I noticed something interesting on a television commercial for Yes on 87, the voter initiative that would tax oil companies in California $4 billion. Check out the “major funding” statement below…

Considering that the aforementioned $4b in taxes will go into a fund for the financing of alternative fuel research, a well known cause for Khosla, I am left to consider that maybe getting taxpayers to foot the bill for research and development of new technology is the new venture capital model.

This comes on the back of another Kleiner funded taxpayer initiative, the now infamous Stem Cell Proposition 71 (which still hasn’t funded any research).

Finally, on the measure itself, I find the creation of these quasi-pivate/public entities out of taxpayer funds (and whether or not it’s industry or individuals, they are private sector) troubling. In picking on popular causes such as taxing oil companies and stem cell research the backers of these initiatives are playing on the emotions of the average citizen without ever asking them to consider the ideological considerations of public funded private sector research, and more importantly, whether these investment schemes ever succeed, which is something the history record would not support.

BTW, who wouldn’t want to tax oil companies, right? Oil companies are evil, right? Before you consider that you should read up on the history of windfall profits taxes, which the last time they were imposed during the Carter administration (Steve Westly’s claim to fame before joining Ebay) raised little in the way of revenue and ultimately were responsible for declining investment and a loss of production. Big oil is rich and they don’t need any tax subsidies, a point even President Bush made last year, but to propose taxing them just because they are front and center of everyone when they fill up their car with gas is plain and simple pandering to voter emotions.

UPDATE: a little research reveals that John Doerr, Larry Page and William Hearst (all associated with Kleiner) have also contributed significantly to this campaign.

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