Rep. Tipton states he favors an economy anchored in low taxes and a free market. A free market is defined as a system in which prices are determined by an open market, in which the laws of supply and demand are free from intervention by government.
In a free market, the market itself rewards successful industries. Economists generally agree that government subsidies distort the free market. Subsidies and tariffs choose winners and losers, instead of market forces.
Why then does Rep. Tipton stand with his party’s leader, President Trump, who recently imposed a 30 percent tariff on solar panels, and still claim he is a free market supporter? Why has Rep. Tipton turned a blind eye to our nation’s massive corporate welfare program to the fossil fuel industry? U.S. fossil fuel production is subsidized (with our taxpayer dollars) to the tune of $20 billion annually by our state and federal government.
Aren’t these subsidies using the power of government interference to manipulate energy markets to favor Tipton’s preferred energy technology and against the ones that don’t fit his political narrative and campaign donor base?
I challenge Rep. Scott Tipton to embrace his own ideals and take a stand to unleash the competitiveness of the entire energy sector by working to remove all energy subsidies and tariffs, so that his all-of-the-above energy policy can operate in a free market economy on a fair and level playing field.
Joann Kopke
Bayfield
