Laffer on Energy: "Take A Walk On The Supply Side"

Arthur Laffer's oped in today's Wall Street Journal is required reading.

Yes, I know... "that Arthur Laffer"-- the apostle of supply-side economics and the archetype of everything that the Republicans allegedly did wrong. But this piece on energy independence is really good.

I especially like the last line of his essay:

"Whenever California's current policies -- full of taxes and regulations that are crippling its economy -- are held up as a model, you know the speaker has a lot to learn."

However the entire thing is good reading. In a nutshell he argues that energy independence for the United States is a fantasy because it wold result in $20/gallon gas, cheap oil for the rest of the world [read: "China"], loss of American jobs, etc. He gets behind offshore drilling and nuclear power, and even gives Al Gore props for his proposal to offset a carbon tax with a dollar-for dollar payroll tax reduction or income tax reduction.

The piece is fairly short and an easy read. I recommend it highly:

Obama Should Forget About Energy Independence [Wall Street Journal]