Pickens plan

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

Tom

I could swear that I saw some of those people - the ones paying taxes from their "beer paychecks,"
just today in fact.  Yep,  they had chosen the beer over the gasoline, at least.


   ... pause, confused pause
 
Nope, I was wrong.  The ones I saw aren't paying the taxes.  MY TAXES were paying for THEIR BEER!
 

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

As far as Pickens' plan, he is certainly positioned well ahead of the game.
It doesn't matter if it is "adopted" by anybody particular or not.

His pickings will not be slim.

[Woodcarver]

His pickings is in all likelyhood what Pickin's PR campaign is about. He is invested in wind energy as well as natural gas.  The subisdy for wind energy wasn't renewed in the 2007 energy bill.  The subsidy will expire at the end of this year unless congress can be persuaded to extend it.   

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

Georgia's incentives also expire Dec. 31, 2008.

If you have the bucks to not only lobby the congress, I guess you can lobby the entire population, too.
It worked for Al Gore.  (Gosh, that means T. Boone may get the Nobel Peace Prize.)

[JimMartin9999]

I drove a natural gas car for years , in Germany. No hitches except for a loss of trunk space for the tank.
New York is sitting on enormous reserves of gas but not much is being pumped out.  Aynbody know why?

[submarinesailor]

Jim,

The natural gas companies are starting to lease the natural gas bearing lands as we speak.  The new drilling and fracturing technology (last 10-12 years) plus the price being higher has made it cost effective to start drilling for this gas.  It’s called the Marcellus Shale Gas play.  Here is a link to one of the best articles I have read about it.

Bruce

 http://geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml

[olyman]

t boones is only looking out for his own interests--and MONEY--

[TexasTimbers]

yeah t boones is, but is it so bad? don't you ("you" in general not just "you" olyman) think that every energy rescource we have ever had the pleasure/displeasure to use was made available because a rich fatcat or group of them put up their wealth to risk the reward?

There is no way to develop new energy resources except for risk capital to be involved. I know he gets subsidies probably and I wish he didn't, and I know he gets tax breaks and I am glad he does because i don't like a federal progressive income tax to begin ith, but subsidies and tax breaks aside he is risking a large portion of his captial and I am glad he is.

I know that alot of fortunes were made in Texas when the oil boom first began, and I know a whole lot more went bust chasing dry well after dry well. But without those early venure capitalists the oil woul dnever got out of the ground. Surely most of us do not believe we should allow the government to sieze full control of our resources thinking they can feasibly, and without corruption, develop new technologies and resources faster and more efficiently than private enterprise?

I'm not trying to debate whether or not pickens is a "good guy or bad guy", I am looking at him simply as what he is. A business man trying to make more money. If he can get his wind and NG ventures to be a more attractive option than anything else, at least for a stop gap or short term solution until fuel cells and other such highly renewable, environmentally friendly technologies can be brought online then why should it matter to us how many feathers he has in his nest?

I am just trying to get my nest to stay in the tree without falling to the ground, but I don;t mind someone else's nest being built from velvet feathers. More power to them.

It's not really the Boone Pickens of the world that chap my tail it's the Leona Helmsleys of the world. The non-productive elitists who look down their noses at us peons and say we are scum, and yet she enjoys (I think she is gone now not sure) the fruits of the toil we all endure to have created he kind of wonderful lush society we enjoy in this country.

For my money, the Pickens of the world are an absolute necessary ingredient in the American recipe. I can live without the Helmsley types.

[SwampDonkey]

Heard one argument the other day about lowering corporate taxes. It was ok to lower the corporate taxes as long as they didn't loose the subsidies and tax right offs. They want it all I guess.   

It's amusing to hear these debates on the radio.  They will put such a spin on it that it looks like they are the losers and then they think the tax paying public, such as myself, are too stupid to realize what they are spouting off about.

[TexasTimbers]

Yeah it's "us" against 'them" one way or the other. We know who the "us" is, bu it's the other "thems" that take turns on us. On the one hand we have the never-ending struggle between the classes, and on the other hand we have the never-ending struggle between the peepsand the government.

They are both necessary evils, and I am sure "they" - both the rich and powerful corporations, and the career politicans look at "us" as the necessary evil.  Depends on which shore you are wearing.

I am like Tom in that regard. I don't want to ever be in "public service" if it means becoming corrupt and lazy. Not his exact words but i think that is close to what he was saying in a recent thread. Few public servants can resist the temptations of getting too cozy and compfy at the public trough. Few rich folk can resist becoming arrogant, greey,  and self-inflated too. And NONE of us peons can resist carrying the load for "them" either. This world is not an easy obstacle course to get through is it.

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

Until 12/31/08 ... ANYONE on the Forum can get the same tax credit
that T. Boone can.  Your state may have further "subsidies", tax credits,
or rebates.  In fact, there is no ceiling on the tax credit for a commercial
wind or solar project PUT INTO SERVICE BY that date.  The credit is
30%!  Other incentives are there also.


Put out the bucks and you can take your share, too.  Residential credits
are slightly different and have ceilings.

[Handy Andy]

  I like Pickens plan.  My nephew works for GM, and he says they have a way to burn any fuel imaginable. Already figured out how to use hydrogen and other availagle fuels.  So it's just a matter of going with it.  My thinking is that we should not rule out coal as a fuel to make electricity.  They can build cleaner coal plants than the ones being used now, just that government doesn't like coal because it is dirty.  Too many enviros with too much money.  They seem to own the congress, so they won't even consider it.  Here in Kansas, the governer and her cohorts are keeping 2 new coal plants from being built, and we have an old dirty one down east that they say can be shut down after they get the 2 new clean ones built.  The technology is there for cleaning up the smoke, what is the problem?