Don’t be fooled by reports that Obama’s carbon cap and trade legislation is in trouble.  It is; but this program is an article of faith within the environmentalist left and such firebrands as Weird Henry Waxman are determined to push it through.  See Global Warming Overreach. Obama-style cap and trade is a AAA-rated boondoggle, a massive energy tax disguised as a market-based mechanism.

USA Sources of Electricity

The Obama scheme is nothing like the old carbon-trading program.  Under Obama’s plan, the Federal government would hold an “auction” of carbon emission permits, with a minimum bid set high enough (I am here quoting Obama) that energy prices will “soar” and producers of carbon-based energy will go “bankrupt.”  Of course, when you “bankrupt” a public utility, its customers stop receiving the product – - such as electricity.  That would reduce our supply of electicity by half, plunging a couple of hundred million Americans into the longest, darkest, coldest winter of their lives . . . .

Ooops. Even the Keystone Cops currently running the Federal government aren’t all oblivious to the implications of that result.

So, of course, we’re not going to “bankrupt” the public utilities; no, we’ll simply let them pass the increased costs of the cap-and-trade tax on the their customers.  Us, in other words.  That means a near-term expense increase in the neighborhood of $4,000 per household per year.  See Fuzzy Math.

Ooops again. That would be enough to push many working families over the brink of bankruptcy themselves, and would certainly engender major resentment from those who would have to give up their vacations to pay the costs of Obama’s carbon tax.

So here we go to step three:  according to Obama, consumers needn’t worry about such details, because the Federal government will send them a check to pay for the increased costs! Problem solved, right?

So let me get this straight: El Prezbama and friends impose a cap-and-trade tax to cause the costs of carbon-based power to “soar;” those costs get passed along to customers; and the Federal government sends a check to the customers to pay for the increased costs.  The money thus ends up back where it started, albeit in the form of government largesse.

Of course, we can expect that not everyone will get the bonus money; it will go to those most likely to vote Democratic.  The suffering will be imposed on the “rich” – - anyone making more than about $200K per year – - and greedy manufacturers, businesses, and merchants.  This will provide yet another incentive for the “wealthy” to conserve by, for example, moving  to New Zealand, and will encourage manufacturers to conserve by out-sourcing their operations to countries like India and China which are having no part of such nonsense.

Don’t take your eye off the ball on this one, folks.  It will be back, and back, and back again.  Take the time to make sure your Congressman and Senators are informed.

Related Articles:

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Waxman, Markey Still Searching For Votes

Democrats Maneuver To Advance Climate Change Bill

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