The partisan brawl over cutting the deficit soon will come to a temporary end. By Aug. 2, Congress must strike a deal to cut government spending to ensure our government does not default on its debt. Although it will be a rare and important policy achievement, there is much more work to be done to get people back to work.
What will be left from any such deal is a government that might be solvent but whose future is tied to an economy that has been slow to recover. After exhausting all past fiscal and monetary options, lawmakers will need to debate how to grow our economy with increasingly limited public resources. Under such circumstances, I believe the best course of action is to pass comprehensive energy legislation.
Given the dual realities of divided government and the need for energy security, it will have to be a bipartisan plan that produces realistic energy solutions. I see three components in any such deal:
Drilling for natural gas
Drilling is the most effective energy transition we can make for at least two important reasons. First, drilling for natural gas at home immediately will protect working families and business from spikes in gasoline prices due to instability in the Middle East. Second, large trucks and airplanes are not going to be running on electric or any other alternative fuel source in the near future. Larger vehicles can, however, be tweaked to run on natural gas. That makes a natural gas transition viable across the entire economy in ways other energy alternatives currently cannot.
The economic and environmental impacts would be all positive. America has as much natural gas as Saudi Arabia has oil. If we were drilling for it at home, we would create numerous jobs for the foreseeable future. Also, natural gas should make any pragmatic environmentalist happy too. Natural gas emits 30 percent less carbon dioxide than oil. That is a great down payment on carbon reduction in a way that doesn’t stifle economic growth.
Finally, natural gas has politics on its side. President Barack Obama has said in numerous press conferences he is supportive of expanding natural gas exploration. And everyone knows anything to do with drilling gets Republicans really, really excited. Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, should connect those two dots and take the president at his word.
Issue merit-based patents
The government should eliminate energy subsidies for ethanol farmers and oil companies and use that money to fund green patent competitions. Patents should be awarded to companies that already have produced energy innovations of merit. For instance, patents could be in the form of payroll tax reductions for companies creating cars that get 300 miles to the gallon. A results-based approach would yield more energy solutions, create more jobs and reach carbon reduction targets much more effectively than current energy subsidies funneled to Iowa or BP.
The Federal Reserve has estimated that American banks and corporations currently are sitting on $3 trillion. These kinds of patent competitions will get that money rolling back into the economy and invested in American energy independence.
Establish standards
The Obama administration should put to rest the myriad of uncertainty revolving around fuel efficiency standards. It is part of the reason why that $3 trillion is absent from economic activity. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels summed up the sentiment of many in the business community when joking that the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, should be called the Employment Prevention Agency.
Coupled with patents, laying out clear fuel efficiency targets would give direction to the markets and empower businesses to innovate technologies that save energy costs. And in all fairness, it is prudent for the government to establish realistic targets for energy efficiency. It increases productivity and ensures a basic level of corporate responsibility.
At the end of the day, it will have to be a political compromise. Democrats must accept our economy can’t stop emitting carbon overnight. Republicans must accept that green reforms, if done properly, can be good for economic growth.
The plurality of the American electorate can get behind a plan that boosts economic growth and significantly reduces our carbon footprint.
Ameek Singh is a State News guest columnist and an international relations junior. Reach him at sodhiame@msu.edu.
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “Freedom from foreign oil” on social media.
