In recent years, Harrisburg politicians decided that Pennsylvania would play venture capitalist in the solar energy market. In an attempt to attract green jobs, the Commonwealth extended more than $180 million in loans and grants to develop solar panel production. Subsidies were so successful in creating an artificial market that solar energy credits completely collapsed in value leaving a surplus of solar panels. A Republican representative has decided to sponsor legislation to salvage the solar industry through more subsidies. This legislation defies the principles of limited government and free markets. Additionally, the legislation is projected to increase costs for both energy consumers and taxpayers.

Clearly the government caused the boom and bust of the solar market. The push by the Republican lawmaker for increased government intervention in this arena is ill-advised. The considered legislation is anticipated to cost Pennsylvania energy consumers more than $3 billion over the next decade and will prove costly to the taxpayer as well. Interestingly, ideological roles seemed to be reversed as the Democratic committee chair stands in opposition to the plan for increased solar subsidies. Despite Gov. Corbett’s objections, the Republican’s legislation has garnered enough co-sponsors in the House to pass. The legislation requires utility companies to triple their use of solar power by 2013. Over the course of the next decade, Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004 requires that 18 percent of all energy sources from renewables.

The stringent mandates from the 2004 legislation and the current solar rescue package will be detrimental to the state’s already stagnate economy. The government sponsorship of solar and renewable energies diminishes the purchasing power of Pennsylvanians. Residential and commercial energy users will be coerced into paying more for their energy. The government is directly picking winners and losers in the economy as they buttress one sector at the expense of competing energy producers. Harrisburg’s mandates must be repealed as they are in opposition to free market competition which fosters innovation.

Providing more subsidies to fix an already distressed solar market is not the solution. There is another method to attract the green industry to Pennsylvania without imposing costly energy mandates on Keystone residents. By implementing policies to improve Pennsylvania’s business climate, policymakers can entice investment for not only green jobs, but all industries. Tax reform accompanied with a right-to-work law would be a catalyst to increase Pennsylvania’s economic competitiveness.

The government must stop playing venture capitalist with taxpayer money. Pennsylvanians should be given the opportunity to utilize the most affordable energy source. The Commonwealth is very fortunate to have an immense amount of coal and natural gas. These natural resources need to be part of the state’s energy portfolio for the future. Tremendous innovations have already occurred in recent years regarding renewables. Improving Pennsylvania’s business climate utilizing a free market is the best way to develop green energy technology and stimulate the Keystone economy.

Jonathan Humma blogs at Keystone Liberty: Limited government and free markets for a prosperous Pennsylvania.

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Despite a very heated race for US Senate in 2012 in Pennsylvania, and despite what appeared to be an imminent open primary, Steve Welch (WelchForPA.com) has taken the PA State Republican Committee endorsement. In a vote that appeared to be much closer from the outside, Welch won on the first ballot cast by simple majority. No small feat when you consider that there were 5 candidates vying for the endorsement. The Welch campaign had been gaining momentum with many endorsements from countywide officials over the last few weeks/months. However, an endorsement by Gov. Tom Corbett Friday launched Welch to the top.

However, at a time when we should be united towards one agenda, defeating Bob Casey- Barack Obama lite, 4 candidates had already made clear their intentions of running despite the State Committee endorsement. This will continue to be a race to watch very closely.

For now, the Welch campaign can and should celebrate their huge victory today!

For Steve Welch’s full remarks to the State Committee after the endorsement: Click Here.

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Campaign finance data for Pennsylvania has been posted online in a new,
user-friendly format, it was announced today.

The data, formerly only available on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s
website in a limited fashion, has been posted on a website with all
available information dating back to 1998.

“The search tools and information provided by the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania Department of State are cumbersome at best,” said David Lynn, a
database programmer based in Northeast Philadelphia. “I wanted to make it
easier for people to review the data. I also wanted to provide more
complete information than the Commonwealth provides at their website.”

Lynn created the files from text files available on the Commonwealth’s
Department of State FTP site. He converted the data into HTML files, and
has posted them on his business website, DAL Services, Inc.

Lynn has also created a Pennsylvania Political Campaign Management Database which can also be found on the DAL Services website.

With increased amounts of public information more and more private individuals and organizations are going to find creative ways of making that data available to the general public. This is transparency in action.

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Guest Post from Leo Knepper, Pennsylvania State Director of Heritage Action for America. He can also be found on on facebook and twitter.

On Wednesday, not one of Pennsylvania’s so-called “conservative” Blue Dog Democrats voted to repeal Obamacare. U.S. Representatives Jason Altmire (PA 4), Mark Critz (PA 12) and Tim Holden (PA 17) all voted to keep Obamacare securely in place. This vote was notable since both Altmire and Holden had sought to distance themselves last year from their party by highlighting their refusal to vote for passage of Obamacare, campaigning as opponents of the law.  Unfortunately, they refused to stand for its repeal when given the chance.

Both men offered similar excuses for not supporting a full repeal. Representative Altmire in an article posted on the TibLive website stated: “But it has been enacted, and I would not support a blanket repeal because it’s, first of all, politically impossible. … From that side alone, it’s a waste of time and taxpayer money.” For someone who purports to be concerned about taxpayer money it seems odd that he wouldn’t support  the repeal of a law which is expected to cost taxpayers  $115 billion in implementation costs alone and $2.6 trillion overall.  On the other hand, Representative Holden told the Republican and Herald that the repeal effort was “political theater” and a “waste of time”.

Impossible?  Waste of time?  It is a fact that Congress has repealed unpopular laws before, such as when the Medicare Catastrophic legislation was repealed in 1989 after only one year and a mutiny by disaffected seniors.  And, the only reason that this important debate over repeal resembles political theater is because members like Altmire and Holden, who claim to oppose the law, have made its repeal a partisan issue.

These men evidently lack the fortitude to say what they really mean. They are unwilling to go against the President and their own party to give voice to their constituents’ desire to see this unabashed expansion of government fully repealed and a fresh start made to reform healthcare (and not just in name only). While they would have their constituents believe they are independent of their party leadership, this vote clearly illustrated how short a leash these Blue Dogs are given.
The next false choice that Rep. Holden offered is that all of the “good” benefits that his constituents enjoy would immediately go away.  Holden specifically mentions the poll-tested and much-hyped mandate that requires insurance companies to cover individuals with preexisting conditions.  Despite the mandate’s apparent popularity, even the left admits that this policy drives up the cost of healthcare for everyone, absent a companion mandate for everyone to purchase health insurance (because otherwise people refuse to purchase healthcare until they’re sick).  In other words, you cannot be for the mandate to cover preexisting conditions without being for the unpopular individual mandate to purchase health insurance, which Holden claims to oppose.  Instead, conservatives have attempted to address the healthcare needs of individuals with preexisting conditions by setting up high-risk pools at the state level.  However, this is a great example of why even the politically popular provisions of Obamacare cannot survive scrutiny and why the entire law needs to be scrapped, allowing Congress to start over with legislation to lower the cost of healthcare.

Obamacare represents one of the largest expansions of government authority in over a generation. It’s unfortunate that Jason Altmire and Tim Holden would not stand behind their principles, which they cited when they initially voted against passage of the legislation last March and during their election campaigns. Rep. Altmire when asked about voting against the legislation noted “it would be an even bigger mistake to pass legislation that could compound the problem of skyrocketing health care costs.” On the other hand Rep. Holden stated directly that the legislation “was not in the interest of my constituency.” Both men claimed to recognize the flaws with this legislation then.  Yet, when presented with the opportunity to undo the damage their party had done they clearly lacked the courage to back up their convictions.

Leo Knepper is the Pennsylvania State Director of Heritage Action for America. He can also be found on on facebook and twitter.

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Americans United for Life has released their Pro-Life State rankings. This year Pennsylvania came in 3rd (no change from last year. Visit AUL.org to learn more.

Pennsylvania Ranks 3rd

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