Investing in energy is patriotic

For years, the US government has paid lip service to “energy independence” and “energy security.” This has amounted to a token acknowledgement that the United States has become too dependent on foreign sources of energy for its own good. We need more than tokenism from the new administration that takes control in Washington on Jan. 20. The government needs to allocate resources to actually doing something about the problem.

First, one of the things the Obama administration can do that won’t cost the taxpayers a dime is to allow drilling in areas that have been off-limits for years, including federal lands in the West and in offshore areas that heretofore have been off limits to oil companies. This would be a good start.

Next, the government needs to encourage investment in emerging technologies for all forms of energy – petroleum, coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind and solar, tidal and wave energy, and biofuels – with government-guaranteed loans, if necessary. This may include public-private cooperation in building nuclear power plants and in developing zero-emissions coal-fired plants. We need to encourage American ingenuity so that we don’t fall behind other nations.

Government policies have helped destroy much of the manufacturing base in the United States, so it behooves us to make up for this by shoring up our reputation as the high-tech capital of the world. With many traditional investors weakened by the strongest economic recession since the 1930s, it’s time for the government to step up to the plate and help out by investing in our energy future.

It’s also appropriate at this time to express thanks to the President-elect for backing down from his earlier view that a new Windfall Profits Tax is needed due to “excessive” oil and gas profits. Obviously the excessive stage is over and much of the industry is now in a survival mode.