A Fool and His Money

The latest from Berkeley, California: rooftop solar panels on an installment plan.

An Oakland company called Renewable Funding sells bonds to cover the installation, then gives cash to the homeowner, who then pays the cost back via their property taxes over 20 years.

I see a problem here.  Technology does not remain static.  Especially not renewable energy technology, with all the billions of dollars being thrown at it.

Long before these bonds are paid off, there will be some new whiz-bang carbon-free residential energy technology that produces energy more cheaply and efficiently, and rooftop solar panels will become the equivalent of a black rotary-dial telephone.  

How enthusiastic are the property owners going to be about paying the mortgage on their solar panels when solar panels are no longer cutting edge?  Who will be left to pick up the pieces when the residents stop paying and Renewable Funding defaults on the bonds?

And let's talk about redistribution of income.   According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the woman in the picture received a $3,000 from Pacific Gas and Electric and a $6,600 tax credit for the installation of her $20,000 system.  Not a bad chunk of change, but is a $9,600 wealth transfer to a well-off Berkeley liberal the best use of scarce resources in hard times?

I Love Tennessee

Be part of the resistance!  For $5, you can share your views on Obama's deadbeat bailout with the world, or at least with the Prius driver behind you at the red light.

This is the latest in a series of amusing fundraising bumperstickers from the Tennessee GOP.  The previous one read:  "YOUR WALLET:  The Only Place Democrats Want To Drill."  I had people following me into parking lots to ask where they could get one.

Get some at www.tngop.org.

What Was Nancy Wearing?

During Obama's speech, it occurred to me that Nancy Pelosi and I have the same bathrobe.

The Cartoon

I am fascinated by the African American community's reaction to the the New York Post cartoon.  What does it say about them that they think of the President when they see a chimp? 

Frankly, I find the cartoon hilarious.  The cartoonist nailed it; anyone who has read even a portion of the Stimulus Package comes away convinced that it was written by a bunch of crazed chimps.

"Written," of course, being the operative verb.  The President didn't write the bill, he just signed it into law.  So despite the bleatings of the reactionary race-baiters, this wasn't even about the President.  But if you want to see racism, you will; anyone inclined to make satirical use of the Great Apes and/or Curious George, beware.