Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra says federal alternative energy business subsidies are a waste of money that he would end if given the chance. The former congressman appeared Friday on a statewide public radio call-in show.
Pete Hoekstra says the bankruptcy of the battery company A-123 and the business troubles facing LG Chem are proof their federal subsidies were a poor bet. Both those companies have operations in Michigan.
Hoekstra dismisses the argument that without government subsidies, the alternative energy industry and the jobs that go with it would wind up in Germany, Japan, or Korea.
“Just because other countries are stupid, and think they can drive the market, we shouldn’t embrace those kinds of policies," he says. "That’s not who America is.”
Hoekstra says it would be better to take a tougher approach to enforcing international trade rules that discourage government subsidies.
Hoekstra faces Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow on the November ballot.
