NEOAVATARA

I have never been a huge fan of cap-and-trade.  I am not totally against it, but in the current form, it is just a tax in sheep’s clothing.  But the current iteration of the bill is worse than that…it is a fraud.

In order to get moderate Democrats to vote for the bill, Henry Waxman and Ed Markey have basically tried to push the major costs of the bill after the 2010 election.  Democrats, espcially Blue Dogs, are scared stiff that this bill will come back to bite them.  Despite House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman’s many payoffs to Members, rural and Blue Dog Democrats remain wary of voting for a bill that will impose crushing costs on their home-district businesses and consumers.  Obama himself is making a big push to pass the bill, which shows the danger it is in.

The Democrats can’t hide one fact:  That the bill doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.

The CBO analysis is so flawed, it is ridiculous.  For example, it does not consider any secondary costs:  costs from increasing gas and energy costs from suppliers, once their taxes are increase.  So it only really considers direct costs to the consumers.  How many consumers by their own fuel for anything other than their cars?  They get their supply through their energy company, etc.  The CBO doesn’t really take that price into account.  And finally, this glorious footnote from the CBO:  “The resource cost does not indicate the potential decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) that could result from the cap.”

I had published this previously, but when the Heritage Foundation did its analysis of Waxman-Markey, it broadly compared the economy with and without the carbon tax. Under this more comprehensive scenario, it found Waxman-Markey would cost the economy $161 billion in 2020, which is $1,870 for a family of four. As the bill’s restrictions kick in, that number rises to $6,800 for a family of four by 2035.

Let us look at a real world example.  Britain currently has a cap-and-trade plan.  Britain’s Taxpayer Alliance estimates the average family there is paying nearly $1,300 a year in green taxes for carbon-cutting programs in effect only a few years.

You want truth?  Here it is:

“Under my plan of a cap and trade system electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Businesses would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that cost onto consumers.”

That was Sen. Barack Obama, in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle last year.  At least a little honesty.  And the current bill is even worse! Hell, the news is that Waxman dropped an additional 300 page amendment this morning! They only do that when they are embarrassed about what is in it.  Democrats also moved to limit debate on the floor…and considering today was the key day for debate, that says something.

Congress, are  you really going to pass another bill without reading it?  And without debate?   Are you that incompetent?

Here are just some of the potential costs:

• Inflation-adjusted gasoline prices would rise 74%, residential natural gas prices by 55% and the average family’s annual energy bill by $1,500.
• The American Farm Bureau warns that cap and trade would cost the average farmer $175 on every dairy cow and $80 for beef cattle.
• American taxpayers apparently will be paying companies not to chop down trees.  This will in turn move jobs overseas.
• 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.
• And that is just the begining.

Democrats who say otherwise are lying to you.  First, they lied about the science behind the bill.  I actually believe that there is at least a solid probability of global climate change; but the science given by this administration has been seriously flawed.  A White House report released last week blatantly lied about its results; specifics can be seen here.

Second, no one is being honest about the cost of this bill, and it won’t be costs burdening only rich people; anyone using energy will be hit by this bill.  They say this will create jobs, but that is what they said about the stimulus…how is that working out for you?  Not to mention, similar programs in Europe and Australia have produced no jobs whatsoever.

This is by far the largest and most regressive tax in American History, and Democrats are trying to sneak it in during the dead of night.  Now, they are holding placeholders in a bill that they are trying to vote on in a few hours.  You know why?  So any last minute haggling can be inserted into the bill.  Ridiculous.  Remember:  they had enough time to give Michael Jackson a moment of silence, but don’t have time to debate a tax bill that nobody has read.  Worrisome.

Call and voice your opinion to your Congressman today; contact numbers can be linked to here.

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UPDATE…

This has gotten ridiculous.  The Democrats are the only group that may make the Republicans look competent.  Look at this exchange, paraphrased by Michelle Malkin, about the Congressional floor debate:

Excellent exchange between chair and GOP Rep. Louis Gohmert. He asks for a physical copy of the 300-page-plus late-night amendment filed out of public view. Chair cannot tell him where one is. Rules him out of order for not making parliamentary inquiry. Chair stumped.

Barton asks chair if there is any rule requiring copy of bill being voted on to be nearby. Chair: Not that I’m aware of.

Barton asks if official copy is necessary to be at desk for final vote.

Chair says it’s at the desk. Barton says it’s not the official copy. Markey tells him to go to the cloakroom and look it up on the web.

Markey says the full bill and manager’s amendment is on the desk.

Chair rules that all the piles of paper at the desk “in effect” are an “official copy.”

WHO’S ON FIRST?

May I introduce you to the leaders of America?

And then, Barney Frank has the audacity to ask members to trust him on the parts of the bill that have not been presented for reading or debate.

Who are these guys kidding?

….Now, John Boehner plans to read the entire 300 page amendment into the record.

UPDATE: The measure passes 219-212, with 8 Republican defectors that will immediately fall under the Republican hit list.  The only positive is that if it had this much trouble passing the House, what are the chances it passes the more conservative Senate?