Absurd Thinking

George Stephanopoulos interviewed Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and continued his push for higher taxes on energy. From This Week with George Stephanopoulos:

George Stephanopoulos: “You were Secretary of Energy. Energy independence, as you say, is going to be one of the number one issues in the campaign. And you've talked about alternative energy. But isn't it going to take real sacrifice, real cutbacks in consumption if we're going to be energy independent?”
Governor Bill Richardson: “If we're going to be energy independent, it's going to take a man on the moon effort. It's not going to be a little energy bill here and there. The President and the American people, he has to inspire the American people to conserve, to find ways to sacrifice, together to invest in renewable technologies. Sixty-five percent of our oil is imported, 65, with dangerous sources that right now could hurt us. We have to reduce that within a period of 15 years to ten percent by massive investments in solar, wind, bio-mass, fuel efficiency, distributed generation, ethanol. We've got to find ways to reduce that dependency and it's going to take the American people, it's going to take more efficient air conditioning, it's going to take green buildings, it's going to take fuel-efficient vehicles-”

Stephanopoulos: “Higher gas taxes?”

Richardson: “-It's going to be a collaborative effort. No, you don't have to do it with taxes. You need a conservation effort that every American participates in, inspired by the President.”

Stephanopoulos: “But aren't higher energy taxes the best way to get people to conserve?”

Richardson: “No, that's not, I believe, realistic. I believe what is needed is public and private investment in renewable sources. I think we can do that with technology. I've done it in New Mexico.”

A few things stand out here, at least to me anyway. A journalist shrilling for higher taxes, a technique oft used by Democrats. Who would face the higher taxes? Sure we could force taxes on Big Oil, but what are they going to do in order to make up for lost revenue? Increase the price of oil. If the tax is put directly on the pump, will it still be Big Oil to blame for rising gas prices or will the American people see that it is really Big Government? Back shortly after Katrina hit, gas prices were extremely high and everyone blamed Bush and Big Oil, but what was not mentioned is that more money goes to the government than Big Oil in that price of gas per gallon by way of tax. So to put it in context here, ole, Stephanopoulos wants to increase that in order to keep you the American people from driving. He is coming out on TV and saying, not even trying to hide his love for Big Government.
The next thing that stands out is a Dem actually calling for private investment and not government to pick up the tab on research and development. Now, I agree that we are to be stewards of the land and take care of what we have been given. But to say that we are destroying the earth and that man is the worst thing to happen to the environment, is something that I can't follow. Take the Kyoto Treaty, a treaty that was struck down in the Senate, and even though much of Europe signed on, fail to meet the minimum standards set by the treaty. China, the worst country to date for pollution, isn't even mentioned in the treaty. So would higher taxes work? Only in the mind of a liberal.