(06-07-2009 07:27 PM)JOwl Wrote:  Oh, I'm with you 100%. If we stopped subsidizing US oil interests (the biggest being the $700 billion spent in Iraq) and instead put that money toward building out alternative energy supplies, we'd be so unbelievably better off in so many ways that it almost makes me want to cry (not the least of the ways we'd be better off being the salutary impact on our national security situation if we didn't feel compelled to meddle in the Middle East).

But my discussion was limited to the photovoltaic industry. I think the renewable energy subsidies there are more than enough to offset uncertainty surrounding future tax law.

If we were to stop subsidizing US oil interests, the effect would be to raise the price of gasoline, affecting just about everybody and every business. Also, it would cost a lot of jobs, in the oil industry and associated businesses. What do you think would happen to Government Motors if we did that?

It is like dieting. You don't just go on a crash diet to lose 30 pounds in three weeks. It must be done gradually. If you remove subsidies over 15-30 years, and at the same time develop these alternate sources, fine. But I get the sense you want to stop them all tomorrow.

Please clarify - are you saying the Iraq War was fought in order to subsidize the American oil industry?