Energy , Good Government
Jonathan Small | September 21, 2018
Wind cronyism costs linger
Jonathan Small
How did mankind figure out fire without a government program? These days every new technology has backers who insist they are one more government check away from being the next big thing. That was the Solyndra story, and in Oklahoma, it is the story of wind farm companies.
Crony handouts are unfair – the biggest, best-connected companies benefit, often at the expense of the little guy or the disruptive outsider. They are also addictive. Even after the Oklahoma Legislature repealed the most lavish subsidies and tax breaks in 2017, wind energy companies are still trying to avoid paying ordinary taxes.
Read the rest over on The Journal Record.
Jonathan Small
President
Jonathan Small, C.P.A., serves as President and joined the staff in December of 2010. Previously, Jonathan served as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma Office of State Finance, as a fiscal policy analyst and research analyst for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and as director of government affairs for the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Small’s work includes co-authoring “Economics 101” with Dr. Arthur Laffer and Dr. Wayne Winegarden, and his policy expertise has been referenced by The Oklahoman, the Tulsa World, National Review, the L.A. Times, The Hill, the Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post. His weekly column “Free Market Friday” is published by the Journal Record and syndicated in 27 markets. A recipient of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s prestigious Private Sector Member of the Year award, Small is nationally recognized for his work to promote free markets, limited government and innovative public policy reforms. Jonathan holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma and is a Certified Public Accountant.