Ask any economist and they’ll tell you that subsidies are an inefficient use of government resources. If a government wants to incentivize innovation and new technologies, its funds can be put to much better uses, like research and development. And once a subsidy is in place, it’s virtually impossible to repeal: the subsidized industry grows to rely on it, gets stronger financially, and gains political clout.
In the energy industry, there are lots of subsidies. But none are more attacked by environmental groups and the press than the government’s handouts to the fossil-fuel industry.
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