Palin Calls Obama’s Cap and Trade “Cap and Tax”

In a sharp and intelligently-written op-ed in the Washington Post, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin nails the argument against Obama’s Cap and Trade legislation which even the most liberal readers will have to consider.

Calling Obama’s plan “Cap and Tax,” Palin, the former vice-presidential candidate, makes her case that this environmental legislation, in its current form, “would undermine our recovery over the short term and would inflict permanent damage” by driving up prices on energy and consumer goods as well as result in massive job losses.

Palin is sharply critical of Obama’s openly admitting that his Cap and Trade legislation will “necessarily skyrocket” electricity rates which will impact everyone including lower income people.

Palin, who will soon step down as governor, is convincing in making it clear that cap and trade is not the only solution to environmental issues and that other alternatives, including incentives, will free us from foreign energy dependence as well as improve the environment.

“We have an important choice to make. Do we want to control our energy supply and its environmental impact? Or, do we want to outsource it to China, Russia and Saudi Arabia? Make no mistake: President Obama’s plan will result in the latter,” Palin says.

Here are the links:

The ‘Cap and Tax’ Dead End by Sarah Palin | The Washington Post

Obama:  My Plan Makes Electricity Rates Skyrocket | You Tube

 

Cap and Trade Could Lead to Another Economic Meltdown

The Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com) is reporting that if cap and trade becomes law, we could see another market meltdown similar to the subprime mess.

The carbon permits created by the legislation, if left unregulated, “would create whole new classes of financial assets, which financial firms could securitze, derivatize, and speculate on,” according to csmonitor.com.  This market, the article claims, “is expected to become the world’s largest derivatives market.”

C. S. Monitor link:  Could cap-and-trade create another economic bubble? | csmonitor.com.

Another serious concern about cap and trade is how American farmers will be on the losing end of the deal (read the  story linked below).

Stop the Cap and Trade Bill | www.postbulletin.com.

 

Senator Byrd Opposes Cap and Trade

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia is not in favor of cap and trade legislation because of its threat to West Virginia’s economy which has a large coal industry.

“I cannot support the House bill in its present form.  I continue to believe that clean coal can be a ‘green’ energy.  Those of us who understand coal’s great potential in our quest for energy independence must continue to work diligently in shaping a climate bill that will ensure access to affordable energy for West Virginians,” Byrd said according to the Wheeling News-Register.

Byrd is expected to return to the Senate floor, after a hospital stay, before voting begins on cap and trade.

The House recently passed cap and trade (House Resolution 2454) in a close vote 219-212.  This bill is now being reviewed by the Senate and voting is expected to begin this Fall.  If passed by the Senate in its current form and signed into law by President Obama, H. R. 2454 will result in the largest tax increase ever and is expected to drive up consumer costs on energy and virtually all consumer goods including food.

Link to Wheeling News-Register article:  Byrd Blasts ‘Cap and Trade’ – News, Sports, Jobs – The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register.

 

While Media’s Attention Focussed on Jackson, Senate Works on Cap and Trade

While most major media are swarming L. A. for the Michael Jackson funeral today, Congress is quietly moving forward with cap and trade legislation which, if passed and signed into law, will become the largest tax increase in the history of the world and drive up prices on everything we need and use.

The Senate Environment Committee convened today to discuss, in a question and answer session, the legislation which already passed the House.  Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R) was interviewed this morning.  Later today, Mayor John Fetterman (D) of Braddock, Pennsylvania, is expected to share his views with the committee.

While Governor Barbour is concerned about the expense of cap and trade, Mayor Fetterman is all for it.  Braddock, a former steel town in Western Pennsylvania, will benefit from cap and trade because of the benefits to former steel workers.  Even though no American steel will be used in the electricity-producing windmills, Fetterman says, “I sure hope it passes.”

Watch this afternoon’s session at cspan.org.

 

Dems Acknowledge Cap and Trade Will Kill American Jobs

According to Peter Roff in U. S. News & World Report, the Democrats acknowledge that their cap and trade legislation, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Obama, will not create jobs but will be responsible for killing jobs, as many as “3 million by 2030.”

“The House-passed version of cap and trade,” says Roff, ” is all about jobs:  jobs lost, jobs never created, jobs sent overseas, and, unbelievably, jobs people will be paid for doing long after they cease to exist.”

Roff says that Democrats acknowledge the loss of American jobs in the legislation itself – they have inserted language which will pay the disemployed weekly checks “for up to three years” plus  other monetary “generous benefits” which will cost the American taxpayer billions.

Read Roff’s article at this link:  Democrats Admit That Their Cap and Trade Bill Is a Job Killer – Peter Roff (usnews.com).

 

Ohio Fights Back Against Cap and Trade

Citing that Obama’s “cap and trade program will result  in massive increase for all consumers,” the Ohio Senate passed a resolution on Tuesday opposing the federal legistlation, according to the Star Beacon in Ashtabula, Ohio.

In what many are now viewing as the biggest increase in taxes in the history of the world, Obama’s environmental policy of cap and trade would affect every area of everyone’s lives and place taxes and excessive restrictions on food, energy, clothing, and even what kind of trees can be planted and where they can be planted.

Acknowledging that cap and trade would cause an increase in expenses for every American citizen, the U. S. Congressional Budget Office agreed that lower income income people would be hurt the worst by cap and trade.

“CBO has acknowledged these increases in energy costs will act as a regressive tax and affect every household in the nation, according to the Ohio Senate resolution,” as reported in the Star Beacon story.

Regression or “regressive” taxes, which have been acknowledged by the Congressional Budget Office for cap and trade, are particularly severe on people in lower income brackets because these kinds of taxes take a larger share out of their income.  Someone who makes more money has less of a chunk coming out of their income and therefore is more able to afford necessary goods and services.

Cap and trade has already passed the House and is now being considered by the Senate.  In addition to taxes (the rates will increase year after year and take more money out of people’s pockets) on all goods and services, including food, this legislation now being considered by the U. S. Senate would place hundreds of restrictions on our daily lives, require us having Federal inspectors into our homes, and would ration water and electrical energy.  The bill which passed the House prohibits anyone from selling their home until a Federal inspector approves it for sale; if the inspector rejects the home, the home owner would be required to make expensive green retrofits to the home.

See these links for the list of hidden items in the current cap and trade legislation:

1. http://www.examiner.com/x-2304-DC-Republican-Examiner~y2009m7d1-Fun-with-Cap-and-Trade-No-more-than-60-watts-in-your-candelabra

2. http://patriotroom.com/article/picking-our-way-through-waxman-markey

3. http://soitgoesinshreveport.blogspot.com/2009/06/whats-in-waxman-markey-bill.html

Star Beacon story link: The Star Beacon; Ashtabula, Ohio – Resolution opposing cap and trade adopted by Ohio Senate Tuesday.

 

Cap and Trade Won’t Work

As the Dems in Congress try to garner votes for the cap and trade bill, a new report says that cap and trade won’t work and can be more damaging to environment and economy.

Read this:  Cap and trade will not save the earth.

 

Waxman & Dems Committee Pass Cap and Trade: Expect Higher Prices If It Becomes Law

The Washington Post is reporting that the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the controversial cap and trade bill, a 1,000-page document, giving committee members less than a week to review and debate it.

The committee, chaired by Democrat Henry Waxman (California) (see previous post “Will Waxman Get His Way?”) passed the measure 35 – 25 after late-night sessions.

If the bill passes the full House and Senate, it would impact everyone’s wallets.  The average family could see increases of over $4,000 “per year in a few decades,” according to the Washington Post.

It’s not certain whether this bill, as it stands now, will even get past the House because it has resistance not just from the Republicans but also from some Democrats who are concerned about its impact on industries including agriculture, according to the Washington Post.

The Washington Post reports that the Senate has never passed any cap and trade measure.

In their usual way of doing things, expect this bill to be amended and watered-down by the House and then again by the Senate.  But, if the Democratic majority does manage to get it to the President’s desk with its main features, we can all expect prices to go up on mostly everything including electricity, groceries, and consumer goods.

Instead of lawmakers putting through what is essentially another tax, why don’t they work on ways to offer incentives for power companies and other industries to break away from dependency on foreign oil?

Washington Post Link to story:  House Panel Passes Limit on Greenhouse-Gas Emissions – washingtonpost.com

 

Technorati Tags: cap and trade,Waxman,Washington,House,government,government and politics

 

Will Waxman Get His Way?

Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee worked late into the Washington night in their attempt to fast-track a 1,000-page energy bill without adequate debate.

Essentially, this energy bill, pushed by Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-California) and Representative Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts), would establish a cap and trade on carbon dioxide emissions and would increase electricity rates for consumers across the nation.

According to CNSNews, Waxman intends to ram the legislation through committee and “to conclude consideration of the legislation” by today.

Republicans object that there has not been adequate time – less than one week – to review the bill which is nearly a thousand pages.  Additionally, the minority party is concerned that the public is not aware of what this bill would do and its consequences to their wallets.

“Pass it now!  Explain it later,” is how Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas), the Committee’s minority leader, describes Waxman’s tactics which include bypassing an important subcommittee which would address the bill’s impact on industry.

Barton and other Republicans are accusing Waxman of jamming the bill through before lawmakers or the public know what’s going on “to skirt serious debate” on the bill, according to CNSNews.

A recent Rasmussen poll shows that less than 25% of voters even know what “cap and trade” is and that it has to do with environmental matters.  With these low numbers, there is justified reason to be concerned about quickly pushing legislation like this through Congress since the American public is not completely aware of how this policy can affect energy prices including for electricity.

Click here for more information on “cap and trade” or go to this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_trading

CNSNews Link:

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=48290

Technorati Tags: environment,cap and trade,Waxman,House,Barton,Markey,Politics,Government and politics,Government,Washington,politics as usual