Schwarzenegger Charms and Demonizes Big Oil — But Short Changes California’s Ratepayers and Economy
Commentary by Dave Harbour
We urge our NGP readers who have California friends to recommend a ‘yes’ vote TOMORROW for Proposition 23 that would delay implementation of AB 32. We offer this advice after listening to others.
1. First, listen to California’s current governor espouse — in his own words — a philosophy designed to bring a great state to her knees. Click here and advance the presentation to minute 16:32. As I sat in that Sacramento meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners last July 21, I was amazed in two ways: a) that my longtime movie hero, Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger (NGP Photo) would so demonize the wealth and job creating oil industry, and b) that some regulatory commissioners in the room laughed and applauded as he made fun of oil companies in a deceptively charming and entertaining way. You will hear the Governor embrace fossil-subsidized alternative energy as California’s economic holy grail — while it sinks further into financial malaise and approaches bankruptcy. Schwartzenegger touted the "tremendous economic benefits" of "green energy" industries in spite of the fact that most currently produce uneconomic business models that can only be sustained with massive taxpayer supported grants and onerous laws like AB 32 requiring utility rate payers to pay dramatically increased bills to artificially support "green jobs". It is a simple transfer of wealth from every Californian to an army of prosperous entrepreneurs who have constructed schemes involving government grants and rate payer subsidies with the help of California lawmakers and bureaucrats. Sadly, the Governor refers to, "Greedy oil companies from Texas….." He says they, "…want to come in here and tell us in California what to do so they can sell their oil and continue polluting the world…and send kids to the hospital…. If the special interests push I will push back…," he said. To our California friends, I would ask, "Is this they way you hope to repair your economy? Do you realize that buying Schwartzenegger’s snake oil, purchases for you (as yet) uneconomic industries, during a depression, that transfers wealth from rate payers to entrepreneurs, deprives the treasury of oil industry taxes and royalties in favor of "green industries" that absorb tax dollars and do not pay royalties to the treasury?
2. Second, here is a letter written by oil industry executives representing thousands of employees and support industry employees who responded to Schwarzenegger’s similar oil industry vilification speech to Santa Clara’s Commonwealth Club on September 27th. Listen to his attack on Tesoro and Valero here, for "self serving greed". You will hear the ultimate strategy of convening a 2010 "Governor’s Global Climate Summit" with a goal of establishing an international alliance as a framework for worldwide carbon trading, where, "…everyone can be linked together." Is this really the sort of world (and world government) Californians or Americans or Canadians want to create?
Thanks to our Kenai, Alaska friend, Bob Favretto, we have the Tesoro and Valero response below.
Schwarzenegger Charms and Demonizes Big Oil — But Short Changes California’s Ratepayers and Economy
Commentary by Dave Harbour
We urge our NGP readers who have California friends to recommend a ‘yes’ vote TOMORROW for Proposition 23 that would delay implementation of AB 32. We offer this advice after listening to others.
1. First, listen to California’s current governor espouse — in his own words — a philosophy designed to bring a great state to her knees. Click here and advance the presentation to minute 16:32. As I sat in that Sacramento meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners last July 21, I was amazed in two ways: a) that my longtime movie hero, Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger (NGP Photo) would so demonize the wealth and job creating oil industry, and b) that some regulatory commissioners in the room laughed and applauded as he made fun of oil companies in a deceptively charming and entertaining way. You will hear the Governor embrace fossil-subsidized alternative energy as California’s economic holy grail — while it sinks further into financial malaise and approaches bankruptcy. Schwartzenegger touted the "tremendous economic benefits" of "green energy" industries in spite of the fact that most currently produce uneconomic business models that can only be sustained with massive taxpayer supported grants and onerous laws like AB 32 requiring utility rate payers to pay dramatically increased bills to artificially support "green jobs". It is a simple transfer of wealth from every Californian to an army of prosperous entrepreneurs who have constructed schemes involving government grants and rate payer subsidies with the help of California lawmakers and bureaucrats. Sadly, the Governor refers to, "Greedy oil companies from Texas….." He says they, "…want to come in here and tell us in California what to do so they can sell their oil and continue polluting the world…and send kids to the hospital…. If the special interests push I will push back…," he said. To our California friends, I would ask, "Is this they way you hope to repair your economy? Do you realize that buying Schwartzenegger’s snake oil, purchases for you (as yet) uneconomic industries, during a depression, that transfers wealth from rate payers to entrepreneurs, deprives the treasury of oil industry taxes and royalties in favor of "green industries" that absorb tax dollars and do not pay royalties to the treasury?
2. Second, here is a letter written by oil industry executives representing thousands of employees and support industry employees who responded to Schwarzenegger’s similar oil industry vilification speech to Santa Clara’s Commonwealth Club on September 27th. Listen to his attack on Tesoro and Valero here, for "self serving greed". You will hear the ultimate strategy of convening a 2010 "Governor’s Global Climate Summit" with a goal of establishing an international alliance as a framework for worldwide carbon trading, where, "…everyone can be linked together." Is this really the sort of world (and world government) Californians or Americans or Canadians want to create?
Thanks to our Kenai, Alaska friend, Bob Favretto, we have the Tesoro and Valero response below.
- 1.1 million lost jobs
- $3.7 billion a year in higher fuel costs
- Up to a 60% increase in electricity and natural gas costs
- Up to $50,000 added to the cost of a new home
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