Worth the risk?
Bangor Daily News | Posted Jan. 29, 2014 | bangordailynews.com
A recent BDN editorial, “Worth the risk,” was a cheerleader for offshore wind technology, describing it as holding out the promise of “millions of federal dollars spent in the state.”
It reminds me of a lecture I once heard in which the speaker was explaining what we ask of our congressional delegates when we elect them: “Go to Washington and get back all the tax money we have paid into the government. Then try to take money that other states have put in, too.”
This quip drew nervous chuckles. The audience understood that those charges were the same as those put to the delegates of the other 49 states, all of whom had needs crying for federal largesse and sharp legislators ready and able to build a case for them.
Pitting state against state in competition for federal dollars is inefficient, to put it kindly. The system invites corruption and shady dealing.
Finally, if offshore wind energy is truly the “next big thing,” as the editorial suggests, why are private investors not voting for it with their checkbooks?
David Dean
Sangerville
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/01/29/worth-the-risk/