The Death Of Cap & Trade?
ABC’s Jake Tapper might’ve just finished Cap and Trade’s chances of passage by reporting on this memo:
Advice in an Obama administration interagency review memo to the Environmental Protection Agency warns that government regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act (CAA) will hurt the economy, and questions whether such a “precautionary” move would too expansively open up the door for government regulation.
“Making the decision to regulate CO2 under the CAA for the first time is likely to have serious economic consequences for regulated entities throughout the U.S. economy, including small businesses and small communities,” says one comment in the memo, which was officially sent by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. “Should EPA later extend this finding to stationary sources, small businesses and institutions would be subject to costly regulatory programs such as New Source Review.”
The Supreme Court, ruling in the 2007 case Massachusetts v. E.P.A., ordered the EPA to determine whether greenhouse gases endangers public health and welfare.
If that isn’t bad enough, this information will hurt Cap and Trade worse:
That nine-page memo voices “a concern that EPA is making a finding based on (1) ‘harm’ from substances that have no demonstrated direct health effects, such as respiratory or toxic effects, (2) available scientific data that purports to conclusively establish the nature and extent of the adverse public health and welfare impacts are almost exclusively from non-EPA sources, and (3) applying a dramatically expanded precautionary principle.”
In other words, President Obama is pushing a bill that will hurt the US economy while it’s at its weakest point since the 1970s while limiting the creation of “substances that have no demonstrated direct health effects.”
TRANSLATION: This is a tax increase that pushes us towards a green economy, an economy which financially benefits GE and Al Gore. Not coincidentally, GE’s CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, is a major supporter of President Obama and serves on President Obama’s Economic Advisory Board. GE is heavily invested in clean energy schemes, too.
Al Gore also stands to benefit financially from Obama’s Cap and Trade programs. Here’s how:
Last May, we also noted that on March 1, Gore, while speaking at a conference in Monterey, Calif., admitted to having “a stake” in a number of green investments that he recommended attendees put money in rather than “subprime carbon assets” such as tar sands and shale oil.
He also is co-founder of Generation Investment Management, which sells carbon offsets that allow rich polluters to continue with a clear conscience. It’s a scheme that will make traders of this new commodity rich and Bernie Madoff look like a pickpocket. The other founder is former Goldman Sachs partner David Blood.
In other words, Cap and Trade is an elaborate way of paying off pro-Obama ideologues. It’s also a huge tax increase that the Obama administration admits will hurt the economy. Other than the patronage to Obama’s cronies, what benefit will come of this legislation? President Obama’s bill benefits his wealthy friends while hurting every family across America.
Explain what’s so good about that. Explain why this isn’t cronyism of the vilest sort. Marginal benefits at a major price sounds like a worthless investment to me.
Technorati Tags: Taxes, Cap And Trade, President Obama, Al Gore, Jeffrey Immelt, David Blood, Goldman Sachs, EPA, Cronyism, Bernie Madoff, Corruption, Environment, Greenhouse Gases, Clean Air Act, Global Warming, Tax Increase
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
May 12th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Well golleee. Who would have thunk such an intelligent scheme, thunk of by America’s brightest thunkers, would damage the economy!!! All that toxic CO2 will just have to float around and be consumed by the evil plants of the world.
May 12th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Only a statist control freak, or a kook ball enviromaniac could come to the preposterous idea that CO2 is a toxic pollutant, and not a natural occuring atmospheric component , and then, of course, want to tax it!
May 13th, 2009 at 12:56 am
they tax death why not life???
May 13th, 2009 at 2:42 am
Here in Australia the cheerleaders of cap-and-raid are having a really hard time. People are waking up. Finally!
May 13th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Here in the USA the media, Reid, Pelosi and Obama will be calling cap-and-raid an idea of the evil Bush/Cheney/Rove team, a hardship inherited by The One.
May 13th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Yet how many people are still brain dead to the f-ing over they are getting an all of this at every level?
In San Diego, we have a council member thats telling us to ride public transporation instead of complaining about bumpy roads and streets.
A transit system by the way, that dashes around at the breakneck average speed of 10mph.
In Califiornia, the governator seems to have fogotten what propelled him into office, now he’s going around trying to blackmail us into voting for these fraudulent 1a thru c issues.
Why, because its become easier to drive business out the state then lower taxes, and cut their own fat. Look at whats going on people! We have bureaucrats being paid 1/2 to 3/4 of a million to run state programs, Legislators getting their asses kissed on a daily basis, driving free SUV’s, free life insurance, free health care, perks up the yin yang, telling us to use public transporation and turn off the lights, because they just dont know how they can cut costs any further.
And this is the same crowd that in Washington is telling us they can run health care on a national basis more efficiently.