Editor’s Note: The following is the first part in a three-part series by the Energy Alliance, a project of the Texas Business Coalition, examining how the Public Utility Commission of Texas has violated consumer choice and market forces in the Texas electric market. MasterResource presents this analysis as an example of the perils of central planning and government monopoly.
On January 30, the Texas Supreme Court will hear arguments to determine the legality of a 2021 Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) rule that effectively imposed a $26 billion monopoly tax on buyers of electricity during Winter Storm Uri. The lawsuit to overturn the PUC’s decision was filed by electricity generator Luminant and others who lost money because of the PUC’s decision. [1] The Texas Third Court of Appeals found in favor of Luminant, ruling last year that the PUC’s price-setting rule was illegal.…
Continue Reading“Cooke as EV apologist is tied to an economic lemon. Hunkering down in a hole of unreality is not very impressive. But this is the Industrial Climate Complex in action, a data point for a movement that is power-driven, not intellectually curious. And anti-environmental to boot.” (RLB)
Yes, defending electric cars and trucks is pretty hard, with the national media simply reporting that consumers do not like to own or rent battery vehicles, and Mother Nature presenting freeze issues regarding battery performance.
This situation was magnified by a recent snub to a polite invitation to an EV proponent from Benjamin Zycher, senior fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss the pros and cons of EVs at a virtual AEI event. Zycher emailed Dave Cooke, senior vehicles analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists asking him to participate.…
Continue Reading“The late economist Julian Simon offers a cautionary tale for both climate scientists and economists…. His views have stood the test of time relatively well. But he also had strong views on topics that he was not an expert — climate change being a particular example — and on that topic his views have not fared well…. Simon was wrong about global warming….”
On climate change, what is our obligation to future generations? Spring 2022 • Regulation By David Levine
This article starts with Greta Thunberg, assumes a negative externality of untold proportion, and ends with the assertion that Julian Simon being wrong on climate change because “he was not an expert.”
And the article pretends to be objective, fair, and impartial.
Things have gotten intellectually sick at the Cato Institute.…
Continue Reading