Tim Worstall writes:
This is one of those great moments in stupidity over trade policy... The US governments, at both Federal and State level, are going all out to subsidise the installation of solar panels. Given the worries over climate change this might seem sensible enough. For the problem is that solar PV is still more expensive than juice taken straight from the grid in most places. So there’s not enough substitution from coal derived electricity to non-emitting solar. Given this massive expenditure it really is an action of the highest idiocy to then slap import tariffs on people who can provide those solar panels more cheaply.
Don't forget Tim that we subsidize the oil and natural gas industry with our military. The Seven Sisters couldn't get their oil out of Nigeria, Iraq, Venezuela, Ukraine, or even Mexico for that matter if we didn't run all out wars against them. Only an ignorant fool can deny that our military is almost completely designed to protect the interests of the oligarchy that run this country.
He goes on to say:
Further, assuming that you already agree with the ideas behind climate change and the desires to do something about it, we would like to encourage the move away from fossil fuels and over to renewables. Obviously, the cheaper those renewables are the greater the encouragement to make the move. So, to this end the US government, at the various different levels of it, provides subsidies to households to install such solar panels. There’s also low cost loans and guarantees to manufacturers (Solyndra anyone?). And various policies that insist that utilities must source some of their electricity, at higher than normal prices, from renewables based generators.Just getting things as cheap as possible is a dumb idea too. We've seen what Walmart does to our own local economies with their tax breaks and economies of scale and White House support. We need to make more things in America and not just derivatives, weapons of mass destruction and so forth. We need to produce and invest more in sustainable goods that have a shelf life of more than 3 weeks. Oh, and a Carbon Tax is another bankster idea related to UN Agenda 21, the Rockefellers, the Rothschilds, and the British Crown. It's part and parcel with the global warming nonsense.
Whether those are all the correct policies or not is another matter (I favour imposing a carbon tax and that’s the end of it). But there is most certainly a large amount of money being expended on increasing the take up of solar panels.
He wraps up by saying:
This is just nuts. If people want to offer us free money the correct response is to say “Thank you, come again”.Come on Tim. Nothing is free. You should know that by now.
Below is my comment on the Forbes website. Let's see if they take it down because I mention the Council on Foreign Relations.
Tim,
I think this is a GREAT STEP FORWARD! The USA needs protectionism after YEARS of hollowing out our industries to the globalist profits. We've given China every opportunity to take over the world and soon they will, but perhaps we can build a decent solar industry with REAL JOBS right here in the USA.
This doesn't need to be a response to the man-made climate change nonsense being spread by the very same bankster globalists that run the media - I am of course referring to the Council on Foreign Relations - the Big Club that dominates EVERY SINGLE ADMINISTRATION since Woodrow Wilson.
Tariffs on China's heavily subsidized solar industry is a good thing IF it stimulates domestic production and residential, government, military, and commercial consumption continues to grow.
This is a VERY POSITIVE move to reduce demand for nuclear which is a complete disaster, for natural gas which is overstated and has horrible environmental impacts vis a vis fracking, and for foreign oil, which requires WAR!
What I can't figure out is how we got this through without BigOil and the CFR from interfering. There must be something else, some hidden agenda, some kickbacks, or long term plan to rip it out - or the CFR intends for this to simply escalate the currency and trade wars with China as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization becomes a force of its own.
If I had my druthers, we would be taking advantage of the latest Farm Bill provisions that allows for research into industrial hemp. Perhaps we could make solar panels from American grown hemp in the future!