Speaking of Jimmy Carter and Energy
Of course Carter’s approach to dealing with energy did not consist only with eliminating the insane regulation keeping US crude oil prices below world crude oil prices. Totally aside from (and opposite too) freeing the market, he also subsidized potential new sources of energy. As I recalled correctly, he focused particularly on “shale oil” and
Carter signed the Energy Security Act of 1980, allotting billions of dollars for the creation of a Synthetic Fuels Corporation that would provide loans, price guarantees, and other financial incentives to stimulate synthetic fuel development projects. A dozen companies immediately applied for money to support their oil shale endeavors and began gearing up for production.
What is shale oil ? It is better known now as petroleum extracted by fracking — the reason the USA became the number one oil producer again.
I think we can trust Forbes not to publish an article (by Loren Steffy) which over-emphasizes the (Carter initiated) Federal role in fracking (it is also my first google hit no google cherry picking here).
Much of the debate actually dates to comments made by former Mitchell geologist Dan Steward, who in 2011 told the Breakthrough Institute:
[The Department of Energy] did a hell of a lot of work, and I can’t give them enough credit for that. DOE started it, and other people took the ball and ran with it. You cannot diminish the DOE’s involvement.
In the same article Steffy wrote in his own voice
It’s one thing to note that federal research programs helped unlock fracking technology. It’s quite another to use fracking’s success to justify unqualified federal support for energy development programs. Funding the Eastern Gas Shales Project, for example, is quite different that setting mandating ethanol production levels. The government’s role in fracking’s development was important, but not so important that it eclipses the effort and investment of private industry. In fact, fracking is an example of the proper balance between government support for fledging technology and private industry’s development of it.
It wasn’t about “picking winners,” but fostering them. By reducing the cost of early-stage research, the government made it easier for Mitchell to make the technology commercially viable. Even then, it took almost two decades and cost him millions of his own company’s money.
Ah so the position of this Forbes article is that one should over interpret the agreed fact that “The government’s role in fracking’s development was important” in order to argue for other government intervention in the economy which is bad ’cause I say so (I agree on ethanol levels).
Here an outspoken opponent of government intervention in the economy writing in a conservative magazine concedes that Carter got that one right.
Of course he was a terrible President because … uh remind me what was wrong with Carter ?
East Timor. None the less, I think the world of Jimmy Carter and consider him an excellent example of a decent human being. Still the junta corruption&murder in Indonesia leaves a bad taste.
I’m sure he made some bad decisions, but he was and is the president I felt best about voting for, and the one who I think was the least likely to lie to me. (Nixon being the most likely.)
JimV:
AGREED! I mean, looking back see what WE end up with, usually. Mainly backstabbers. I think Codpiece&Deadeye, as a team, run a damn close second to Nixon.
I rank codpiece and deadeye as worse than tricky Dick. What exactly should Carter have done about East Timor ? Send in the marines ? I actually am asking for information, I really don’t recall what Carter had to do with East Timor.
Robert Waldmann:
Jimmy backed Suharto for the invasion of East Timor. CIA trained, financed&equiped Jacharta in the matter from 1975-1999. So Jimmy wasn’t the only one, even The “Big Dawg” was in on it. 100,000+ murders.
I mark it up to OUR “Invasions R US” syndrome more than I do Jimmy so much. He was just first in line on that one. NO one can say WE won’t get a little brutal should the occasion demand it, Jimmy included.
Then again, Jimmy backed Raza Shah too, come to think of it. I guess its US&OUR Frankenstein Foreign Policies more than whom WE put in office.
Robert Waldmann:
Looking back, I kinda wish he had just plain done nothing on both matters. Probably sending in the Marines would have been more humane than sending in the CIA, IMHO.
Following the recommendation of Volker, and failing too invade Iran. Probly the only justified war in past 40 years.