Economic Stimulus Plan

Here are two options for stimulating the economy as the threat of recession looms:

Jump start a whole new industry of local energy production, complete with all the jobs, salaries, and yes, taxes that pay for services, that would flow from it.

Or, give everyone $600 bucks so they can make their car payment for 2 months, or if their car's paid off, buy that new sofa they've been looking at.

Hmm, yeah, I'd like that new sofa, but the cat will probably scratch it up in 6 months anyhow. So...

I vote for investing in a new energy economy!

The Green Skeptic concurs:

With all due respect to Messrs Bush, Paulson, and...well, Bernanke too, I suppose, this economic stimulus seems more like a styptic pencil. You know, those things used to temporarily stop bleeding from shaving cuts and the like? If BPB really wanted to stop the bleeding, US leaders would accelerate investments into creating a new, clean economy.

I'm not alone in this thinking. The National Hydropower Association, Geothermal Energy Association, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and American Wind Energy Association issued a joint statement earlier this week calling for an extension of long-term renewable energy tax credits as part of the US economic stimulus package.

The current stimulus package does not extend the renewable energy incentives, which expire at the end of this year. And that is too bad. Letting these incentives expire will potentially eliminate thousands of jobs and derail billions of dollars in future investments, according to sources close to the situation. All this when we're experiencing record private investment in alternative energy.