Oregon’s biggest problem used to be logging jobs lost from spotted owl lawsuits.
A new sort problem is developing. Green jobs and green programs are going off the rails. Portland recently passed a draconian “Climate Action Plan to reduce CO2 emissions by 80% that has little chance of succeeding by its 2050 deadline.
Read the story from the Oregonian here
The latest news is that the Green Tax breaks aren’t what they were promised to be and taxpayers are getting hosed for a cost 40 times what was voted on:
State lowballed cost of green tax breaks
State officials deliberately underestimated the cost of Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s plan to lure green energy companies to Oregon with big taxpayer subsidies, resulting in a program that cost 40 times more than unsuspecting lawmakers were told, an investigation by The Oregonian shows.
It gets worse. Now tax breaks are being sold in Oregon for less than they are worth.
Read about it here in the Register Guard
The tax credits can be sold, enriching companies that have nothing to do with renewable energy, and the swelling program is a drain on state revenue, critics say.
Here are some examples:
- Peak Sun Silicon, of Millersburg, sold a $3.25 million tax credit to US Bank for $2.18 million.
- Peak Sun also sold a $5.85 million tax credit to two companies: Nordstrom for $2.85 million and Standard Insurance for $2 million.
- Solaicx, of Portland, sold a $9.04 million tax credit to US Bank for $6.05 million.
- SolarWorld, of Hillsboro, sold an $11 million tax credit to Wal-Mart for $7.37 million.
- SolarWorld also sold a $10.96 million tax credit to Flir Systems, of Portland, for $7.34 million.
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Richard,
At least with private enterprise and genuine competition some gas stations would have offered full serve in a rainy state. Banning self-serve seems silly.
Since when are fewer options better?
I need not offer the following admonition (admonition: the act or an instance of telling beforehand of danger or risk):
“Conspiracy theories are the tools of the weak-minded.”
– need I?
(Contrasted with, for instance, the advice to judiciously apply Occam’s Razor; surely one of the most/more useful analyis ‘tools’ one can have at one’s disposal?)
I think I’ll leave it at that.
Reference: The Lure of the Conspiracy Theory
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Re: “Portland recently passed a draconian ‘Climate Action Plan to reduce CO2 emissions by 80%’ that has little chance of succeeding by its 2050 deadline.”
I object to the characterization that the Plan has “little” chance of success by 2050. It has no chance of success, unless we can repeal the laws of physics and the rules of stoichiometry.
_Jim (19:42:34) :
“Conspiracy theories are the tools of the weak-minded.”
Thanks. I had little idea I had such a strong mind.
No, I don’t even care about conspiracies. In fact, they should be completely legal else we are dealing in “thought crimes”.
The “conspiracy”, though shrouded in deliberate mystery (except notice how the Fed has never been audited and strongly resists it), is out in the open.
If you haven’t noticed the big bank bailouts then you have not been paying much attention.
Keep trying. We all have to start somewhere.
… really??
“never been audited”.
Debunked: Myth #6: The Federal Reserve has never been audited.
Brief excerpt (if our host Anthony will allow):
I think we can lay that one to rest.
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“I think we can lay that one to rest.” _Jim
Then it surely won’t mind another one then, should it? This time a full one.
Undaunted by cited fact, our friend from a bizarre parallel universe from across an apparent rift in the time/space continuum electronically scribes:
FWEEEET! (Ref blows whistle)
“Penalty, moving the goal post … 15 yards” (JBS tactic number #323: MTGP in an assertion or during argument while ceding no ‘wrongness’ on the point)
– as you had said previously: “except notice how the Fed has never been audited”
I don’t sense a great degree of sincerity in this ruse of yours, so, I can’t really engage in the level of sparring that is warranted (its a ‘don’t wrestle with pigs kinda thing)
But I will continue on to say that audits are, and have been (as was shown above) and will continue to be a part of the process … witness, from ‘the fed’ itself:
From: http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/faq/faqfrs.htm#9
Have you and your friends from across the warp in the space/time continuum checked into this “Federal Banking Agency Audit Act” (in, um, your time and space continuum that is)? Is it applicable for what you are harping on about?
Have any of you guys read, inspected, perused or even shown to your two, three or four eyeballs (in your parallel universe) the referenced ‘Fed’ audit reports?
How come you guys (never doing any research it appears, aside from constant searches and re-seaches of the same old worn conspiracy-laden websites like lewrockwell, infowars and RonPaul.com) have never come across this information that I found in just a few minutes of searching LEGITIMATE web sites?
And finally, I have to say – you have to see our (or at least my) point or side of this issue – We can’t help but wonder out here, those of us living outside the ‘bubble’ of narrow (uninformed?) populist ideas, as we are questioning your, um, how can I say this gently, your sane-ness (your sanity?) just a little bit on these matters given actual fact and law on this subject.
Apologies beforehand for having to trouble the mods and Anthony with this material.
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“I don’t sense a great degree of sincerity in this ruse of yours, so, I can’t really engage in the level of sparring that is warranted (its a ‘don’t wrestle with pigs kinda thing)”_Jim
Oh Jimmy. What is your interest in protecting the head (the Fed) of the banking cartel?
Like all fractional reserve banks I would bet that the Fed is honest to fractions of a penny in its inherently dishonest craft.
Sincerity? The Fed caused the Great Depression as Ben Bernanke admitted. That in turn, along with Fed financed US entry into WWI, caused WWII which killed 50 – 80 million. Also, the Great Depression gave major impetus to the socialism that has and is destroying the US.
““Penalty, moving the goal post … 15 yards” (JBS tactic number #323: MTGP in an assertion or during argument while ceding no ‘wrongness’ on the point)” _Jimmy
Good catch but a mere technically. Let the Fed now submit to a full audit. If it has done nothing wrong then what does it have to hide? (Don’t plead privacy, it has government privilege)
Actually, an audit of the Fed is a side issue and not really my cause. Abolish legal tender laws and the free market will eat the Fed, the dollar, and fractional reserve banking alive. And it won’t need gold or silver to do it.
“How come you guys (never doing any research it appears, aside from constant searches and re-seaches of the same old worn conspiracy-laden websites like lewrockwell, infowars and RonPaul.com) have never come across this information that I found in just a few minutes of searching LEGITIMATE web sites?” _Jim
On what basis do you assess LEGITIMACY? Government backed fractional reserve banking most recently only goes back to 1913 in the US. The two previous US central banks were destroyed by Jefferson and Andrew Jackson.
Here are some thing I consider legitimate all of which the government backed banking cartel violates:
1. “Thou shall not bear false witness.”
2. “Thou shall not steal.”
3. numerous commands in the Torah against oppressing the poor.
I’d rather be insane than dishonest or oppress the poor, not for survival but for money.
This is what happens when Liberals are in power.
Go ahead, keep electing them.
They’ll make you poor, and put yu on welfare so you are dependent on them.
The Oregonian article was having me slap my head in disbelief. It sounds like the same techniques that are used to show negative effects of increased CO2: Fudge the numbers.
According to documents obtained under Oregon’s public records law, agency officials estimated in a Nov. 16, 2006, spreadsheet that expanding the tax credits would cost taxpayers an additional $13 million in 2007-09. But after a series of scratch-outs and scribbled notes, a new spreadsheet pared the cost to $1.8 million.
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Dave Barker, an analyst who is still with the agency, told The Oregonian that the initial cost estimates started high but got lower after he was told by his superiors to plug in smaller figures.
Uh…yeah, that’s what happens when you lower item costs…the total decreases (duh!), unless of course what you’re lowering is an inverse relationship.
“What I would hear pretty consistently was, ‘We want to keep it conservative,'” Barker said.
Uh…yeah, that’s a euphemism for “Let’s dishonestly lowball it and hope nobody notices.” I don’t know if this Barker guy is trying to put one over on the Oregonian, or if he’s just a sap. Sheesh. The way they pull a snow job! I swear, these people in the government there could pass for Enron and WorldCom executives. The difference is they never go to jail for it.