Who pays the piper?

Of course, some bills are presented more promptly. The enormous costs of renewable energy, and the ridiculous subsidies handed out by governments eager to get the green vote, are a case in point.

de Tocqueville also wrote "A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it." We all hope that someone else will pay these bills, but our hopes are obviously delusional – unless you're very rich or very poor.

About 50% of government revenue comes from income tax, and you don't pay your share of income tax if you're very rich and have a good accountant, or you are so poor that you don't pay any tax at all.

Another 15% comes from company tax. Contrary to popular belief, this tax doesn't come out of the pockets of a few rich and greedy capitalists. If companies can't recover the costs by increasing prices, then they can decrease dividends, and you'd be surprised how that affects your super fund. Companies, in the long run, are just collections of individuals, and those individuals are mainly you.

15% comes from GST, and that gets everyone. Of course just because you pay it doesn't mean you get the benefits when it's spent.

Whatever the cost, the people who pay it are the ordinary Joes like you and me. Well actually, being a Builder, I think I pay a bit more than my share, because I'm a self-funded retiree, and it seems that my unearned income is fair game for a government eager for revenue. Gen Y will discover that when they reach my age, when the general welfare becomes more important than the individual.

I have a relative who is a fairly wealthy farmer and grazier. Through multiple companies, he spent a considerable amount on solar panels recently – he reckons it's a terrific investment. I went sailing with him recently, and it became obvious that the owners of waterfront mansions were eager to make this investment. Take a look around your neighbourhood and see who has the solar panels! It's not the poor people!

We can fairly easily identify who benefits from various government schemes for our betterment, identifying who pays is not as simple. AGL is the biggest investor in wind energy in Australia, and they find the business very much to their liking. So do the farmers they pay very handsomely to house their turbines. They couldn't possibly afford it if not for a very handsome government subsidy.

The cost of which, of course, goes straight on to your electricity bill – along with the cost of the very substantial infrastructure costs needed to connect the wind farms to the grid. Then there are the health costs of those who live near the farms, but that hasn't been proven, and so can be discounted.

One of the largest companies in the business of solar energy is BP. It seems ironic that the big end of town so derided by Bob Brown benefits so profitably from his policies.

When you hear your betters exhorting you to be more green, ask yourself who they are asking to pay the bill.

Some bills run up by the government on our behalf have unforeseen (?) and unfortunate effects.