December 1, 2006 3:58PM 

# Debbie Hammons for President! 

By [Jerry Taylor](https://www.cato.org/people/jerry-taylor) 

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I’m not kidding. Ms. Hammons, a Democratic state legislator from Worland, WY, this week [made a bit of a splash in fly-over country](http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2006/11/30/news/wyoming/044a7cb7886171c8872572350002f202.txt) by questioning a $2.2 million annual tax break for investors considering building a type of coal-gasification electricity plant in her state.

“When is it an incentive and when is it a subsidy?” she asked. “What if we create a false sense of commercialization?”

It would appear from the press account that nobody there seems to have any idea exactly what she’s driving at.

Anyway, good questions, Rep. Hammons. Are you sure you’re in the right line of work?

##### Related Tags 

[Energy and Environment](https://www.cato.org/research/energy-environment), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) 

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