More lavish spending

Orlando Sentinel: Just what America needs -- a new national energy plan that lines the pockets of energy producers with overly generous tax breaks while adding nearly $19 billion to the mushrooming national deficit.
Congress needs a refresher course in basic household finance: Don't spend what you don't have.
Unlike most Americans, the federal government doesn't have to balance its budget. But the federal deficit now stands at more than $400 billion, by conservative estimates, due largely to war-related expenses, a weak economy and politically popular tax breaks.
Financial pit
Why Congress would even think of digging an even deeper financial pit simply to placate the energy industry is unfathomable. Yet the House version of an energy bill now under negotiation provides $18 billion of energy tax incentives and just a paltry $83 million to offset those costs over 10 years. The Senate version isn't much better.
In both cases, the bulk of the tax incentives -- $10.2 billion in the House and about $7 billion in the Senate -- would benefit the fossil-fuel industry. Once again, fuel efficiency and the development of renewable resources and alternative fuels get the short end of the stick. Already, lobbyists are scavenging the Capitol for even more tasty morsels.