Say Anything

Via Mark Perry, this chart from the Congressional Budget Office shows how “tax preferences” (read: tax credits and deductions and the like) were allocated in the energy industry in 2011.

As you can see, the “green” industry got the lion’s share ($14 billion) with traditional energy getting a much smaller share ($3 billion):

I’m not sure that I’m in favor of any tax preferences. I’d draw a distinction, though, between tax deductions allowed and tax credits, the latter amounting to outright subsidy payments.

That said, it’s pretty clear that if we want to point fingers at the rent-seekers, it’s the “green industry” we ought to be pointing to. President Obama likes to attack “subsidies for big oil,” but what about subsidies for big green?