We do not really fault U.S. citizens or companies that accept various government subsidies. If government lays “free money” on the table, it’s easy to see why there would be plenty of takers.
The real issue is government’s decision to provide the subsidies in the first place.
Take two recent articles in the Times Free Press about some companies in this area that are getting government money – meaning taxpayer dollars – for solar panels.
One is a blueberry farm in LaFayette, Ga. The federal government and the state of Georgia have provided thousands of dollars in funding and tax credits to offset the cost of solar panels that will produce electricity at the farm.
Meanwhile, a local truck accessory business is getting lots of money from the federal “stimulus” program as well as from the state of Tennessee to help foot the bill to install nearly 200 solar panels on its roof.
Again, we do not in principle begrudge either business having solar panels, and we do not blame them for accepting the government money.
But government should not be shifting onto all taxpayers the cost of energy investments (or other investments) made by private companies. That simply is not proper government business, especially in a time when our federal government is roughly $13.3 trillion in debt and state governments are struggling to keep their heads above water.