The latest bankruptcy of coal giant, Peabody Energy, clashes
with conservative claims that Obama is killing the energy industry in the
US. Peabody’s list of reasons for the
filing reads like the ingredients of kid’s cereal: the first one is the one in most abundance;
the last one is barely there. So it
probably breaks Mitch McConnell’s heart to learn that Peabody tossed in
“tougher regulatory environment” as their last reason for their failure. It was almost obligatory, and the ranking
Peabody gave it indicates as much.
The primary/first reason Peabody gave: the market. In other words, in Peabody’s own words,
they’re getting out of coal because it just isn’t marketable anymore. Market forces, capitalism at work.
Sure, we could continue to subsidize the coal industry so
the corporations who still employ folks in it can keep those jobs on life
support for a while longer, and lot of coal’s money has been spent lobbying
toward that end, but subsidies like that sound like big government. Subsidizing a failing enterprise (no matter
how much they contribute toward your campaign) doesn’t sound very conservative
at all, except in the sense that it’s just not smart or rational, ignores the
facts before its eyes, blames the subsequent mess on Obama. I guess in that sense it would be
“conservative,” but not in any sense remotely related to any actual
definition. On the contrary, for coal,
or Big Energy in general to expect such subsidies would seem like they have a
sense of entitlement.
But Mitch says it’s all Obama’s fault. Dear Mitch, Obama picked up the mantle
(reality) every modern president before him also carried: the size and scope of
our energy needs has grown to the point at which we can no longer ignore ALL of
the costs of its production – not just the direct costs of materials and labor
and delivery, but the costs of what that industry historically does to the
surrounding land and to the planet in general – the cost of cleaning up after
itself. At the core of this idea, it’s a
very conservative concept: clean up your own mess as soon as you’re done making
it. Not after you go outside and play
with your friends, but AS SOON AS YOU’RE DONE MAKING IT. Put your school
clothes away as soon as you’ve changed into your play clothes. Put the Legos away before getting out
Monopoly. Put your tools away when the job is done. Sweep the kitchen after you’re done making
cookies. Mop up that mess after you’re
done changing the oil. Pick up after
yourself. Don’t squander your (or
everyone’s) resources. There’s really no
denying that this is among the most core of conservative principles. Except for some reason, when asked to apply
it to corporations, it becomes liberal, intrusive, nanny-state. WTF?!
So even though the “regulatory environment” was the last
reason cited for Peabody’s failure, all it really means is after years of not
cleaning up their own mess while they were making it, they’re now being forced
to. After years of failing to factor in
the cost of cleaning up after themselves, they suddenly legally compelled to.
(Blame big government all you want, but if you refuse to live up to your
responsibilities on your own, and expect someone else to take care of your mess
for you, then the law must make you.) After years of letting the rest of
American taxpayers pay to restore what Big Energy has destroyed, the rules now
force them to take care of it themselves – as they should have all along. (and the move to that direction, fortunately,
started well before Obama was elected) The messes our energy industry has made,
but have left for others to clean up, range from negligently dangerous work
environments killing off heads of households in the form of black lung, cave
ins, explosions, etc. to the complete destruction of the tops of mountains, to
spill sites, to poisoned rivers and entire watersheds, to abandoned pit mines
left dangerously open. If Peabody made
messes like that, (messes inherent to coal) why are they surprised that they
should have to clean them up? Why did
they not factor in the cost of cleaning up after themselves all along?
Expecting the rest of the nation to clean up after them so as not to infringe
on their profits is the ultimate example of entitlement!
So as we listen to Senator McConnell pin this latest example
of capitalism at work entirely on Obama, remember what your mom would tell you
if you asked if you could go out and play while your school clothes and all
your toys were still scattered all over your room. If that’s all on Obama, then he’s pretty
conservative. He and Mitch McConnell should
get along a lot better than they do.
Luth
Out
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