By Nathan Barton
Government bureaucracies are “conservative” in the sense that they want nothing to change, except for a very limited number of things which give them more power and wealth. We see this in particular in high-tech, such as energy. Here are two examples.
Federal Bureaucrats Threaten U.S. Energy Boom
Thanks in part to advances in hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), America’s once dormant railroad industry has again shifted into high gear, transporting ten times more crude oil a year ago (2013) than it shipped five years earlier (2008). BUT that boon may begin to slow if the FedGov (specifically, that disaster called the Department of Energy) has its way. According to Independent Institute Research Director William F. Shughart, the agency want the industry’s fleet of cars to be replaced or upgraded within two years. He discusses it in an article appearing in The Hill: Oil Trains, Pipelines and Tanker Ships, by William F. Shughart II (The Hill, 12/22/14) Continue reading
Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-53C: Goodbye, 2014!
By Nathan Barton
Good morning, and just one day to go to get to 2015. A big storm is sweeping the Four Corners, and bitter cold is hitting the northern Rockies and Great Plains, thanks to a really strange twist in the jet stream, as the winds flow southwest and then reverse over Cape Mendocino in far Northern California and sweep east across the continent.
Some news of interest:
Not only are government agencies becoming more inefficient and failures at accomplishing their missions (and “better” at wasting money), but the contractors are as well. The WIPP fiasco was fairly low-key news almost a year ago, and it is good to see the contractor hit hard for its failure to accomplish what it is being paid for (losing 90% of their fee), but keep in mind, this is just their “fee” and all the costs of doing business for the contractor are being paid in full, in a “cost-plus-fee” contract like this. Continue reading →