Cap and Trade

This bill is a disaster Karen.  It adds Obama's pledge that 95% of Americans would not see a tax increase to his huge list of broken campaign promises. 

We all need to hold our Senators' feet to the fire on this! 

We can all agree that the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) is based on fraudulent science meant to reduce the release of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. It is obvious that it is nothing more than a plethora of both oppressive and punitive taxes meant to destroy not only the last vestiges of our once vibrant manufacturing base throughout the country, but also to restrict and limit every aspect of the civilized life that we all enjoy.

I realize this sounds conspiratorial but if you really think about what this bill will do you will come to understand that it is. Since a conspiracy can be defined as two or more people gathered together and plot to carry out, and achieve, some harmful, immoral, or illegal act. This bill fits this criteria in that it will affect every aspect of the lives of every citizen of this country, present and future, for decades to come. Our standard of living may be severely reversed to that of mid twentieth century or worse. It can easily be interpreted as being not only illegal but also tyrannical by the founding documents alone. This bill was voted in favor of by 219 House members backed by the current administration and dozens of various high ranking bureaucrats.

Karen as you have mentioned jobs will be outsourced at an alarming rate. Maine, as well as the rest of the country, will be futher devastated by this immense loss. This state has been hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs this decade. ACES will drive a stake in the heart of the remaining base which will adversly affect the service industry and the jobs they provide. ACES will cause this county's economy to come crashing down like a house of cards.  Green jobs are another fallacy perpetrated by this legislation. A recent study released by the government of Spain which has cap and trade legislation in place, revealed thet only one in ten green jobs were permanent. This statistic is dismal indeed.

China, India, Russia, Mexico and every up and coming industrialized nation have no intention of participating in foolish endeavor of cap and trade. They have made this point clear long ago. They will not join us in this ill-conceived economic suicide and rightfully so. China alone will have more than doubled it's current carbon emissions by mid century. Add India and Russia into the picture, who will also benefit from outsourcing, how much of a decrease in atmospheric temperature will occur with just the United States practicing restrictive emission output? None.

Senators Collins and Snowe must be made to fully understand the economic and social devastation that cap and trade will bring not only to this state but to the rest of the nation as well. They must be told that when this Senate bill is drafted and fully amended it must be read and understood by all Senators. The bill must be made available to the general public for our scrutiny. It must be thoroughly debated prior to being voted on. It would be unconscionable for them to vote in favor of such draconian legislation meant to restrict and control the very lives of those constituents which entrusted them with the office meant to protect and defend our guaranteed freedoms. This fact alone should be continuously inculcated in to their thoughts regularly. Voting in favor of the opposing party's monstrosities will no longer be tolerated by their constituents.

An article from the Inst. for Energy Research [IER]

"Cap and trade is not a market-based solution.  It relies on a political scheme to increase costs, and can therefore be justly viewed as a tax, stealthy or otherwise, on energy – the lifeblood of our economy.  So here’s the real difference: cap and trade masks the causes of higher consumer prices much better than a straightforward tax.  And that is precisely why so many politicians endorse it."

Robert Murphy is an economist with the Institute for Energy Research.  He received his Ph.D. in economics from NYU

(....and is also the author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism)