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Written by David Strom
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Thursday, 10 April 2008 00:00 |
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Yesterday the Minnesota Free Market Institute, Minnesota Majority, The American Property Coalition held a press conference critical of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG) recommendations. David Strom, president of the Minnesota Free Market Institute, says that analysis shows the climate change group's report is seriously flawed. It doesn't provide a cost-benefit analysis of proposed actions, and doesn't back up estimates of costs and savings with real data.
"Essentially, their proposal is a fantasy. It has no correlation to the trends that we actually see,. They assume electricity consumption's going to go down when it's going up, 1.5 percent a year. They assume that our biofuel use will go up 35 percent. They did no study that indicated that we even have the capacity in terms of agricultural production to do that, and they don't know whether that's going to ruin the soil. Looking at this report, we came to the conclusion that it simply ignored reality."
More press coverage --
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Policy Memo
April, 2008
How Reasonable are the Recommendations of Minnesota’s Climate Change Advisory Group?
by David Strom, President Minnesota Free Market Institute
Download full report in pdf format
Executive Summary
The report of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG) recommends a wide range of policies to achieve the goals set out in the Next Generation Energy Act of 2007. Even the most cursory examination of the report reveals glaring weaknesses. The report overstates the costs of CO2 emissions, overstates the benefits of reduction measures, understates the costs and difficulties of remediation measures, and calls for actions that are directly at odds with Minnesota's recently adopted transportation policies.
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Written by Craig Westover
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Friday, 04 April 2008 14:26 |
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Back in the days when grammar, not global warming, was taught in public schools, we learned that some adjectives can't be modified. "Unique," for example. Either something's unique — that is, one of a kind — or it isn't.
"Essential" is another. Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, the chief House sponsor of the bonding bill, must have missed class the day they taught grammar; she most certainly missed the day they taught economics. Everything you need to know about bad bonding policy, you can learn from Alice Hausman.
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Written by David Strom
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Thursday, 03 April 2008 12:14 |
This was article was originally published at townhall.com. Comments welcome there.
As Congress rakes oil executives over the coals over their profits, I detect the very faint sound of millions of the world’s smallest violins playing. After all, who is in the mood to feel sorry for oil company executives, given the pain we all feel when we fill up at the pump? No politician has ever been hurt by going after the big profits of oil companies, and it is unlikely that any ever will.
The truth is that oil companies have a lot less control over their profits than most of us think. The main component in the price of gasoline is the world price of crude oil, which has skyrocketed in recent years. And however large the profit numbers appear to us, the oil companies’ return on investment is small compared to banking, making computer chips, or even bottling Coca Cola.
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Written by Craig Westover
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Tuesday, 01 April 2008 12:24 |
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MPR’s Bob Collins makes an interesting observation about Rep. Michele Bachmann’s bill, "Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act," which seeks to repeal the nationwide phase-out of conventional light bulbs in favor of compact flourescent lights (CFLs).
In the last couple of days, the entire pre-ordained world of politics has been turned upside down following word of Rep. Michele Bachmann's filing of a bill to delay the phase-out of the manufacture of incandescent bulbs.
Republicans and conservatives are arguing against the environmental impact of CFL, while traditional Democratic and liberal constituencies are saying, "it's not that bad." Down is up. Up is down.
What Collins observes is what happens when people view partisanship as a menu – that being a Republican and a conservative requires a pre-defined position on issues and being a Democrat and a liberal requires the opposite position. And indeed, most Republicans, conservatives, Democrats and liberals would agree with that view. But it’s wrong.
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Written by David Strom
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Friday, 28 March 2008 15:12 |
This column was also published at townhall.com
Americans are justly worried about the long-term economic effects of the current mortgage crisis and the credit crunch that has resulted from it. Politicians are scrambling to reassure voters that everything is under control, or that at least they have a plan to deal with the crisis.
Yet the size of the current economic problems we face is dwarfed by the coming disaster that politicians of all stripes are ignoring. Barring any serious shocks to the financial system, the tools that the Federal Reserve is using (and inventing) will likely mitigate the harm to the overall economy. Unfortunately the looming fiscal crisis we face will not be so easily dealt with.
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