Playing costly games with energy resources

[Geee]

Washington Times:

The first few months of President Obama’s second term have provided plenty of evidence of his disconnect from basic economics — and his planned policies promise more of the same. Take, for example, his reference to a proposed Energy Security Trust in his 2013 State of the Union Address. This trust would encourage research and innovation in green technologies while moving the nation’s energy resources away from fossil fuels. Who would you logically think should pay for this fund? Perhaps those who would benefit most from the transition to non-traditional fuels? Think again.

Under the proposal, the oil and natural-gas industry will shoulder the funding burden.

In addition to looking to oil and natural gas to fund the Energy Security Trust, the White House is proposing to eliminate long-held tax deductions for the industry. These deductions are similar to tax deductions provided for other industries, and are in no way “subsidies” as often misidentified. This is not part of a comprehensive tax overhaul, which the oil and natural-gas industry would welcome. Rather, it is a singling out of a particular industry — one that has been a rare economic bright spot in the last few years and has, in large part, helped keep this country afloat. Yet the administration apparently thinks that now is the right time to discourage future investment in American jobs, drive companies to explore for energy overseas and, ultimately, hurt consumers by increasing taxes on the industry.