I don&#x27;t think downandout is confused with the purpose of taxes, nor do I see it disagreeing with them.<p>The point I think (and to which I agree) is that <i>real</i> costs matter because <i>anything</i> can be &quot;competitive&quot; with enough subsidization.  And subsidization doesn&#x27;t make things cheaper in the real sense, it simply realigns incentives.<p>As is, renewables are heavily subsidized, fossil fuels are taxed heavily, and there&#x27;s still a gap.  It&#x27;s trivial to close that gap through tax policy.  So then the question becomes, what is the correct level of subsidization?  I&#x27;m not sure, but I don&#x27;t think the answer is &quot;more, more, more&quot;.  Because eventually you will eliminate the industry that is paying the taxes to offset the subsidized one. When it&#x27;s no longer economically feasible to pay those heavy subsidies, that&#x27;s when you&#x27;ll see why the <i>real</i> cost of production matters.