Oil subsidies are the only reason the US is an energy production leader, not unlike how corn subsidies are the only reason corn-based ethanol is competitive.
Ending subsidies cannot be done -- it needs to be accomplished as a side-effect of ending political interference. The oil lobby and corn lobby are very powerful.
what's the point of being a production leader? Shouldn't it be left to the free market? The Oil bias is in a sense, hampering innovation in efficiency in oil-consuming machines, notwithstanding effects on other energy sources.
Remember, the great efficiency drive in automobiles started after the Middle East Oil crisis in 1979, if I'm not wrong...
Thank you for making this point. The economically literate see "price controls" and think "oh no, that is inefficient wrt price! This has been proven." But the point of price control isn't prices, it's control.
Ending subsidies cannot be done -- it needs to be accomplished as a side-effect of ending political interference. The oil lobby and corn lobby are very powerful.