In this video clip Vice President Biden argues that renewable energy subsidies, a "down payment" is working, and that such subsidies will provide the platform for economic growth required for the future.
A curious statement jumped out at me: "...in the process we spurred businesses...to bring capital in off the sidelines."
Businesses do not invest because government programs, lending, or spending "spurs" them. Stable markets, predictable taxation, and, above all, an increased demand for their goods and services spur businesses to invest capital.
Contrariwise, capital remains "on the sidelines" when government spends too much and makes tax hikes more likely, makes markets unstable with a flurry of new regulations and legislation, and suppresses demand for their goods and services by encouraging consumers to consume less due to economic uncertainty.
Consumers are just not demanding wind and solar energy alternatives. And businesses do not see an efficient means of making a profit providing wind and solar energy, so they are not putting their money unwisely at risk in renewable energy.
Hence the need to artificially prop up an industry with government subsidies, that is, tax payer funds.
When a business is "spurred" to invest using government subsidies, it is not investing. Rather, it is taking advantage of a government manipulation of an otherwise free market. So it really is no longer a business at that point; it is colluding with government to foster a monopolistic environment in which profit made by siphoning from unwilling tax payers, not by satisfying the needs and wants of consumers voluntarily choosing to consume their products and services.
