The House of Representatives passed the Cap and Trade legislation yesterday by a slim margin. Now the bill will move on to the Senate where it will again face serious challenges.
Democrats consider the Cap and Trade bill historic. Republicans think the bill will be expensive and accomplish little to help the environment. Neither side has read the bill. The 1,200 page bill was just released from committee this week, and, well…. It’s 1,200 pages.
Supporters of Cap and Trade cite an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office that the bill will only cost the average household about $175 by the year 2020. That’s not a lot of money if you consider normal rates of inflation over ten years. The problem with the analysis is that it is irrelevant relative to the costs of the bill because the major costs don’t come into play until after 2020, nor does the CBO’s analysis include the impacts to GDP.
Let me repeat that so that I am clear: The cost of Cap and Trade for a period of one calendar year which occurs BEFORE the major costs hit, will be $175 per family. And after 2020???
Stated differently, Congress has no clue what this bill will cost. But it’s okay because we have more than ten years before the costs will really matter and by then, some miracle is bound to occur.
Congress is playing games to buy their reelection. Those games impact our environment, our economy, and our children’s future.
We the People need to demand that the members of the U.S. Senate, in a bipartisan action, request a thorough analysis of costs and benefits from the CBO. Then, Senators and their staffs need to carefully read the CBO analysis and the bill. Afterward, the Senate can debate this critical legislation.
The planet will not melt while the Senate takes its time to act responsibly but our economy may melt if they don’t.
Contact your state’s Senators and demand they read and study Cap and Trade thoroughly before they vote! Go to the United States Senate site for contact information.
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The bill is indeed historic as far as the outrageous lies, manipulation, intimidation and bribes used by Obama and his accomplices to force the House to pass Obama’s economy killing bill. Corruption and cohertion reached levels previously seen only in Marxist dictatorships like Cuba or Venezuela.
Obama’s Cap and trade is another giant step towards Marxism — and the corruption, poverty, enslavement, destruction and despair that Marxism entails.
Obama is working much faster than Hugo Chavez at destroying the economy and imposing Marxism. No wonder the Russians are gloating:
From Pravda: “…the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people…” http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/107459-american_capitalism-0
We are NOT hapless sheeple! We must do whatever is necessary to defend ourselves and our children from the Marxist dictatorship that’s being set up in Washington.
Hey Robert,
Good blog name
“Mind Your Own Damn Business Politics”
- wish the house would actually mind the business of CO2, assuming it needs to be dealt with anyway.
You talk about the costs…
Well one thing that keeps getting ignored is the ENERGY EFFICIENCY
side of savings: Maybe it sounds too good to criticize.
BAN consumers from buying what they WANT and applaud the savings!
(Little savings in banning impopular products, and inefficient products need to be popular or noone would buy them, classic example Edison’s light bulb, bought 19 times out of 20 in the USA and therefore a banning priority with a big section 211 all to its own in the Waxman-Markey Bill!).
The fact is that efficiency regulation on a product sacrifices performance, construction, appearance and price features, and does not necessarily give the savings suggested anyway.
See
http://ceolas.net/#cc2x
onwards regarding efficiency regulation effect on buildings, lightbulbs, cars, dishwashers and other products.
As for Cap and Trade…..
Cap and Trade is an expensive roundabout way of achieving…not very much.
Whatever one’s attitude to greenhouse gas emissions, they be lowered
just by changes in electricity and transport (together responsible for 4/5 of emissions!).
Electricity and transport changes have their own advantages – regardless of also lowering CO2:
1. Local environmental benefit from less pollution of sulphur and all else that’s in the emissions, regardless of the less certain or immediate global benefit from CO2 reduction – and that is one reason why the focus on carbon trading is wrong, compared with the focus on reducing fuel combustion emissions.
2. Electricity supply alternatives which together with improved grid distribution gives better conmpetition and keeps down electricity bills for consumers.
3. Transport alternatives (using electricity, hydrogen and other energy sources), which also reduces the dependency on oil imports.
In 2020, from then available evidence, either
1. There is increasing consensus that global warming can’t be stopped anyway, and that further specific reduction attempts have no value: In that case little has been lost, since the described changes in electricity and transport industry carry their own benefit, or
2. Consensus remains that CO2 emission reduction should continue, in which case America is on track, and may continue with more specific emission reduction efforts for the years 2030 aqnd 2050 that also bring in agriculture, cement, steel and other industry whose businesses hitherto did not need disruption.
Cost to businesses – and the consumers – is kept to a minimum,
by equity and long term loan finance, the latter can be fed/state guaranteed to keep down interest rates, with slow payback anyway giving little affected consumer electricity bills or car costs.
No disruption of American business practice and planning, by emission trading.
No volatile extra emission trading costs for a range of businesses, passed on to consumers.
Understanding Cap and Trade + why it is bad for America, see
http://ceolas.net/#cce5x
Well….what did you expect from a bunch of criminals. It’s too bad we can’t throw the RICO act at the entire bunch….conspiracy to commit fraud, larcency, etc.
Just like in the “stimulus” bill, there’s going to be wording in there that will protect certain elements and friends of the administration (“it’s OK…I lied about no lobbyists with my presidency…BHO”). I’m sure the oversight provisions in it are weak, and fraud and waste are bound to follow.
It’s breathtaking how fast BHO wants to do things….it’s as if he knows his time is short before 2010 (assuming the GOP can get their sh-t together).
CAP and TRADE(TAX) is ENRON forced onto everyone.
CAP and TRADE(TAX) is the most damaging plan for American Freedom.
CAP and TRADE(TAX) places the entire U.S. economy on the shoulders of speculation and manipulation within the Chicago Clinmate Exchange(CCX)
CAP and TRADE(TAX) slaughters middle class America and small business.
The wealther will get richer (CCX) and the poor will get free government grants to pay their bills and buy their votes, while
the U.S. government creates this hugh slush fund for more world
government expansion and manipulation.
Don’t just say no to CAP and TRADe(TAX)!
Just say hell no to CAP and TRADE(TAX) ENRON type trading scheme that would change American freedom in a very bad European Union way.
A legal American citizen from Atlanta, GA
HAPPY 4th all year long.
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