“Wouldn't you like to get in on the bottom of the next Google?”
“Can you picture yourself behind the wheel of this beauty?”
“Hey, baby, looking for a good time?”
Those are questions we might be inclined to say yes to, but the wiser among us would first ask, what's it going to cost?
Who can put a price on a great investment or a hot set of wheels or a fun time? Anybody can, and the seller certainly will. Let the buyer beware. Nothing is free, many things are overpriced, some things are worthless, and some will leave you bankrupt.
How much you'll have to pay for something is a question best considered beforehand, not afterward when it's too late to bail out.
This is especially true of legislation – particularly, legislation that purports to be in the best interests of children or the environment and is promoted as being cost-free or even profitable. Particularly, legislation like the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill.
When are we going to learn that the green in green energy represents the money that crony capitalists roll in when we buy into their boondoggles?
We are told, and are expected to believe, that the bill will reduce electricity usage by 20 percent over the next decade via efficiency improvements in home and workplace. All we know for certain, however, is that it will promote wind and solar projects by increasing to 35 percent the amount of power that must come from renewable sources, and that it will establish a state carbon exchange market.
The bill's supporters – including the Illinois Citizens Utility Board (CUB) – claim it will cut power bills by $1.6 billion, generate $23 billion in clean energy investment, and create 32,000 clean jobs.
Economic policy expert Mark Glennon demurs. “Consumers in Illinois are totally unaware how much they’re paying for these green energy solutions,” he warns. “CUB is not providing good information, nor is anyone else.”
Caveat emptor.