Solving Our Energy Woes

Thomas Friedman's recent New York Times column, Mr. Bush, Lead or Leave, has been causing a great deal of stir around the blogosphere, with good reason.

In the column, Friedman attacks the President's new energy plan, and calls upon the government to set a floor price of $4.50 a gallon for gasoline and $100 a barrel for oil. Mr. Friedman argues that this would trigger massive investments in renewable energy.

I respectfully disagree.

I don't disagree that something needs to be done - soon - about America's dependence on foreign oil - that truth is self-evident. But burdening the American people with this additional cost is not the way to move forward. The average American uses around 500 gallons of gas every year. By creating a floor price of $4.50 a gallon, up from around $2.00 a couple of years ago, you're adding an additional $1250 per American driver every year - this is, effectively, an oil tax, subject to all of the bureaucracy and Congressional lobbying inherent in such an endeavor.

However, it would be unfair to criticize Mr. Friedman's plan (and the President's, as well) without offering up a solution of my own.

If 10% of the oil companies' profits (which work out to about $10 billion for the past year, with more profits still to come) were mandated to be invested in Venture Capital funds focused on developing alternative energy sources and enhancing energy efficiency, we could have a situation where everybody eventually benefits.

The economy would benefit from the new jobs created, the rise of new entrepreneurs, and the additional wealth created. The oil companies would benefit from the windfall their investments would generate. The average person wouldn't have to pay a high floor price "oil tax." By jumpstarting the free market, we could free ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil.

This country has always thrived on innovation, on competitive spirit. Given the incentive to solve our dependence on foreign oil, the great scientific and entrepreneurial minds of the United States will rise to this challenge, as they have risen to challenges past. By combining this innovative spirit with the benefits of the free market, we could solve the energy dilemma, and we could invest in ourselves.

That is an energy policy worthy of our Independence Day.