- maybe we can appeal to those who have used government to give their states something in the past to oppose having it taken away now.

Thanks to President Ford for the title to this post.

Labels: economics, Energy, Obama