Will Alt-Energy Initiative Boomerang?

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Tax oil corporations and use the money to fund alternative energy development? Sounds like a no-brainer. That’s the gist of California’s Proposition 87, and indeed, I’m for it and think all right-thinking people should be too. But today’s LA Times does have a good counterpoint:

“(V)enture capitalists with investments in alternative energy firms are huge donors to the campaign… There is nothing to prevent such investors from sitting on the board that allocates the research money generated by the proposition, which is precisely the conflict-ofinterest problem that has tainted California’s last experiment with taxpayer-funded research, 2004’s stem cell initiative .”

The Times goes on to say, less convincingly, that there’s already plenty of money going into alt-energy development and that oil companies are overtaxed in California as it is.

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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