Blasting 'giveaways' to one industry as he exhorts Congress to give billions in 'giveaways' to another. Obama is playing flavor of the day with our tax money.

Last week in his State of the Union address, President Obama presented an energy policy that represents more of the same failed attempts to jumpstart the so-called “green sector” by investing more money in risky startups — like Solyndra — which have cost taxpayers millions of dollars already. While Obama claims that the U.S. will fall behind competing for these green jobs, the EPA has done nothing to loosen the stranglehold of regulations that have prevented the mining of rare earth metals needed to produced wind turbines and electric hybrid cars in great quantity.

While Obama literally tilts at windmills, he also demands that we increase the tax burden on domestic energy companies. In 2004 Congress enacted section 199 of the tax code to ensure domestic producers could compete with foreign competitors, many of which are subsidized by foreign governments and operate at lower cost. Obama's plan is to tax domestic energy producers at greater rates, which according to the American Petroleum Institute will create "special challenges for financing high-cost domestic projects." Which is the nice way of saying 'forget expanding domestic production' if the Obama Administration gets its way.

What does this mean for Nebraskans? Increased energy costs are a huge threat not only because they will be passed on to consumers at the pump, but particularly in the agricultural sector, which is the backbone of our economy in Nebraska. Energy prices are one of the largest drivers of production costs on farms and consequently food prices at the supermarket. With some economists predicting $5 per gallon gasoline this summer, you and I cannot afford another tax hike.

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