Milwaukee mayor and gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett made statements last Thursday indicating he will create jobs by investing in wind power and other clean energy technologies if elected governor. His words, while benevolent in their intention, follow the same anti-free market beliefs so common in both liberal and neoconservative circles today. Furthermore, this statement is insulting to any informed Wisconsinite or American in general. Current ethanol subsidies in our state are worthless, and the Bush-Obama Solyndra and Beacon Power failures should give us pause before we try to waste taxpayer money so frivolously.
First, we should deny the fallacy that government can create jobs. The government takes from the people through taxes. Anything government creates it must first destroy. Government work requires an input, in this case, money taken from the taxpayers. Any output should not be thought of as a net increase, but rather, a redistribution of funds with a net loss.
Think of the government as an engine. You put in some sort of fuel—tax revenue—and through combustion you get a response. Just like how the second law of thermodynamics shows any engine will not be able to convert all its fuel to useful energy, a government also cannot be perfectly efficient. Therefore, anything the government does with its input will result in the economy experiencing a net loss. We must not forget there is no such thing as a free lunch. Government cannot create jobs out of thin air.
Now let’s look at the practical nature of Barrett’s statements. I am in no way opposed to clean energy. In fact, I whole-heartedly support energy conservation and the search for cleaner ways to meet our energy needs.
That said, after doing a research project for the Biocore curriculum on Wisconsin’s ethanol subsidies, I have come to the conclusion that investment in this type of energy is in no way cleaner or cheaper. My research found that after corn processing and transportation costs are accounted for, using and creating ethanol is more costly and emits nearly 57 percent more carbon dioxide than using pure gasoline in automobiles. The only beneficiaries of Wisconsin ethanol subsidies are farmers. Mother Nature and the rest of Wisconsin residents lose out.
At the national level, investments in alternative energies cannot have failed more resoundingly. The Solyndra loan scandal wasted hundreds of millions of dollars of tax-payer money and was widely reported on throughout the last year. Investment in that company seemed like a good idea because their solar panel technology was supposedly more versatile than other solar panels, allowing for application on a wider range of roofs. However, its business model was largely dependent on the silicon market, and when silicon prices fell, Solyndra was unable to compete with other solar panel companies and was forced to file for bankruptcy. Another federally sponsored company, Beacon Power, also went bankrupt and cost the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. Their technology also seemed innovative, in that they created a more efficient storage and injection process of energy when demand rises and drops. However, its technology is not profitable either.
The private sector has been more successful in the provision of alternative energies. While solar and wind technologies are still in their infant stages, states like Texas have been very successful in farm implementation. Currently, Texas gets around 7 percent of its total energy consumption from wind power alone. Wisconsin currently has over 75 companies in the wind turbine supply chain, which all exist with little to no government subsidies.
With increasing prices at the pumps and data indicating that global warming is a result of a human fossil fuel addiction, alternative energy will increasingly become necessary. Government should not and cannot be the impetus for this change. Just because statements like Barrett’s garner emotional approval, we must remind ourselves to be guided by practicality and logic.
Steven Nemcek is a sophomore majoring in biochemistry and political science. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
