Us Energy Taxes and Mandates

US Energy Taxes and Mandates

The United States has very little regulation on energy compared to countries like Japan and those in Europe. Much of this has to do with the almost impossible task of passing bills through Congress without prolonged debates. Additionally, I think part of the problem is that the American public has an apathetic view on the future of energy use. Life is comfortable for Americans now, so there is no need to act to change any policies. This is the general attitude of the current generation, an attitude of procrastination — the idea that future problems can wait until they are upon us, and in the mean time, we can be distracted by other problems such as healthcare and social security. And so, with the public being listless towards reforming energy policy, our politicians follow suit in shooting down bill after bill of possible energy reforms. The policies we have now are a start, but nowhere near the standard we should be at, being the most technologically advanced economy in the world.

For one thing, the majority of US tax regulation is with positive taxes, giving money with tax breaks and credits, instead of negative taxes, taking money away with carbon taxes and the like. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the most recent energy act passed) only reformed and added tax breaks and credits for different businesses, consumers, and the government. For example, one part of the act allows the government to give $2.3 billion in tax credits for new investments in advanced energy (essentially anything to do with renewable energy) manufacturing projects. The act also gives tax credits to consumers for following environmentally friendly standards such as switching to energy efficient appliances or installing renewable energy systems at their own houses. These types of incentives can only do so much to “incent” companies and consumers to change their habits. In fact, many times the incentive is simply ignored by companies and...