I call shenanigans

I am watching a fascinating episode of "Nova" on PBS-HD. The episode is titled "Saved by the Sun" and talks about our current ability to produce solar power (the episode will repeat throughout the week). Right now the technology is expensive and not quite fully efficient, but it is very real and a viable option. Elsewhere in the world you can actually make money by having solar panels on your house due to favorable energy rates (Germany's Renewable Energy policy is set up so that you get paid 50 cents for the electricity you produce versus being charged only 20 cents for the energy you consume).
But in the US we have the government looking to make as much money off of the process as possible. An example of an average solar system in the US is shown on the special, it cost $24,000 with $12,000 in tax credits, but for a system that size you can only count on cutting your energy costs in half. Here is a story about how much wind farms in Illinois will be taxed, but if the $3.37 million in tax is a realistic amount for how much money they are making then they should be taxed. But considering that big oil has gotten multi-billion dollar tax breaks (for increasing oil production? really that is the basis for the break? using up a finite resource faster?) and the industry on average only pays a 13.3% tax rate. Alternative energy providers should get similar tax incentives for producing renewable sources of energy and pay a similar rate. The government needs to step up now and take a stand against the established fossil fuel powers and level the energy playing field.
The problem is the "room". The "room", in my mind at least, is like something out of a "X-Files" episode where the people in charge (the real people in charge, not our government) make the decisions that will make the elite even more money. Or it could be that the elite can actually afford to influence the government with lobbyists to give them breaks that will make them more money (this is more likely but I think that if there are people that are able to buy our government, that by know they would have been exposed).

In the words of Cartman "I call shenanigans!"