[skeeter]

Big deal. I’d bet virtually all the growth in the solar industry was due to government(taxpayer) subsidies.

[Sgt_Schultze]

You're right, but to be fair, world oil is heavily subsidized by the American taxpayer. Remember an important use of the US navy is protecting the shipping lanes from pirates. Without generous funding from your neighbors, the distributors' costs for moving their products would be substantially higher - even in insurance premiums protecting against loss.

I'm pretty tired of the rest of the world transporting all manners of products around the globe with the satisfied assurance that the US taxpayer is protecting their investment. It's well past time that the US government began assessing other nations for the services of protecting their exports in transit.

[Nervous Tick]

>> I’d bet virtually all the growth in the solar industry was due to government(taxpayer) subsidies.

I’d bet you’re right, because I only bet on sure things. :-)

And not US government subsidies either: it was mostly the Germans (and a few other euro countries), and the Canadians.

What’s more, as the subsidies dried up, so did the growth.

It would be funny to remind this clown of the front page of the daily tradeshow rag at Intersolar last year — lamenting the *lack* of real solar business. (Of course they always predict a rosy *future* no matter how bleak is is today, because after all it IS a tradeshow.)