The feud between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott has a new participant; Speaker of the Texas House Dade Phelan. On Monday, the Texas Senate did what few have ever witnessed: introducing, referring, hearing, and passing a bill on the same day. The bill requires the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to reverse its…
Category: Corporate Welfare
What the Bible Can Tell Us About the Texas Blackouts
The Bible may not have been the first place you turned to over the last couple of weeks to look for information about the Texas blackouts. This may be in part because some in the church today teach us that the Bible and Christianity are not really appropriate for the public square, that if we…
Will the Texas Renewable Energy Gravy Train Ever Stop?
Wind has dominated Texas’ renewable energy landscape for the last 20 years. However, solar is making a concerted effort to catch up. Utility-scale solar capacity almost doubled in 2020, topping 8,000 gigawatt hours. Texas, which already leads the nation in wind capacity, is moving up the ranks of U.S. states in terms in solar capacity….
Texans’ Liberty is at Risk Through Corporate Cronyism
Economic development means a lot of things to different people. One fairly common definition comes from the International Economic Development Council: “Typically economic development can be described in terms of objectives. These are most commonly described as the creation of jobs and wealth, and the improvement of quality of life.” What it really is, though,…
The Liberty Café 30: Texas Leading the Way in Surrendering to Big Business
Recently filed legislation by highlights Texas’ effort to lead the way on expanding corporate cronyism. This partnership between big government and big business is becoming the greatest threat to liberty we face. On Episode 30 of the Liberty Café, we examine how bad this problem is and where it might take us. Podcast: Play in new…
The Renewable Energy Industry is Stealing Your Money
For the last few decades, the claim from the renewable energy industry was that renewables needed subsidies to catch up to traditional sources of energy such as coal, nuclear, natural gas, and oil. Now the headlines are telling us that wind and solar are cost competitive with traditional sources: Solar and Wind Power So Cheap…
The High Cost of Renewable Energy
Executive Summary Federal, state, and local subsidies for renewable energy are undermining the reliability of the Texas electricity market. And Texans are paying a high price for the privilege of a less reliable market. Since 2006, wind and solar generators in Texas have received about $19.4 billion from taxpayers and consumers. It is estimated they…
Policymakers’ Guide to Corporate Welfare
Conservatives have long questioned whether welfare is the best way to help the least fortunate among us. More recently, the debate has shifted to a different type of welfare. Conservatives today are challenging whether “corporate welfare” achieves its stated goal of boosting economic growth. And, as in the case of traditional welfare, the debate extends…
What Do I Mean by Energy Efficiency? Let Me ‘splain it to You
I liked “I Love Lucy.” One of my favorite things in the show was when Lucy would get in trouble and Ricky would tell her that she had some “‘splaining to do.” A friend and I had a brief discussion on Facebook about energy efficiency. And it reminded me how twisted the definition of ‘efficiency’…
Bilking Americans out of Billions for the False Promise of Renewable Energy
Just in case you are interested, the chart above shows how much money wind generators have bilked from American taxpayers through the federal production tax credit. Fifteen of the largest companies–and their Wall Street investment bankers–have received $19.4 billion. Those companies have a combined market cap of more than $500 billion.