Page 28 - Flathead Beacon // 2.10.16

LIKE I WAS SAYING 30 AMERICAN RURAL 30 DRAWING BOARD 31 Viewpoints
LETTERS
U.S. Global Leader in Wind Production
Wind energy is one of the biggest, fastest, cheapest ways to cut carbon pollution and costs while growing Mon- tana’s economy, despite Public Service Commissioner Roger Koopman’s claims (Jan. 20 Beacon: “Federally Imposed Renewables Come at a Cost.”)
For 100 years, taxpayers have paid over $500 billion to subsidize conven- tional fuels. Many of these incentives are permanent, creating an uneven playing eld for renewables, which don’t receive this generous treatment.
Wind’s performance-based federal tax incentive helped make the U.S. a global leader in wind production, with enoughwindenergygeneratedannually for 19 million homes. Along with Ameri- can innovation, this cut costs 66 percent over six years.
Those savings are now passed on to all Americans. Over time, they will increase because wind power has no fuel price volatility. Data from the U.S. Department of Energy prove this true: wind power investments can yield over $650 million in potential savings through 2050 for Montanans. Credible studies from investment rm Lazard, the Energy Information Administration and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory show that wind’s low prices won’t climb.
Wind increases utility system reli- ability. Conventional power plants can shut down suddenly, but changes in wind eet aggregate output occur grad- ually and predictably. Wind supplies nearly 30 percent of Iowa’s electric- ity and over 20 percent in Kansas and South Dakota. At one point in November wind met over 66 percent of electricity demand on Colorado’s main grid.
Wind supports hundreds of well-pay- ing jobs in Montana while paying land- owners $2 million annually for hosting turbines, a number that could grow to over $10 million by 2030.
Tom Darin senior director, western state policy American Wind Energy Association
Kasich an E ective Leader
I met John Kasich on the Flathead Lake tour boat, then named the Retta Mary, in the early ‘90s. He was a young Ohio Congressman, and along with a few of the other passengers, I intruded on his Montana vacation to engage him in conversation. I remember that he was concerned about “corporate wel- fare.” His view was that government shouldn’t play favorites among busi- ness and economic interests, and that
the economic system functions better if government establishes general guide- lines, and allows businesses to compete within them.
I was impressed by his genuinely jovial and outgoing demeanor. He liked everybody on the small tour boat, and everybody liked him. A year or two later I had a conversation with the president of the Ohio State Senate, and I asked him if he knew Kasich. He said he did, and that he had actually served with Kasich in the Ohio Senate before Kasich went on to Congress. He described him as independent-minded, outspoken, and sometimes out of line with party lead- ership. He commented that the young state senator frequently arrived for Sen- ate sessions on his motorcycle.
Though now characterized as part of the “establishment,” I doubt that term ever t John Kasich. I’ve fol- lowed his career since meeting him. He’s been more of a maverick than an insider. I remember when he made the news by teaming up with activist Ralph Nader to reduce tax loopholes for large corporations.
In researching to write this col- umn I learned that Kasich grew up in a lower middle class family, the grand- son of southern European immigrants who couldn’t speak English. He’s been described by a long-time Ohio political observer, as a “solid Republican, but a biological Democrat.”
Perhaps that observation helps to explain why he is hard to de ne on the political spectrum. In his time in pub- lic o ce, Kasich has sometimes been criticized by the NRA, abortion rights groups, the Sierra Club, defense con- tractors, the Tea Party, public employ- ees unions and the AARP.
The common people of his congres- sional district who knew him, however, liked him and in eight races for reelec- tion, he never won by less than 60 per- cent of the votes. This, in spite of the fact that he was no middle-of-the-roader, compiling a solidly conservative voting record over his 18 year in Congress.
The main thing Kasich has been is e ective. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee he was repeatedly instrumental in reducing or eliminating wasteful and unnecessary defense spending. In doing so he was able to form alliances with liberal Cali- fornia Democrat Ron Dellums, and then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney.
As chairman of the House Budget Committee he is best remembered as the “chief architect” of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which created the only balanced federal budget in a sea of red ink extending back to the Eisen- hower administration.
Kasich was elected governor of Ohio in 2010 when the state was $6 billion in debt. By the end of his rst term the state was $2 million in the black, and in 2014 Kasich was rewarded for reelec- tion by Democrat as well as Republican Ohio voters, carrying 86 of the state’s 88 counties.
Kasich’s not colorful or charismatic. He just knows how to unify people and get things done. Too bad he’s not a color- ful huckster, more bombastic, a tougher talker. It will be too bad indeed, if the people never come to recognize the trustworthy and e ective leader they have been looking for, because he’s not a better showman.
Bob Brown former Montana secretary of state
Common Sense Gun Debate
Montana U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’ lat- est o ering in the common sense gun control debate has nally convinced me e ective legislation could be a gen- eration away. But can’t we as a society at least quit using the terms “gun” and “safety” in the same sentence? Can’t we agree on the insanity of parents teach- ing their mentally ill children how to handle an assault ri e or taking their young children to the range to shoot a weapon of war? Leaving guns and ammunition where kids can nd them should at least be branded as paren- tal neglect and everyone who carries should be fully aware the gun they pack is far more dangerous to themselves and their loved ones than it ever will be to a “bad guy.” The time of solving our prob- lems with a gun in hand ended long ago and those of us who have amassed an arsenal to take on our tyrannical gov- ernment are just plain delusional.
Tens of thousands of us ache because a loved one was killed by carelessness with a gun or the handiness of one in a time of anger or depression. Though millions of us are responsible gun own- ers, too many of us think of them as a cool toy. We can resolve to be the kind of gun owner whose guns will never harm a human being except to protect ourselves or our loved ones. That means securing our guns from kids and the emotionally distraught, admitting to ourselves that packing is too dangerous unless we’re highly trained and ready to live with the consequences of our split-second decisions, facing the fact that assault weapons are deadly, unnecessary toys, and treating all guns with the respect instant death warrants. Then we can educate others to do the same.
Lyle Olsen Eureka
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The Power of Speech
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FEBRUARY 10, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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