Unfortunately, cap and trade is on its way to becoming a disastrous reality now that is has passed the House. Cap and trade will be the largest tax expansion in history and is destined to destroy millions of jobs, increase the welfare rolls, greatly lower our standard of living, and do next to nothing for the environment.
An Associated Press headline read, House narrowly passes major energy-climate bill. The problem with that misleading headline is that the so-called climate aspect of the bill is totally irrelevant. Analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that world temperatures would be reduced by 0.1 to 0.2 degrees C. In other words, a statistically irrelevant difference that is completely unnoticeable.
Proponents of the bill often cite the report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). However, it is a flawed analysis that is based on accounting, not economics. They ignore economic costs such as the decrease in gross domestic product (GDP); and their allowance cost numbers do not add up.
Why is cap and trade so costly? “Eighty-five percent of our energy use today is based on CO2-emitting fossil fuels. The ability to switch to non-CO2-emitting energy sources over the next 20 years is limited and expensive. Therefore, significant cuts in CO2 emissions require significant cuts in energy use. The energy cuts, in turn, reduce economic activity, shrink GDP, and destroy jobs.” It is estimated that anywhere from 2.3 to 2.7 million jobs will be lost each year. American manufacturers will be shipping more jobs overseas to places like China, India, or Mexico, where they won’t face increased costs. “The inherent complexity of a government-regulated emissions trading system sets the stage for a perpetual struggle for political handouts. This makes Waxman-Markey [cap and trade] a good way to promote corruption, but not energy efficiency.”
“In total, for the years 2012-2035, a family of four will see its direct energy costs rise by $22,800.” Adjusted for inflation, these numbers do not include the indirect costs people will pay as producers raise prices to offset their higher production costs (of those jobs that aren’t moved to other countries). “Also excluded are the higher costs of developing more energy-efficient cars and appliances, the disutility of driving smaller, less safe vehicles, and the discomfort of using less heating and cooling.” President Obama even admitted that his cap and trade plan would make energy costs “skyrocket.”
Why the deception by Democrats and the mainstream media on this bill? Because if people truly understood what it will do to their lives and families, it would have almost no chance of passing. That is why they want to ram this bill through (over 1,200 pages), and constantly refer to it as a “climate-change” bill, even though it does virtually nothing for the environment.
Some other aspects of cap and trade that will affect us all:
- Homebuyers Beware. Trying to save up for a new home? You may have to save up a little longer for your purchase. The Democrats’ bill would dramatically increase new home costs by mandating California’s expensive new building codes for the entire nation. Immediately upon enactment, the Democrats’ bill would demand a 30 percent increase in energy efficiency for new construction. A couple of years later, the Democrats’ bill would require an additional 50 percent improvement. These numbers were chosen with no concern for cost to consumers or feasibility in implementation.
- Homebuilders Beware. The Democrats’ bill imposes new mandatory regulations and civil penalties for homebuilders. If your state refuses to accept the stringent and costly California building codes, the federal government may assess penalties. And don’t get too comfortable with the new mandatory regulations because the Democrats’ bill allows for “consensus-based” codes to supplant those outlined in the bill. So, as soon as you’ve invested your hard-earned money to comply with the bill’s mandates, the rug could get pulled from underneath you. Translation? You’ll pony up more and more money.
- Home Sellers Beware. Having a hard time selling your home? Here’s one more hurdle to jump: all homes sales are conditioned upon an energy audit and a new energy rating assessment and energy labeling program for your home that’s outlined in the Democrats’ bill. And if you thought you could improve your property with a fresh coat of paint and some granite counters? Think again! Now your home will be subjected to a new energy rating assessment and energy labeling program that will penalize you for older windows, original fixtures, and dated appliances. So the Democrats’ bill would bring down the value of your home!
- New Lights No Matter the Cost. As early as 2012, the Democrats’ bill eliminates all existing lighting technology used in many outdoor lighting fleets (parking lots, stadiums, secured facilities like power plants and factories). Just as an example, switching to the mandated technology in the bill will cost one small utility about $30 million in annual revenue. So you now have to comply with the new mandates for new lighting? Hold the phone. It is not clear that a feasible alternative technology is available for every existing lighting application - regardless of cost - which could force some businesses to close.
The rich will not be affected, as they can afford an extra $3,000 + in energy bills every year, along with all the other hidden costs that will surface. But for the rest of us it will be extremely painful. And all this is being done, ostensibly for the environment, and for a negligible gain at that. This administration and a complicit media are systematically lying to the American people. It is absolutely disgraceful for the Pelosi-Obama gang to be thrusting this massive tax increase (and outrageous controls over everything in our lives, right down to light bulbs) on the American people in a time of economic recession.
Powered by FireStats
[...] Waxman-Markey will add to selling a home–which is already an ordeal. Are you ready for an energy audit before placing your home on the [...]
Very nice summary. I wonder about motive. Is it enough for Pelosi, Waxman, Obama et al that they exercise such dominant control of our day to day lives that power alone is motive enough for such an ‘obamanation’ of a bill? It has to be that they are either ignorant or malevolant, or both. The reporting on ownership interests of these politicians while scant, certainly reveals a vested and substantial interest in this whole ‘green technology’ scam. But the revelation of their contempt for the ‘little guy’, for our ability to inform ourselves I guess is just an indication of how arrogant they are, and how stupid and asleep they think we are. And while many of us are asleep and uninformed, I have to remain hopeful that the true American spirit cannot be crushed or thwarted by this incredible attempted takeover of our government and economy.
Nice article… El Rushbo read parts word-for-word today. I didn’t hear a citation either
Hey that’s true! Credit where its due….my respect for the great one is dimished a tad.
[...] the full story here about the Massive Cap and Trade Tax Passes House: What to Expect Economically the hose has just narrowly passed this bill that would drastically change the Hosing market and the [...]
I am commencing to believe there is a conspiracy to do this Country in. More and more it looks this way. The only logical conclusion I can come up with.
Now to find out who they are.
If we change from incandescant to flourescent, what happens to all the mercury from broken discarded flourescents???
Here is an excerpt from The Light Bulb Police:
But remember, these CFL bulbs will help ’save the planet’ we are told. And since We The People are servants to the federal government, we should do as we are told.
Cap and Trade Congress in 2010. How did so many idiots end up in the same place?
Does the government think they own the air now. Give me a break. Some things can’t be bought. We should of known better when our cars had to start being smogged. Clearly we all woke up too late to this nightmare and catastrophe.
Hey Dennis,
So many idiots wound up in the same place because our fellow Americans voluntarily put them there. I wish I had as much hope in the true American spirit as Matrixsurfer does. It seems that we are outnumbered by the mindless hoards of Koolaide drinkers.
Please sign and sent to your reps!!!
Petition to Restore The Republic of the United States of America:
On July the 4th 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the United States Declaration of Independence of which this petition is modeled after. Since then, We The People, have risen up against insurmountable odds, time and time again, and have proven to the world what is possible, when We The People of the United States of America unite for a common cause. We today, are again at a crossroads and now face our greatest threat, greatest challenge, greatest responsibility, and our greatest duty. Many of the events which caused our great forefathers to take the drastic steps of writing and adopting the Declaration of Independence 232 years prior, are now being perpetrated on the American people once again, not by foreign armies, not by kings, but by the government of the United States which was created that day in 1776 by the people for the people. Our forefathers repeatedly warned of the consequences of inaction as is evident in the following. A direct quote from the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to ALTER the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the alteration. It has become evident of the following reasons, why the People of the United States of America are demanding that our government alter it’s policies toward the people of this land to meet the obligations set fourth in our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Articles of Confederation. Such has been the patient sufferance of the People; and such is now, the necessity, which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.
The history of the present governing body of the United States of America is a history of increasing injuries, usurpations, and total disregard for the voices, and well being of its people, for the benefit and gain of the wealthy, and of the powerful corporations of which control the policies implemented by government to the end that laws in favor of the people of this land are powerless. Industries are being deregulated at a record pace, thus allowing them to take everything from the people, completely unchallenged. The people of this land are no longer being represented by their elected officials, as they give way to the lobbyist and special interest groups who come to congress wielding cash, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute corpocracy over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. Be it known that We The People assert that both major political parties in the United States, Republicans and Democrats alike are equally responsible for this unacceptable mess We The People have inherited from our government.
Article 4, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States:
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.”
The government of the United States of America has repeatedly, against the overwhelming rejection of the people of the United States, and a few in Congress, enacted laws of which favor large corporations, and corporate profits over the well being of the people of this land. To name a few, NAFTA and CAFTA have sent many of our good paying jobs overseas as corporations seek cheap labor elsewhere, hording record profits among the elite. FTAA, MEFTA, TAFTA, and FTAAP will completely destroy the working class in this country. STOP IT NOW. We don’t want to call India for technical support for our products. Decent hard working Americans should hold these jobs. STOP sending money hand over fist to other countries, foreigners, and non- U.S. citizens while denying grants and help to citizens who have worked all their lives and are experiencing hard times. Take care of our own. Especially out Veterans.
$700,000,000,000 was given to the financial industry with absolutely no accountability, once again, overwhelmingly against the will of the people, at the expense of the people. While in the mean time, the financial industry has raised their fees on the poor, fabricated good numbers to dupe investors, and still refuses to rewrite home loans for struggling people. Government programs to help the people were implemented, such that, most people did not qualify. The government acted slowly in implementing the few programs that could make a difference while rushing billions to the financial industry with no accountability. The people were not represented in this matter; therefore, this amounts to taxation without representation one hundred fold larger than all of the taxation issues leading up to the Declaration of Independence. The government of the United States, which is constitutionally allowed to coin its own currency at 0% interest, has elected to contract with the Federal Reserve Corporation, with no transparency, to print its money while using our tax dollars to pay interest to the corporation, once again, at the expense of the people. During this time of crisis, food prices have soared, and fuel companies are allowed to charge ridiculous prices without regard to the damage being done to the middle and lower class of our country, which bear the brunt of this mess. Monopoly utility companies, insurance companies, and which ever companies want rate increases are getting them without challenge, as their lobbyists are dictating policy in Washington. Competition in our markets has been replaced by consortiums, which dictate pricing and who are gouging the people on the basic necessities of life, such as electricity, food and fuel, effectively executing the systemic and willful destruction of the middle and lower class in our society. Lies are being perpetrated against the American people right now as the government and FED chairman tell us the economy is rebounding. Falsely inflated balance sheets, and massive government injection into financial markets are only improving the economy for the big banks and big corporations as conditions continue to deteriorate for the rest of the country. Bernanke, Frank and Paulson should be tried and found guilty of treason. Goldman Sachs and AIG should be dismantled and sold to the direct benefit of the taxpayer. THE GREED MUST STOP NOW! Someone, pick up a $2.00 calculator, figure out what the average American family has to spend just to exist, then understand that we are not spending, simply because we don’t HAVE it to spend. Not because we are hording it like your prized financial institutions are, but because your prized institutions and corporations have been bleeding us dry all in the name of PROFITS. Your economists are incompetent. These afflictions are unconstitutional, and as some would say, treasonous against the very people of the United States of America.
Such a government no longer represents a republic, is no longer a government of the people for the people, but has become a corporatocracy, (We beg anyone to prove different) thus violating our constitutional guarantee of a republican form of government, of which, we the people demand is reinstated in these United States of America.
The government of the United States, against constitutional requirements, repeatedly refuses to protect our borders from intrusion after overwhelming requests from the public and from the governors of states directly affected.
The former president of our nation, George W. Bush deceived our nation with false intelligence, into an unjust war with another nation, to which our brave men and women faithfully executed their duties, some giving the ultimate sacrifice to their country under deception. All while his Vice President directly benefited from defense contracts received by Halliburton, a serious conflict of interest. Meanwhile, our current president refuses to produce a birth certificate proving his eligibility to serve the office he now holds.
We The People respectfully demand that Congress, in its full authority, make right the wrongdoings against the People of the United States of America by enacting legislation to correct the following items, which you have thus far refused to do:
Remove corporatism, and restore republic. Do not allow socialism to replace corporatism, but restore to us our republic. Remove the use of Czars in government offices, or are you implying a dictatorship, which must ultimately be eliminated. Stop all efforts toward a “New World Order” and One World Government. We the People will NOT be held hostage to rules fabricated by people outside of our land without our consent. Eminent domain shall NEVER be granted to a corporation for its own profit. Instill term limits in Congress, and take the same healthcare and retirement you say is sufficient for us.
Institute a separation of industry and state, thereby, outlawing corporate lobbying and campaign contributions by businesses, or entities representing businesses. Monitor large corporations, and enact legislation to prevent corporations from becoming “Too big to fail”. Political advisors shall be of the majority, and not of the corporations, as ex CEOs do not advise presidents and congressmen to the good of the people, but to the good of the corporation at the expense of the people. Allow small business to be competitive against large business by shifting tax burden from small to large business. Corporate giants, at an alarming rate are gobbling small businesses up. Corporations shall not use credit reports of workers to deny them their right to work. International corporations shall have NO influence in our legislation.
Regulate critical infrastructure services such as utilities to force them to benefit the consumer over the shareholder. Their concern should be if everyone could afford their utility, not their profit margin, be it many of them are a monopoly at a local level. We demand less government intrusion into healthcare, and more regulations for insurance companies, and food manufacturers manipulating their labeling, if it says no trans fat then there shall be NO trans fat, not less than, simply NO trans fat.
Stop enacting and reverse trade agreements that take our jobs away from us, and allow large international corporations to destroy our nation with high unemployment, lower paying jobs, and higher profit margins, once again, on the backs of American workers and small businesses, all while providing inferior products of which they no longer stand behind.
Secure our borders, and repeal the Patriot Act. We deserve the protection of a secure nation without intrusion. Get our troops out of Iraq, and the 700 plus other bases around the world so they can protect our country without the need for the Patriot Act. Millions of illegal aliens crossing our borders at will constitutes an invasion of which the government is not holding up to its constitutional obligation to protect those states from such invasion; thereby, using these reasons to illegally spy on our own countrymen. Quit fabricating word definitions to circumvent the constitution. Remove the BAR since it represents, unconstitutionally, a title of nobility.
Quit enacting bills full of irrelevant subject matter (pork) that benefit a select few of the population at the expense of the People. When a four-page document can free a nation, it shall not take 1,200 pages to write an energy bill, this amounts to 1,150 pages of garbage, being shoved down the throat of the American people.
Audit the Federal Reserve System, and publicize the results of such audit. If deemed damaging to the people of the United States of America, by the people, Abolish the Federal Reserve Corporation, and demand restitution for the damage done to our country, seizing assets if necessary, and holding those usurpers responsible for treason. Overhaul the tax system to adhere to the Constitution of the United States.
A full inventory and full accountability of the gold reserves in the United States should be conducted and made public. This gold belongs to the people of the United States of America, and we reserve the right to know where our nations wealth is.
And of the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780
“Article I. All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.” We The People reserve this right as the Constitution of the United States of America permits.
Let it be known that We The People of the United States of America are exercising our rights, our duty, to hereby petition the government of the United States of America to alter its policies of corporatism and restore to us the republic of which the flag of the United States of America stands for.
We The People cannot abide by the determinations of the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions, until the United States in Congress assembled restores to the people of the land in jurisdiction, the republic, of which, is guaranteed to us in the Constitution of the United States of America. Our brave men and women have fought and died for the freedom and liberty of people in many foreign lands, we shall not see our children live in tyranny and slavery tomorrow for the benefit of the elite today. We are uniting; you are either with us or against us. Don’t test the will of the American people. Many have done so before, and failed.
We Reserve Our Rights, We Can Perform Our Duty.
Signed on this 1st day of September 2009
Douglas J. Young of Volusia County in the Great State of Florida. The first signature of many.