The 25 February - 3 March 2017 issue of the Economist has a cover story entitled "Clean energy's dirty secret." There is a lead off editorial to the issue that states that "the renewables revolution is wrecking the world's electricity markets." This is because clean energy generation by wind and solar is erratic and requires expensive standby generation capacity from fossil fuels.
The solution, at least in large part, that the Economist suggests is to use meter technology, batteries, and frequent updates on the rapidly fluctuating cost of energy as wind and solar output fluctuates from near zero to some part of their maximum electric power output to force the demand for electricity to fluctuate as rapidly as does its generation by erratic and unreliable wind and solar power generators.
So the rich can ignore the hourly changes in the cost of their electricity, while those less well-off watch the meter informing them of the rapid changes in the cost of electricity to figure out whether they can afford to cook dinner, watch television, use their computer, use a power tool, vacuum, or use their air conditioner. So, not only are most people to pay more for their energy use due to the phantom of hysterical catastrophic man-made global warming, but many are to be forced to watch the electricity cost meter extremely diligently and to tailor their lives to its whimsical machinations.
Or we could just use our plentiful fossil fuels that also feed our plants with the carbon dioxide they require and make them very much more healthy. And we can do this with absolutely negligible effects on the temperature on the surface of the Earth. That sure would give us a better lifestyle and leave us with money and time to create important improvements in human security and happiness. This is much more sensible than having to tell Johnny that he has to stop reading or doing his homework now and turn the lights off because the wind generators cannot move due to too little or too much wind.
Where do these Progressive Elitists get this mindset that it is the height of morality to mess up the lives of others, especially those not very well off, with their many fanciful controls? How can they be so malevolent? When they say they are not malevolent but merely concerned about some bad outcome due to carbon dioxide emissions as a precautionary measure, are they not obliged to have carefully and rationally examined the relevant science on that issue before they take actions that surely will hurt many people? Isn't that rational examination of the science a necessary test of anyone's benevolence and the proper exercise of the precautionary principle? First do no harm, unless it is absolutely and irrefutably necessary.
Showing posts with label government controls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government controls. Show all posts
23 February 2016
An 1840 Massachusetts Legislature Committee Prediction on a Government-Controlled Education System
In 1840, Horace Mann was pushing the state of Massachusetts to establish a government-run education system after the model of the state-run schools of Prussia and France. A legislative committee upon evaluating this proposal made three predictions:
- It would destroy America's republican principles.
- It would be a tool to increase government power.
- It would spread propaganda and diminish the influence of parents on their children.
27 February 2013
Lowest Cost of Living States -- OK the Best
The great state of Oklahoma is the lowest cost of living state in the union. It barely edged out Tennessee for that prime spot. As of the 4th quarter of 2012, the cost of living by state is indicated in this map provided by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.
The ranking is based upon data provided on cities and metropolitan areas on the cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care, and a miscellaneous category. Thus, it may not reflect the cost of living in the more rural areas of a given state.
It is worth noticing that the lowest cost of living states are all contiguous, with the exception of Idaho and Utah. The contiguous block stretches from Ohio west to Nebraska, skipping Illinois, from West Virginia and west of the Applachian Mountains to Georgia, the only state on the Atlantic seacoast, and then west to Texas, skipping Louisiana. The southern Great Plains states, the lower Midwest, the interior Southeast states, and the interior Mountain states are the best.
The most variable of the cost factors is the cost of housing. In the 16 lowest cost of living states, housing is the cost with the lowest index rating. In the 13 most expensive states and the District of Columbia, housing is the highest index value, with the exception of Alaska for which it is 2nd highest. In Alaska the utilities index is the highest. Housing costs are affected by the availability of land in relationship to the population. They are affected by real estate taxes, policies to limit development and other land use controls, building codes, rent controls, contractor licensing requirements, labor and wage laws, and other cost of doing business factors. In some areas they are also affected the extent of local federal, state, and local government ownership of land.
Utility costs are the second most variable cost. These are a function of distance from such inexpensive and reliable resources as coal and natural gas or a lack of sufficient natural gas pipeline capacity. Some states discourage coal electric plants or nuclear power plants. They are also very much a function of state mandates for wind generation, solar power use, and biomass use for electricity. In addition, many states like to attach special taxes to utility bills, especially those states so dominated by Progressive Elitists that they believe energy use is a sin. Meanwhile, they require the consumer to subsidize so-called green energy ii obeisance to Gaia, so long as it is not in their backyard. The worst states for utility costs are:
Alaska, index 168.4
Hawaii, index 167.7
New Jersey, index 133.9
Vermont, index 129.0
Rhode Island, index 127.3
New Hampshire, index 125.7
Delaware, index 122.8
Connecticut, index 121.0
Massachusetts, index 120.7
The third biggest variable cost is health care. States dictate the kind and coverage of health insurance policies, restrict the building of new hospitals, license physicians and control the medical schools in their states, license pharmacists, optometrists, and registered nurses, and they meddle with regulations on x-ray equipment and other medical equipment by requiring often wasteful calibration, maintenance, and safety procedures on equipment they know nothing about. States also have great impact on medical malpractice costs, Workman's Compensation insurance, and other medical liability costs in their courts. The most expensive states for health care are:
Alaska, index 140.2
Connecticut, index 119.4
Massachusetts, index 119.0, home of RomneyCare
Hawaii, index 116.5
Rhode Island, index 116.3
Oregon, index 114.8
New Hampshire, index 114.2
Maine, index 113.4
Washington, index 112.9
The least expensive, and closely competitive, states in the overall ratings are:
Oklahoma, #1, index 90.5
Tennessee, #2, index 90.6
Kentucky, #3, index 91.0
Arkansas, #4, index 91.5
Indiana, #5, index 91.7
Kansas, #6, index 91.9
Texas, #7, index 92.0
Nebraska, #8, index 92.0
Idaho, #9, index 92.1
Missouri, #10, index 93.0
Alabama, #11, index 93.2
Utah, #12, index 93.2
Mississippi, #13, index 93.2
West Virginia, #14, index 93.3
Georgia, #15, index 93.7
Ohio, #16, index 93.9
The ignominious last fifteen states are not just last, but have been entirely lapped in the race:
Oregon, #37, index 107.0
Delaware, #38, index 108.2
Maine, #39, index 110.9
New Hampshire, #40, index 119.7
Vermont, #41, index 119.9
Massachusetts, #42, index 122.9
Maryland, #43, index 123.1
Rhode Island, #44, index 123.5
California, #45, index 125.6
New Jersey, #46, index 129.8
New York, #47, index 130.4
Connecticut, #48, index 132.7
Alaska, #49, index 134.5
District of Columbia, #50, index 144.8
Hawaii, #51, index 167.1
All of the 15 most expensive states have long been Democrat Socialist Party controlled with the exception of New Hampshire and Alaska. Much of Alaska costs come from remoteness and the extreme weather. New Hampshire while neither strongly Republican or Democrat does have a strong environmentalist factor contributing to high housing and utilities costs. Government controls come with a big price tag which goes well beyond high taxes alone. They are a major factor in the cost of living in that they raise of cost of many goods and services.
Favorite retirement states of Florida and Arizona fall in the undistinguished middle, but in the lower half of the states. Florida is #28 with an index of 99.0. Arizona is a rather poor #35 with an index of 102.5.
The Oklahoma branch of my family is happily enjoying their lowest in the nation cost of living. I, on the other hand, am most distressed by the cost of living in statist Maryland, ranked #43, with a skyhigh index of 123.1. Earlier in life, I lived in 5 of the 16 best states and in 3 of the ignominious most expensive 8 states.
The ranking is based upon data provided on cities and metropolitan areas on the cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care, and a miscellaneous category. Thus, it may not reflect the cost of living in the more rural areas of a given state.
It is worth noticing that the lowest cost of living states are all contiguous, with the exception of Idaho and Utah. The contiguous block stretches from Ohio west to Nebraska, skipping Illinois, from West Virginia and west of the Applachian Mountains to Georgia, the only state on the Atlantic seacoast, and then west to Texas, skipping Louisiana. The southern Great Plains states, the lower Midwest, the interior Southeast states, and the interior Mountain states are the best.
The most variable of the cost factors is the cost of housing. In the 16 lowest cost of living states, housing is the cost with the lowest index rating. In the 13 most expensive states and the District of Columbia, housing is the highest index value, with the exception of Alaska for which it is 2nd highest. In Alaska the utilities index is the highest. Housing costs are affected by the availability of land in relationship to the population. They are affected by real estate taxes, policies to limit development and other land use controls, building codes, rent controls, contractor licensing requirements, labor and wage laws, and other cost of doing business factors. In some areas they are also affected the extent of local federal, state, and local government ownership of land.
Utility costs are the second most variable cost. These are a function of distance from such inexpensive and reliable resources as coal and natural gas or a lack of sufficient natural gas pipeline capacity. Some states discourage coal electric plants or nuclear power plants. They are also very much a function of state mandates for wind generation, solar power use, and biomass use for electricity. In addition, many states like to attach special taxes to utility bills, especially those states so dominated by Progressive Elitists that they believe energy use is a sin. Meanwhile, they require the consumer to subsidize so-called green energy ii obeisance to Gaia, so long as it is not in their backyard. The worst states for utility costs are:
Alaska, index 168.4
Hawaii, index 167.7
New Jersey, index 133.9
Vermont, index 129.0
Rhode Island, index 127.3
New Hampshire, index 125.7
Delaware, index 122.8
Connecticut, index 121.0
Massachusetts, index 120.7
The third biggest variable cost is health care. States dictate the kind and coverage of health insurance policies, restrict the building of new hospitals, license physicians and control the medical schools in their states, license pharmacists, optometrists, and registered nurses, and they meddle with regulations on x-ray equipment and other medical equipment by requiring often wasteful calibration, maintenance, and safety procedures on equipment they know nothing about. States also have great impact on medical malpractice costs, Workman's Compensation insurance, and other medical liability costs in their courts. The most expensive states for health care are:
Alaska, index 140.2
Connecticut, index 119.4
Massachusetts, index 119.0, home of RomneyCare
Hawaii, index 116.5
Rhode Island, index 116.3
Oregon, index 114.8
New Hampshire, index 114.2
Maine, index 113.4
Washington, index 112.9
The least expensive, and closely competitive, states in the overall ratings are:
Oklahoma, #1, index 90.5
Tennessee, #2, index 90.6
Kentucky, #3, index 91.0
Arkansas, #4, index 91.5
Indiana, #5, index 91.7
Kansas, #6, index 91.9
Texas, #7, index 92.0
Nebraska, #8, index 92.0
Idaho, #9, index 92.1
Missouri, #10, index 93.0
Alabama, #11, index 93.2
Utah, #12, index 93.2
Mississippi, #13, index 93.2
West Virginia, #14, index 93.3
Georgia, #15, index 93.7
Ohio, #16, index 93.9
The ignominious last fifteen states are not just last, but have been entirely lapped in the race:
Oregon, #37, index 107.0
Delaware, #38, index 108.2
Maine, #39, index 110.9
New Hampshire, #40, index 119.7
Vermont, #41, index 119.9
Massachusetts, #42, index 122.9
Maryland, #43, index 123.1
Rhode Island, #44, index 123.5
California, #45, index 125.6
New Jersey, #46, index 129.8
New York, #47, index 130.4
Connecticut, #48, index 132.7
Alaska, #49, index 134.5
District of Columbia, #50, index 144.8
Hawaii, #51, index 167.1
All of the 15 most expensive states have long been Democrat Socialist Party controlled with the exception of New Hampshire and Alaska. Much of Alaska costs come from remoteness and the extreme weather. New Hampshire while neither strongly Republican or Democrat does have a strong environmentalist factor contributing to high housing and utilities costs. Government controls come with a big price tag which goes well beyond high taxes alone. They are a major factor in the cost of living in that they raise of cost of many goods and services.
Favorite retirement states of Florida and Arizona fall in the undistinguished middle, but in the lower half of the states. Florida is #28 with an index of 99.0. Arizona is a rather poor #35 with an index of 102.5.
The Oklahoma branch of my family is happily enjoying their lowest in the nation cost of living. I, on the other hand, am most distressed by the cost of living in statist Maryland, ranked #43, with a skyhigh index of 123.1. Earlier in life, I lived in 5 of the 16 best states and in 3 of the ignominious most expensive 8 states.
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