tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post4209092349075948752..comments2024-03-07T02:00:01.582-05:00Comments on NEI Nuclear Notes: The Windmill Goes Round and RoundUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post-42440033357547227612009-08-09T01:34:01.556-04:002009-08-09T01:34:01.556-04:00Rather than providing subsidies it would be better...Rather than providing subsidies it would be better if government got out of the way and didn't create a need for subsidies in the first place. <br /><br />A proficient coder can't even write a page of code without one ore more bugs or ugly corner cases sneaking in that require debugging to find; in that light the 30 000 page tax code is an unpalatable idea, even more so when you consider that the language it is written in is a lot more ambiguous than something like C++ or assembly. It is made much less unpalatable when you consider the massive abuse of tax code for repaying political favours, protectionism of one industry against another, crafting milker bills and social engineering("sin taxes", wealth redistribution etc.).<br /><br />If hurricane katrina thought you anything it should be that central government planning continues to be a terrible idea. Not only did FEMA royally screw up the rescue work, they prevented others from helping; in one particularly egregious case a local sheriff posted armed guards to guard against FEMA, which had previously cut communication lines.<br /><br />A large part of the charm of loan guarantees for the nuclear industry is not the prospect of getting help from the government. If the government has skin in the game they're not going to be too opposed to letting the project finish, where as otherwise a government beaurocrat could kill it with the stroke of a pen in return for some votes from the greenie weenies or some campaign contributions, a wink and a nod from the coal industry.<br /><br />Subsidizing nuclear justifies politicians in subsidizing whatever they like, e.g. near useless paleotechnologies like wind and solar. This is a bad idea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com