Gee, what a surprise.... for the economically illiterate! Excerpts: Germany has seen energy prices go through the roof as the result of the government’s green energy subsidies and mandates. On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she would rein in Germany’s green subsidies to ease the burden that has been placed on consumers. “Dealing with the renewable energy reform is the most urgent of the energy topics, in my view,” Merkel said at a conference. German subsidies support the government’s goal to produce 35 percent of the country’s power from renewables by 2020 — and 50 percent by 2030. German citizens and businesses have become increasingly burdened by the costs of subsidizing more green energy production. Since 1998, taxes and government charges on energy consumption have risen 243 percent in Germany, and now make up more than half of the price of electricity in the country. ... According to the International Energy Agency, low-income households in Germany have been hit the hardest by the price increases, and the group is urging Germany to keep energy prices affordable or else the public will turn against the country’s green revolution. ... “By artificially propping up green companies with other peoples’ money, you’re not only wasting taxpayer money and forcing pricier energy on Americans, you’re creating a system where companies rely more on government handouts than market signals to remain in business,” said Nick Loris, an economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:58:49 +0000
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