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Cap and Trade … Just Another Socialist Hoax on the Folks!
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Disclaimer:
Bob Pritts is responsible for this content, which is not edited by the Wilson County News or wilsoncountynews.com. |
March 26, 2009 | Comment on this blog entry
I have to give Mr. Obama an enormous amount of credit on his eloquent ability in using his finely honed oratory skills to make horrendous social policies and programs sound as though they are exactly what you have demanded and need. A change you can believe in! Cap and Trade is just one more in a number of ‘bait and switch’ programs he has presented to the uninformed, fearful citizens of our nation … another incremental step toward socialism and government control over all facets of peoples’ lives.
Cap and Trade is not a new idea. It’s used all over the socialist countries of Europe producing drastic results for Europe’s citizenry. It’s a program designed to satisfy the environmental ‘tree huggers’ and their far left government supporters. It is sold to the majority of us, the middle of the road Americans, to satiate the fears they have instilled in us through endless dire warnings about the impending demise of our planet’s climate as we know it. Fact is, 2008 was the coldest year on record over the past four decades … the planet actually cooled one half of one degree F. I don’t believe Mr. Obama has told you this yet. Many of the scientists who originally signed on to global warming have deserted that theory and are presently at their computers researching what a new ‘mini’ ice age might do to the planet’s future survival.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a non-partisan research arm of the government. Its primary purpose is to analyze the effects of any and all programs presented by Congress for possible insertion into the budget and appropriation bills. The information is made available to Representatives and Senators as well as put on line for all Americans under the Freedom of Information Act. The House and Senate want the CBO to be brutally honest in their analyses in order for Representatives and Senators to prepare answers and excuses for constituents upset by any laws that may be passed. The Senators and Representatives bank on the fact that the majority of American citizens will never look up these analyses and can therefore be consoled by their defense. And unfortunately, they are absolutely correct. In large part, we are probably the most uninformed nation of people on the face of the earth as to what our Senators and Representatives are doing to us on a daily basis. Cap and Trade is yet another example.
Let’s now look at what Cap and Trade really is and how it will affect you and your family. First off we must understand that it is a socialist politician’s dream. They can claim that they are taxing ‘polluters’ and rich people and companies and not any of the hard working, everyday Americans (you and me). Sounds good doesn’t it. But now, as the late, great Paul Harvey would say … page 2.
In Mr. Obama’s campaign, he promised that 95% of American taxpayers would get a tax break. That has come true. But, he forgot to mention a small caveat to that promise. The caveat is “only if you use no energy or anything produced with energy”.
The new administration’s reported goal is to decrease carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to 14% below the 2005 levels by 2020. For every ton of CO2 emissions ‘polluters’ fail to curtail in meeting the new standards, they will be charged a fine (tax) of an estimated $17-$18 per ton. This is not only for energy companies but for any company that produces CO2 emissions in its manufacturing processes … autos, food, transportation, steel, and on and on. To whom do you think they’ll pass along those fees?
But, it gets better. These energy companies will most likely not be able to reach the government assigned goaled since they’ve already spent billions of dollars in meeting today’s stringent EPA guidelines. So, they will be permitted to purchase ‘carbon credits’ from companies who are under their assigned goal. For example, let’s say CPS is missing its emission reduction goal, placed on it by government, of 15 tons per month. They are only down by 3 tons per month … 12 tons short. But, there is a large wind farm in Nevada that, being an energy provider also, received the same allowance as CPS. They release no CO2 and therefore have all their credits remaining. They can sell their credits to CPS. But, wait. What if CPS and GVEC are both in the market for the same number of credits. Then the wind farm can put them up at auction and get whatever dollars CPS or GVEC are willing to pay. The beauty of this is that the government gets to collect taxes from the wind farm profits and CPS or GVEC gets to pass along the cost of the credits to their customers.
Coal provides more than half of U.S. electricity, and 25 states get more than 50% of their electricity from conventional coal-fired generation. In Ohio, coal accounts for a total of 86%, in Indiana 94%, in Missouri 85%, in New Mexico 80%, in Pennsylvania 56%, in West Virginia 98%, and in Wyoming 95%. Those folks are literally going to get soaked. And, aren’t most of those states our industrial manufacturing states with some of the highest unemployment rates? I’ll bet the folks in Ohio and Pennsylvania will rue the day they ever pulled the lever for Mr. Obama and his far left cronies!
How will this affect you on average? According to the CBO report, the folks in the bottom one fifth of wage earners will be paying approximately 3.3% of their average after-tax income per year. That’s about $680 per year … more than they will receive in their ‘tax cut’. The middle three quintiles (the majority of Americans) who gross a mean average of $57,000 will be paying about 2.8% of their after-tax income for the Cap and Trade Program. The folks making over $100,000 per year (up into the millions) will pay about 1.7% of their after-tax income. That’s true income redistribution. But, it redistributes to the wealthiest of Americans and completely soaks the poorest among us. If you want to know where you will fall, look at your last W-2 form and take 2.8% and that’s on average what you will pay in additional taxes for Cap and Trade. Then subtract your tax credit. Most of you will lose money.
One final thought. Your tax break will end. Cap and Trade will go on for years. And, don’t forget, if you become unemployed during this recession, you will still pay for Cap and Trade even if you stay home!
Keep tuned over the next couple of days for my research into a bill passed by the House (HR 875) back in February that we were never told about. It is designed to cover everything Cap and Trade cannot address just under energy use alone. It sets up an entirely new federal government bureaucracy. |
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