Over at the Future of Freeom Foundation Sheldon Richman exposes the hypocrisy of George Bush’s
rhetoric on free markets and capitalism. In an earlier post I alluded
to George Bush’s willingness to continue the government’s war on
Americans who use gasoline by calling for an increase in the Corporate
Average Fuel Economy standard. Like other wars this one also has a
death toll (see my earlier post).
Sheldon delves further into the new Bush plan? to to be our
energy nanny by subsidizing “good” energy consumers and penalizing
“bad” ones. Here is a taste of Sheldon’s commentary on what I think is
best referred to as energy corporate socialism.

” Look at what
[Bush] said about energy: ‘It?s in our vital interest to diversify
America?s energy supply…We must continue changing the way America
generates electric power, by even greater use of clean coal technology,
solar and wind energy, and clean, safe nuclear power. We need to press
on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles, and expand
the use of clean diesel vehicles and biodiesel fuel. We must continue
investing in new methods of producing ethanol ? using everything from
wood chips to grasses, to agricultural wastes.’

If he were the
CEO of an energy company that might sound appropriate. But he
represents himself as a believer in free enterprise and limited
government. So what gives? Could an out-and-out statist have any
problem with that? It has ?government activism? written all over
it.??I ask Congress,? he continued, ?to join me in pursuing a
great goal. Let us build on the work we?ve done and reduce gasoline
usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years…. To
reach this goal, we must increase the supply of alternative fuels, by
setting a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion gallons of
renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 ? and that is nearly five times
the current target. At the same time, we need to reform and modernize
fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks ? and
conserve up to 8.5 billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017.??

I
submit that how much gasoline we use is no business of the government.
Nor should it be picking the next source of energy for the marketplace.
Government simply does not have the knowledge required to make that
determination. Only the market process and price system can generate
the information and lead people to make the best choices. Bush sounds
like a run-of-the-mill believer in omnipotent and omniscient
government.”

Word to Sheldon–he is.