Cap & Trade = "Man Made Disaster for Energy Prices"

[Soul Crusher]

Waxman-Markey: Man-Made Disaster
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Thursday, June 25, 2009 4:20 PM PT

Fiscal Policy: The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on an anti-stimulus package that in the name of saving the earth will destroy the American economy. Smoot-Hawley will seem like a speed bump.


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Read More: Global Warming | Business & Regulation


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Not since a misguided piece of legislation imposed tariffs that turned a recession into a depression has there been a piece of legislation as bad as Waxman-Markey.

The 1,000-plus-page American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) is being rushed to a vote by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before anyone can seriously object to this economic suicide pact.

It's what Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, might call a "man-caused disaster," a phrase she coined to replace the politically incorrect "terrorist attack." But no terrorist could ever dream of inflicting as much damage as this bill.

Its centerpiece is a "cap and trade" provision that has been rightfully derided as "cap and tax." It is in fact a tax on energy everywhere it is consumed on everything it is used to make or provide.

It is the largest tax increase in American history — a tax on all Americans — even the 95% that President Obama pledged would never see a tax increase.

It's a political bill that could come to a vote now that a deal was struck with farm-state legislators concerned about the taxation of even bovine flatulence.

As part of the agreement reached Tuesday night and announced by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Beverly Hills, agricultural oversight for cap-and-trade was transferred from the Environmental Protection Agency to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Farmers hope the USDA will be less intrusive. The EPA has been tasked by a Supreme Court ruling to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from your nostrils to your lawn mower. This even covers the emissions of barnyard animals, including the methane from cows.

The American Farm Bureau warns that cap and trade would cost the average farmer $175 on every dairy cow and $80 for beef cattle. So farm-state politics trumped climate change.

We all know about farmers paid not to grow food. But now, American taxpayers apparently will be paying companies not to chop down trees. The Washington Times reports that as part of the legislation, the House will also be voting Friday on a plan to pay domestic and international companies around the world not to cut down trees.

Such offsets "would be a transfer of wealth overseas," said William Kovacs, vice president for environmental affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. So if a tree falls in a Brazilian forest, does a U.S. taxpayer make a sound?

As we've said before, capping emissions is capping economic growth. An analysis of Waxman-Markey by the Heritage Foundation projects that by 2035 it would reduce aggregate gross domestic product by $7.4 trillion. In an average year, 844,000 jobs would be destroyed, with peak years seeing unemployment rise by almost 2 million (see charts below).

Consumers would pay through the nose as electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket, as President Obama once put it, by 90% adjusted for inflation. Inflation-adjusted gasoline prices would rise 74%, residential natural gas prices by 55% and the average family's annual energy bill by $1,500.

Hit hardest by all this would be the "95% of working families" Obama keeps mentioning as being protected from increased taxation. They are protected, that is, unless they use energy. Then they'll be hit by this draconian energy tax.

And what would we get for all this pain? According to an analysis by Chip Knappenberger, administrator of the World Climate Report, the reduction of U.S. CO2 emissions to 83% below 2005 levels by 2050 — the goal of the Waxman-Markey bill — would reduce global temperature in 2050 by a mere 0.05 degree Celsius.

President Obama has called on the U.S. to "lead by example" on global warming. During the campaign, he said: "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times . . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK."

Soon we may not be able to. Other countries can just sit back and watch us destroy ourselves. Where will you be when the lights go out?

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DID EVERYONE CALL THEIR CONGRESSSCUM YET???
 

[shootfighter1]

Here is a direct link to your congressman's office.  I made a call and it was quick and easy.  Just asked them to log a call asking my representative to vote no on the cap & trade bill.  Got through in 3 rings.  Click on the link and type in your zip code.  Please call today as they are forcing a vote.  With the economy struggling we cannot impose a large tax like this on all Americans and on American companies, which makes it increasingly hard for our businesses to compete in the global markets.  Cap & Trade/Tax should only be considered if its a multi-nation agreement. 

http://capwiz.com/americansforprosperity/callalert/index.tt?alertid=13618731&type=CO

[Soul Crusher]

Here is a direct link to your congressman's office.  I made a call and it was quick and easy.  Just asked them to log a call asking my representative to vote no on the cap & trade bill.  Got through in 3 rings.  Click on the link and type in your zip code.  Please call today as they are forcing a vote.  With the economy struggling we cannot impose a large tax like this on all Americans and on American companies, which makes it increasingly hard for our businesses to compete in the global markets.  Cap & Trade/Tax should only be considered if its a multi-nation agreement. 

http://capwiz.com/americansforprosperity/callalert/index.tt?alertid=13618731&type=CO

I called about 12 different congress offices.  2 locally and 8 who were sitting on the fence. 

If this goes down, you guys can thank Shoot and myself!

[Hereford]

The dairy industry pays taxes on animal flatulence already. As soon as it can figure out how, the government will tax you on yours as well.

[Soul Crusher]

The dairy industry pays taxes on animal flatulence already. As soon as it can figure out how, the government will tax you on yours as well.

Call you Congress person!

[shootfighter1]

Guys, this is really bad.  Looks like its going to go through to the senate...call your senators now!!!
Looks like they added a whole bunch of pork to satisfy people that were on the fence...thats bullshit, this is too important to play political games.  This shit is also what happens when there is one party dominance...agenda before whats best for the American people!

House Narrowly Advances Climate Bill to the Floor

The vote was 217-205 to advance the White House-backed legislation to the floor, and 30 Democrats defected, a reflection of the controversy the bill sparked.
House Democrats narrowly won a key test vote Friday on sweeping legislation to combat global warming and usher in a new era of cleaner energy. Republicans said the bill included "the largest tax increase in American history."

The legislation would impose limits for the first time on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution from power plants, factories and refineries. It also would force a shift from coal and other fossil fuels to renewable and more efficient forms of energy. Supporters and opponents agreed the result would be higher energy costs, but disagreed widely on the impact on consumers.

President Obama has made the measure a top priority of his first year in office. The president, along with White House aides and House Democratic leaders, scrambled for the votes to assure passage. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has pledged to get the legislation passed before lawmakers leave on their July 4 vacation.

The Senate has yet to act on the measure, and a major struggle is expected.

In the House, the bill's fate depended on the decisions of a few dozen fence-sitting Democrats, mainly conservatives and moderates from contested districts who feared the political ramifications of siding with the White House and their leadership on the measure.

Democrats left little or nothing to chance. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., confirmed by the Senate on Thursday to an administration post, put off her resignation from Congress until after the final vote on the climate change bill.

"The bill contains provisions to protect consumers, keep costs low, help sensitive industries transition to a clean energy economy and promote domestic emission reduction efforts," the White House in a statement of support for the legislation.

Republicans saw it differently.

This "amounts to the largest tax increase in American history under the guise of climate change," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.

While the bill would impose a "cap-and-trade" system that would force higher energy costs, Republicans for weeks have branded it an energy tax on every American.
But Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said there was a "moral imperative to be good stewards of the earth."

The legislation, totaling about 1,200 pages, would require the U.S. to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and about 80 percent by the next century.
U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are rising at about 1 percent a year and are predicted to continue increasing without mandatory caps.
Under the bill, the government would limit heat-trapping pollution from factories, refineries and power plants. It would distribute pollution allowances that could be bought and sold, depending on whether a facility exceeds the cap or makes greater pollution cuts than are required.

Obama on Thursday called it "a vote of historic proportions ... that will open the door to a clean energy economy" and green jobs. "It will create millions of new jobs," Pelosi insisted.
Both Obama and Pelosi preferred to focus on the economic issues rather than on what environmentalists view as the urgency of reducing carbon emissions blamed for global warming.

The Rust Belt coal-state Democrats who have been sitting on the fence worry about how to explain their vote for higher energy prices to people back home -- and how the vote might play out in elections next year.
Republicans have been quick to exploit those concerns.

"Democratic leaders are poised to march many moderate Democrats over a cliff ... by forcing them to vote for a national energy tax that is unpopular throughout the heartland," Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said.

There was widespread agreement that under this cap-and-trade system, the cost of energy would almost certainly increase. But Democrats argued that much of the impact on taxpayers would be offset by other provisions in the bill. Low-income consumers would qualify for credits and rebates to cushion the impact on their energy bills.

Two reports issued this week -- one from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the other from the Environmental Protection Agency -- seemed to support that argument.

The CBO analysis estimated that the bill would cost an average household $175 a year; the EPA put it at between $80 and $110 a year.  (Cost to businesses were not cited but estimated to be great)

Republicans questioned the validity of the CBO study and noted that even that analysis showed actual energy production costs increasing $770 per household. Industry groups have cited other studies showing much higher cost to the economy and to individuals.

[shootfighter1]

If this passes, I predict a shift in power in 2010.  They are all but giving republicans, libertarians and independents an open door.  This policy is NOT what the majority of people in this country want...nor is it an appropriate time to consider something like this...in a recession.  The agenda of this administration is like a steamroller, they have their own ideas of what is right regardless of what the American people want.  This is not acceptible.  I didn't like Bush but I hate what this administration is doing.  2010 can't come fast enough.

A quick call to your senator can help:
http://capwiz.com/americansforprosperity/callalert/index.tt?alertid=13618731&type=CO

[a_joker10]

Guys, this is really bad.  Looks like its going to go through to the senate...call your senators now!!!
Looks like they added a whole bunch of pork to satisfy people that were on the fence...thats bullshit, this is too important to play political games.  This shit is also what happens when there is one party dominance...agenda before whats best for the American people!

House Narrowly Advances Climate Bill to the Floor

The vote was 217-205 to advance the White House-backed legislation to the floor, and 30 Democrats defected, a reflection of the controversy the bill sparked.
House Democrats narrowly won a key test vote Friday on sweeping legislation to combat global warming and usher in a new era of cleaner energy. Republicans said the bill included "the largest tax increase in American history."

The legislation would impose limits for the first time on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution from power plants, factories and refineries. It also would force a shift from coal and other fossil fuels to renewable and more efficient forms of energy. Supporters and opponents agreed the result would be higher energy costs, but disagreed widely on the impact on consumers.

President Obama has made the measure a top priority of his first year in office. The president, along with White House aides and House Democratic leaders, scrambled for the votes to assure passage. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has pledged to get the legislation passed before lawmakers leave on their July 4 vacation.

The Senate has yet to act on the measure, and a major struggle is expected.

In the House, the bill's fate depended on the decisions of a few dozen fence-sitting Democrats, mainly conservatives and moderates from contested districts who feared the political ramifications of siding with the White House and their leadership on the measure.

Democrats left little or nothing to chance. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., confirmed by the Senate on Thursday to an administration post, put off her resignation from Congress until after the final vote on the climate change bill.

"The bill contains provisions to protect consumers, keep costs low, help sensitive industries transition to a clean energy economy and promote domestic emission reduction efforts," the White House in a statement of support for the legislation.

Republicans saw it differently.

This "amounts to the largest tax increase in American history under the guise of climate change," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.

While the bill would impose a "cap-and-trade" system that would force higher energy costs, Republicans for weeks have branded it an energy tax on every American.
But Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said there was a "moral imperative to be good stewards of the earth."

The legislation, totaling about 1,200 pages, would require the U.S. to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and about 80 percent by the next century.
U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are rising at about 1 percent a year and are predicted to continue increasing without mandatory caps.
Under the bill, the government would limit heat-trapping pollution from factories, refineries and power plants. It would distribute pollution allowances that could be bought and sold, depending on whether a facility exceeds the cap or makes greater pollution cuts than are required.

Obama on Thursday called it "a vote of historic proportions ... that will open the door to a clean energy economy" and green jobs. "It will create millions of new jobs," Pelosi insisted.
Both Obama and Pelosi preferred to focus on the economic issues rather than on what environmentalists view as the urgency of reducing carbon emissions blamed for global warming.

The Rust Belt coal-state Democrats who have been sitting on the fence worry about how to explain their vote for higher energy prices to people back home -- and how the vote might play out in elections next year.
Republicans have been quick to exploit those concerns.

"Democratic leaders are poised to march many moderate Democrats over a cliff ... by forcing them to vote for a national energy tax that is unpopular throughout the heartland," Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said.

There was widespread agreement that under this cap-and-trade system, the cost of energy would almost certainly increase. But Democrats argued that much of the impact on taxpayers would be offset by other provisions in the bill. Low-income consumers would qualify for credits and rebates to cushion the impact on their energy bills.

Two reports issued this week -- one from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the other from the Environmental Protection Agency -- seemed to support that argument.

The CBO analysis estimated that the bill would cost an average household $175 a year; the EPA put it at between $80 and $110 a year.  (Cost to businesses were not cited but estimated to be great)

Republicans questioned the validity of the CBO study and noted that even that analysis showed actual energy production costs increasing $770 per household. Industry groups have cited other studies showing much higher cost to the economy and to individuals.

Nancy needs 218.

I don't think she will get it.

[Soul Crusher]

Call your reps!!!!!!!!!!!! 

We stopped amnesty, we can stop this!!!!

[Kazan]

Word is the fuckers slipped card check into this as an amendment

[Soul Crusher]

Word is the fuckers slipped card check into this as an amendment

WWWWHHHHAAAATTTTT???

[Soul Crusher]

WWWWHHHHAAAATTTTT???

[BM OUT]

If you think its bad.Listen to this.As I predicted,Obamas piss poor community would not pay one dime extra if cap and trade passes.The bill actually has a stipulation in it where the poor will get direct deposits into their bank accounts to make up for any lost income due to the extra money for utlities.Can you imagine that?They will take our money,and directly put it into Obamas shitty communities bank accounts.Incredible!!!!!!

Is there ANYONE who doesnt think this man DESPISES achievers and loves failures?

[Soul Crusher]

If you think its bad.Listen to this.As I predicted,Obamas piss poor community would not pay one dime extra if cap and trade passes.The bill actually has a stipulation in it where the poor will get direct deposits into their bank accounts to make up for any lost income due to the extra money for utlities.Can you imagine that?They will take our money,and directly put it into Obamas shitty communities bank accounts.Incredible!!!!!!

Is there ANYONE who doesnt think this man DESPISES achievers and loves failures?

He really is a marxist.

[2ND COMING]

He really is a marxist.

stop it.

[shootfighter1]

Billy, if that is true, people need to wake the f-ck up right now.  This administration & congress is screwing up this country bad.  Things like cap & trade and nationalized healthcare will bankrupt us...and they are hard to reverse.  So, Bush f-cked us with the Iraq war and Obama is screwing everyone except the poor.

[Soul Crusher]

stop it.

Of course he is.  Everything he does points to that.  This whole thing he is trying to do is and will not be an "event".   it is a process of conditioning people to accept what previously would never even be thinkable, one step at a damn time. 

Take over after takeover.

Nationalizing industries.

Wealth redistrubtuion.

Try to force unions on everyone.

Etc etc. 

By the way Shoot, Billy is 100% correct about the direct payments to poor people to offset the taxes of cap and trade. 

F.U.B.O.!   
 

[headhuntersix]

Go get em Johnny.....

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) slowed Democrats’ attempt to pass a sweeping climate-change legislation Friday evening, reading page-by-page through a 300-page Democratic amendment before allowing a roll call vote.


It was a House version of a Senate filibuster – and a way to protest the addition of the 300-page managers’ amendment at 3 a.m. Friday........


House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), one of the bill’s sponsors, interrupted Boehner’s filibuster with a parliamentary inquiry as to whether there was any limit to how long the Ohio Republican could speak – and suggested that he was hoping to talk so long that member might leave before the vote.


“It’s the custom of the House to hear the leader’s remarks,” replied Tauscher, who looking apologetic as Republicans applauded.


“Reclaiming my time,” Boehner said, “the gentleman’s had his 30 years to put this bill together. And the House is going to spend a whopping five hours debating the most profound piece of legislation to come to this floor in 100 years. And the chairman has the audacity to drop a 300-plus page amendment in the hopper at 3:09 a.m. this morning. And so I would ask my colleagues, don’t you think the American people expect us to understand what’s in this bill before we vote on it?”


“And so to get to page 34,” he continued.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24232.html#ixzz0JZdqAKVw&C

[240 is Back]

the bill passed.



sounds like shit, but i'm curious...

in ten years, will our energy costs be higher or lower, because of this bill?  yes, the transition from saudi oil dependence (the bush legacy) to independent green energy (the lib plan) will be an expensive one...

but in the long run, will it be cheaper as a result?

[2ND COMING]

it passed in the house right.......?

[2ND COMING]

the bill passed.



sounds like shit, but i'm curious...

in ten years, will our energy costs be higher or lower, because of this bill?  yes, the transition from saudi oil dependence (the bush legacy) to independent green energy (the lib plan) will be an expensive one...

but in the long run, will it be cheaper as a result?

[tony] LOL more 240 spin LOL u fucking brainchild it passed in the HOUSE. Once again 240 caught in the act of spin lol you douchebag, do you ever tell the truth ever? [tony]

[Kazan]

the bill passed.



sounds like shit, but i'm curious...

in ten years, will our energy costs be higher or lower, because of this bill?  yes, the transition from saudi oil dependence (the bush legacy) to independent green energy (the lib plan) will be an expensive one...

but in the long run, will it be cheaper as a result?

No  it will not be cheaper, anything the government has its hands in only gets more expensive, hell spain has tried this crap and it turned into a disaster. Mass job loses, if this bag of busted assholes passes we are screwed

[240 is Back]

[tony] LOL more 240 spin LOL u fucking brainchild it passed in the HOUSE. Once again 240 caught in the act of spin lol you douchebag, do you ever tell the truth ever? [tony]

hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaa

No  it will not be cheaper, anything the government has its hands in only gets more expensive, hell spain has tried this crap and it turned into a disaster. Mass job loses, if this bag of busted assholes passes we are screwed

I'm sure you're correct - I haven't watched the news much at all lately, working to regain some mental health that politics seems to sap away. 

I know people were mad Clinton didn't allow drilling in 1992, which would have made us almost energy independent in ten years, due to the massive cost and impact. 

Is this obama's argument here?  That he's taking the hit that clinton wouldn't, so in 10 years we're not still kissing saudis in a world where the dollar = Charmin?

[MM2K]

Because of the passing of this bill, I can now say we are living in extraordinary times. Or a better description would be an age of extraordinary stupidity reminiscent of the middle ages. I dont want to live in extraordinary times. I want to live in boring times. I want to live in an era in which politics is boring because the politicians are sane people. Im close to 30 years old and I have come to a point in which I need to find the purpose of my life. I cant afford to be living in extraordinary times right now. If this doesnt result in the final nail in the coffin for Democrats's chances of keeping the House in 2010, or for Barack Obama's reelection chances, then we deserve everything we get. Hey, dont blame me. Despite the Republicans screwing up, I voted straight Republican ticket in 2004, 2006, and 2008.

By the way, I didnt know you were allowed to call offices of other Congressmen that arent representing you. I know most of them dont accept emails from out of thier states or districts. The politicians who represent me are actually sane people and they are not a part of the problem. So I feel like I am helpless in doing anything.

I am marking this day in history. I have now decided that there will be no more holds barred. I am going to be profoundly political from now on. I dont like to be because it is a sensitive subject, but this stuff is too important.

By the way, I cant wait to see what the market does on Monday.

[tonymctones]

[tony] LOL more 240 spin LOL u fucking brainchild it passed in the HOUSE. Once again 240 caught in the act of spin lol you douchebag, do you ever tell the truth ever? [tony]

LOL hahahah  thanks 2nd in all honesty i think this was an honest mistake 240 is a retard and the official obama butt plug but ill give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.