Jobs in Energy Independence
Energy Independence
50 years ago, President Eisenhower warned we should import no more than 20 percent of our oil; today we import 60 percent. Every year America sends more than $300 billion overseas for oil – much of it to unstable and unfriendly regimes. This threatens our national and economic security. 10 of the last 11 recessions were preceded by sharp spikes in the price of oil.
To free ourselves from OPEC’s grasp, we must end our heroin-like addiction to foreign oil. And the money earned by American energy suppliers can be spent in American stores, saved in American banks and invested in American communities to create American jobs.
We areproposing an "all of the above" policy, with two main elements:
First, we must expedite the review and approval of safe and environmentally-sound energy projects, including the development of North American oil and gas reserves; oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska; shale gas and oil in the U.S.; and Canadian oil sands.
Second, we must eliminate subsidies and regulations that support foreign oil and inhibit clean, domestic alternatives such as natural gas, biofuels and coal-to-liquid fuel.
America is drowning in competitive energy supplies from domestic sources. We must employ those resources, or risk allowing foreign nations to control our energy future.
ENERGY INDEPENDENCE PROPOSALS
Producing Our Own Energy Future
Streamline Approval for New Energy Production
America can and should produce more oil right here at home. There is no reason drilling cannot be safely conducted in the Gulf, across the states and in Alaska.
The current Administration is pursuing regulations that will hinder domestic energy development and cost thousands of jobs. Regulations and approvals for new wells and pipelines need to be streamlined and directed to "move at the speed of business."
The federal government's commitment to safety and the environment must no longer be distorted into a prohibition against American energy security. President Reagan created a mechanism for the swift resolution of regulatory delays without sacrificing safety concerns. The same must be duplicated again.
Break Down Barriers Blocking the Full and Safe Deployment of Fracking
A new technique for recovering previously inaccessible gas – combining hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") with high-technology horizontal drilling – has the potential to increase America's domestic production by 25 percent.
Critics are attacking fracking, but the practice has been used on more than one million currently producing wells – more than 35,000 per year – using a technology that has been perfected over 60 years. Because of fracking, the United States surpassed Russia as the world's leading producer of natural gas.
Federal guidelines regulating its application need to recognize the economic benefits and value of enhancing America's energy independence, while also weighing environmental concerns.
Embrace Emerging Technologies Like Coal-to-Liquid Fuel
Coal is one of America's most abundant energy resources and the mainstay of many communities. America has enough coal reserves to supply us for 300 years at current consumption. Yet in recent years, government regulations and litigation have attacked coal from every possible angle, destroying critical jobs and closing access to this critical domestic energy source.
Converting coal into a liquid fuel will alleviate our dependence on foreign oil while maintaining jobs and local economies, but this technology is not yet deployed. We must eliminate barriers to its full deployment.
Look North
Our dependence on foreign oil didn't develop overnight, and it won't end overnight. As a bridge, we must look north to Canada.
America imports twice as much oil from Canada as we do from Saudi Arabia, and our northern neighbor is increasing production every day. There are 170 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Alberta's oil sands deposits – more reserves than in all of Iraq.
However, lawsuits and legislation in the United States are attempting to block access to this resource from our neighbor and friend.
Others see the potential in these fields. China wants to invest in Canada's oil infrastructure. Meanwhile, the United States government is dithering over a pipeline's proposal to ship Canadian oil to the United States.
The federal government needs to assure Canada that American consumers are ready and willing to purchase the production of Alberta's oil sands. Every barrel from a friend is one less from a foe.
Eliminate Subsidies to Level The Playing Field for Domestic Fuels
Much attention has been paid, rightly, to the federal government's improper role in using subsidies to favor one energy resource over others. America's energy future must be based on a level playing field. But the playing field cannot be level so long as federal regulation erects or reinforces barriers to entry, which prevent a competitive market for competing fuels.
Ensure That Our Transportation Fuel Markets are Competitive
The current system of transportation fuels is essentially closed to newer competition because of (1) gasoline's near-monopoly in the distribution network for light-duty vehicles, and diesel's near- monopoly for heavy-duty vehicles; and (2) numerous regulatory barriers to entry.
Accordingly, to create a truly competitive energy market, the federal government must:
Commence expedited review of the transportation fuel distribution network by both the Federal Trade Commission and Senate Judiciary Committee (the concentration of distribution ownership is similar to the broadcast network domination in the early 1970s, which triggered market-opening FCC rules and an antitrust consent decree).
Eliminate all regulatory barriers to entry for competing fuels, and create a level playing field that allows competing fuels full access to the distribution grid.
Ensure open markets for natural gas and other alternative fuels in order to stabilize prices and provide a predictable investment environment.
Eliminate Regulations Preventing Energy Innovations and Competitive Transportation Fuels From Reaching Market
End the Regulatory Roadblocks Against Competitive Fuels Like Natural Gas
America has more natural gas than Saudi Arabia has oil. Yet on August 9th, the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency issued fuel efficiency rules that effectively bar heavy-duty vehicles – which consume 20% of our oil imports – from converting to natural gas.
The agencies did this even after conceding that "more alternative-fueled vehicles on the road would arguably displace petroleum-fueled vehicles, and thereby increase both U.S. energy and national security by reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil."
Gov. Huntsman supports the repeal of these rules and others, which increase our reliance on foreign oil and discourage domestic job growth.
Spur Investment in Modernizing Our Power Grid
Federal regulations are hindering America's conversion to a fully modern "smart grid" system – something badly needed if the next generation, for example, chooses to charge electric vehicles in their garages at night.
Encourage State-Based Solutions
Methods of energy production vary greatly across the fifty states. The Northwest has world-class hydropower facilities, California leads the nation in geothermal, and more than 15 percent of Iowa's energy generation comes from wind. Despite this diversity, EPA rules prohibit states from coming up with their own ways to reduce pollution at the lowest cost to local businesses.
For example, EPA should revive state authority to allow centrally-fueled fleets to convert to cleaner alternative fuels to help meet our air quality standards at much lower cost to consumers.
Force Washington To Face Facts
The federal government is responsible for reducing obstacles to competitive markets that ensure a level playing field. Washington must base its energy policy on sound science, transparent government, and thorough public debate.
TAX REFORM PROPOSALS
ReplyDeleteIndividual Taxes
Simplify the Personal Income Tax Code and Lower Rates
We support a version of the plan crafted by the Fiscal Commission, headed by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, commonly known as the "zero plan". Rather than nibble around the edges of the existing tax code, he will introduce a revenue-neutral plan that eliminates all deductions and credits in favor of three drastically lower rates of 8%, 14% and 23%. Eliminating deductions and credits in favor of lower marginal rates will yield a simpler and more efficient tax code, decreasing the burden on taxpayers.
Eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax
Under the new simplified plan, we should eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is not indexed for inflation and is penalizing an increasing number of families and small businesses. This tax is especially burdensome on the majority of small business owners who file as individuals.
Corporate Taxes
Reduce the Corporate Rate from 35% to 25%
The United States cannot compete while burdened with the second-highest corporate tax rate in the developed world; American companies and our workers deserve a level playing field. Governor Huntsman will lower the corporate tax rate to the average of other OECD nations. With high unemployment, it is important that we not push corporations and capital overseas. We need employers to be based in America if they're going to provide jobs to Americans.
Shift from a Worldwide System of Taxation to a Territorial System
We are one of the last countries taxing businesses on worldwide income and punishing businesses that bring money home. Shifting to a territorial system will allow American companies to compete with other global players and allow US-based multinationals to bring capital home to invest in new jobs.
Implement a Tax Holiday for Repatriation of Corporate Profits
A tax holiday for repatriation of corporate profits earned overseas will make available between $400 billion and $600 billion for companies to make capital investments. This is a critical tool in creating a pro-growth business environment that will get Americans back to work.
Capital Gains and Dividends
Eliminate the Taxes on Capital Gains and Dividends In Order to Eliminate the Double Taxation on Investment
Eliminating taxes on capital gains and dividends would lower the cost of capital and encourage investment in the American economy to create jobs. Additionally, these taxes amount to a double- taxation on most individuals who choose to invest since they first had to earn that money and pay income tax on it. Taxing these same dollars again when capital gains are realized serves to deter productive and much-needed investment in our economy.
Seven Economic Policy Goals For Progressives In 2012
ReplyDeleteAt best, 2011 can be described as a middling year for progressives when it comes to the economy. Though the economy continued its modest recovery, and despite recent positive signs of improvement, many progressive goals went unfulfilled.
Thanks to GOP obstruction, no widespread jobs package passed, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is still without a director, and important areas of investment faced unnecessary budget cuts on both the state and federal level. Progressives were, however, able to block much of the House GOP’s radical agenda — preventing Republicans from gutting Medicare and thwarting repeated efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and Wall Street reform laws.
In a perfect world, Congress would make job creation its highest priority when it returns in 2012. But that is unlikely given Republican control of the House, where the GOP continues to push an agenda that would actually kill jobs. With that in mind, ThinkProgress compiled a list of seven goals for progressives that could boost the economic recovery over the next year:
Address the housing crisis: The housing crisis continues to threaten America’s economic recovery, but while Republicans continue to offer no solutions, multiple state attorneys general have launched investigations into deceptive and fraudulent foreclosure processes. Those investigations could lead to prosecutions and fines for banks that knowingly defrauded customers. And while they could help homeowners who were hurt by predatory banks and lenders, other solutions — like expanding mortgage relief programs, ensuring that settlements with banks and lenders includes substantial money for homeowners, and pressuring federal regulators to punish predatory lenders — should be on the agenda for 2012, especially with millions of Americans owing more on their homes than they are worth.
Keep focusing on income inequality: Occupy Wall Street thrust income inequality onto the political radar in the last half of 2011, making it such a hot topic that even conservative budget hawks like Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) were talking about it. With American income inequality now worse than in many poorer countries (and maybe even worse than it was in Ancient Rome) and dragging the recovery, it is an area that must be addressed. Furthering the 99 Percent Movement and keeping the issue of income inequality alive should keep Congress focused on the lower and middle classes who were hit hardest both by the recession and the GOP’s widespread budget cuts that followed.
Confirm Richard Cordray: President Obama nominated former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as the first director of the CFPB in 2011, but his confirmation process stalled in the Senate when Republicans, who spent the last year trying to gut the Dodd-Frank law that created the CFPB, refused to relent on their opposition to the agency. Confirming Cordray would allow the agency to actually progress toward its mandate of protecting consumers from the predatory financial practices that hurt so many through the recession.
Protect and restore state education budgets: Republicans across the country took the axe to state education budgets in 2011, leaving school districts with less money to run schools, maintain after-school programs, and hire teachers than they had even before the recession. At the same time, many of those states preserved tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations. Unemployed teachers make up a large portion of the half-million public sector workers who have lost jobs since 2009, a problem Obama sought to fix with a state aid package included in the American Jobs Act. Restoring and preserving state education budgets is important for two major reasons: it allows more teachers to be hired, thus reducing unemployment, and it ensures that American children will be better prepared to compete in the global economy of the future.
ReplyDeleteRaise the minimum wage in more states: Eight states are boosting their minimum wage in 2012, benefiting 1.4 million workers and creating roughly 3,000 jobs, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Raising the minimum wage across the country is and important and necessary step in the recovery. The federal minimum is currently $7.25, but it would take a minimum wage of $9.92 to match the buying power of the minimum wage in 1968.
End the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy: The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy have blown a hole in the federal budget since their passage in 2003, carrying a 10-year cost of $2.5 trillion that prevented us from investing in many vital areas. Even though the wealthy are paying historically low tax rates, Congress passed a one-year extension last December. Preventing another such extension in 2012 would both address the federal budget deficit and allow Congress to avoid painful cuts to programs that benefit the lower and middle classes.
Boost funding for the CFTC: Under Dodd-Frank, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission is responsible for policing the derivatives market — the investments that played a major role in the financial crisis. Despite that daunting task, House Republicans succeeded in their efforts to gut the CFTC budget, cutting about a third of the funding requested by President Obama. Increasing the CFTC’s funding would allow it to better regulate investment banks and financial institutions, decreasing the odds of another such crisis in the future.