Kansas Senator Jerry Moran wants to pick losers in the market: His choice is big wind

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In Kansas, we have a lot of wind — no doubt about that. But the economics of wind as a source of electricity generation is another matter. There’s a split in Kansas over this. On one side are Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, who has been vocal in his support of wind power, along with Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, who has been busy promoting Wichita as a site for wind energy-related industry. Now we see Kansas’ newest U.S. Senator Jerry Moran jumping in to promote the wind power subsidy program. Contrast this with U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo of Wichita, who has introduced legislation to end all tax credits related to energy production. It’s important to remember that the government subsidy program for wind power is in the form of tax credits, which are equivalent to grants by the government. The term “tax expenditures” is starting to see widespread usage to accurately describe the economic effect of tax credits.

Senator Jerry Moran wants to pick losers in the market: His choice is big wind

By Daniel Horowitz

If I were pressed to offer one anecdote exemplifying our failure to elect consistent conservatives to Congress last November, the story of Senator Jerry Moran and Big Wind would be at the top of the list.

In 2010, then-Congressman Jerry Moran beat former Congressman Todd Tiahrt for the Republican nomination for Senate in Kansas running as a red meat conservative. He easily won the seat in this solid Republican state and summarily joined the ‘Tea Party Caucus’ in the Senate. Nothing emblematizes the convictions of the Tea Party more than its fervent opposition to special interest handouts and government interventions in the private sector as a way of picking winners and losers. Yet, Senator Moran let the cat out of the bag last week that he has absolutely no compunction about picking winners and losers, or in the case of Big Wind, big losers.

Last week, Senator Moran announced that he is submitting an amendment to the terrible Senate highway bill (S.1813) that would extend the 2.2 cent/ per kilowatt-hour Production Tax Credit (PTC) for another 4 years. This special interest handout to Solar and Wind is slated to expire at the end of the year. What happened to Moran’s Tea Party views? Well, he unabashedly threw them under the solar-powered bus:

Asked about opposition to extending the credit expressed by Rep. Mike Pompeo of Wichita, Moran said: “There are members of Congress who feel we ought not to pick winners and losers, to let the markets decided. I believe it’s better to get this industry up and running, then let the country decide … rather than pull the rug out overnight.”

Wow! At least he’s honest. I wish we had known that before the election.

The PTC is the corporate version of the Earned Income Credit for green energy. It is among 51 ‘tax extenders’ that have either expired last December or are slated to expire this December. The PTC offers a 2.2 cent/per kilowatt-hour refundable credit for wind, solar, or geothermal. According to the Heritage Foundation, if the oil industry received a commensurate subsidy, they would get a $30 check for every barrel produced.

Headed into the November elections, one of our most potent and popular arguments we have is to paint the Democrats with the Solyndra economy — an economy where the government intervenes to pick winners and losers, at the detriment of consumers and taxpayers. How can we effectively articulate an alternative free-market vision when we have a member of “the Tea Party Caucus” supporting Obama’s policy of picking losers in the energy sector? Talk about pale pastels!

Folks, this is not how we win elections. Moreover, this type of special interest peddling — from energy subsidies to farm welfare — creates dependency in some of the reddest states. This is not a winning message for the future of conservatism, especially when it emanates from such a Republican state.

There is a better way. Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-KS) introduced legislation (HR 3308) to sunset all targeted energy tax credits and grants, including those for fossil fuels and nuclear power. The bill would use the savings from the repeal of these credits (roughly $90 billion over ten years) to lower the corporate tax rate on everyone. Senator DeMint has introduced a companion bill in the Senate (S.2064).

Every member of Congress who seeks a clean break from a centrally-planned Solyndra economy must cosponsor this bill. Additionally, as we look for more congressional candidates to endorse, it is these issues — energy and farm subsidies — that will separate the men from the boys. We must fight this election by offering voters a choice, not an echo.

Cross-posted from The Madison Project

Comments

8 responses to “Kansas Senator Jerry Moran wants to pick losers in the market: His choice is big wind”

  1. Ah but Daniel, we did know, at least some of us knew. Back during the tanker debacle Rep. Tihart did everything he could to level the playing field, not get Boeing the contract. He found it simply unfair that the Air Force changed the path in favor of Air Bus and that Boeing did not get to compete head to head. What did Moran do? Nothing, not a single blessed thing. He is a RINO, he’s always been a RINO and will always be a RINO. Unfortunately for Kansas some of us were not paying close attention.

  2. Anonymous

    Who in their right mind would not want renewable energy sources to ‘win’?

  3. Shawnmytoe

    Tiahrt did a good job, but I don’t think that calling Sen. Moran names solves any problems. How come Tiahrt was not able to keep Boeing in town? He should have known what Boeing had planned after all he was their employee and now continues to receive payments from them. Tiahrt may be the only Boeing employee left in Wichita in 2013. If you live in a glass house do not throw stones!

  4. sheila

    Moran is a RINO. About one quarter of every Republican in Kansas IS! They know it’s better to call yourself a Republican to get in and then give the public the horn, so to speak.
    You can spot many rinos around Salina and Emporia. They’re are easy to spot. Their lips are flapping about wind energy subsidies and smoking bans. Real pious looking. THey want to help “save” us by taking away every property right and freedom we fought for, for our “own good”, of course!

  5. Tito

    I can’t believe that Tiahrt is taking money from Boeing while the employees are being let go. Boeing betrayed our community.

  6. Smitty

    I wonder how Sen. Demint feels about endorsing Moran over Tiahrt now. I think blaming Todd for Boing leaving is a reach. He wasn’t in office and absolutely no power over the situation. Just because he is working as a consultant for them doesn’t mean a damn thing. He has voiced his anger about the situation, and was the driving force behind getting them the contract in the first place, and insisted on a commitment. He
    is as angry as anyone, and I am quite sure they didn’t consult with him on the matter.

  7. Smitty

    Are all the machine shops doing work for Boeing or Spirit for that matter, also wrong for taking Boeing money? I think not.

  8. Ann H.

    I was really disappointed to see this coming from Senator Moran.

    To Anonymous: renewable energy sources will “win” if they can compete in the free market. Anything that “needs” subsidies to stay alive is usually a non-viable loser. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t need so much “help” (involuntary “help” that taxpayers are forced to give whether they like it or not).

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