UPDATE I: One of my favorite guests to have on Pundit Review Radio is James Pethokoukas of US News. According to James, I am underselling the impact of Obama’s cap and trade scheme,
As I see it, the most important single item in President Obama’s budget is his commitment to a cap-and-trade plan (to limit and reduce carbon emissions). It represents nothing less than an absolutely breath-taking attempt at reengineering the entire American economy.
Read the full article here. James will be my guest on Pundit Review Radio Sunday night in the 8pm hour.
UPDATE II: Barron’s agrees, this cap and trade scheme raises costs for all Americans. Here is a news analysis by Thomas G. Dolan,
Cap and trade is expected to have the largest direct effect on electric utilities burning coal. Through them it would raise the energy bills of all Americans.
UPDATE III: Also from Barron’s, this time Jim McTague,
Even Senate Democrats might oppose measures that will raise operating costs for the nation’s farmers, manufacturers and consumers during the steepest economic downturn since the Great Depression.
UPDATE IV: There was a third article in Barron’s this weekend, a contributed article on the folly of cap and trade without the participation of China. Nothing we do, even the most draconian things Al Gore could come up with, will have any impact whatsoever as long as China is building two new coal fired electric facilities PER WEEK. I don’t have the exact quote as that section of the paper was sacrificed as kindling for a roaring Saturday evening fire.
UPDATE V: Barron’s cost me $5, you got the same analysis for free, first, right here. What a deal.
ORIGINAL POST
President Obama’s address to the joint session of Congress,
Because of this plan, 95% of the working households in America will receive a tax cut – a tax cut that you will see in your paychecks beginning on April 1st.
The only way this statement is true is if that 95% of Americans lives like a neanderthal and consumes no power at all. No car. No lights. No electricity. No heat. While President Obama is focused on raising income taxes on the “rich” who make $250K/year, all Americans, even those evil rich bastards, will be paying higher energy taxes because of the Obama Cap & Trade proposal that is part of his massive budget. Senator Bob Corker, a Republican member of the energy committee released this statement last night,
“President Obama promised a middle class tax cut but what he didn’t tell us was that he would pay for it with a climate tax,†said Corker. “His budget will generate $645 billion through a climate tax and use that revenue to fund various programs outlined in budget. I guess his claim on Tuesday night that no one earning under $250,000 would pay more in taxes did not apply to this massive climate tax increase all Americans will pay. This is a major sleight of hand.â€
WSJ: Carbon Trading to Raise Consumer Energy Prices
The cost of energy for consumers would be driven higher in President Barack Obama’s proposed budget by a carbon cap-and-trade system that is projected to raise about $80 billion a year starting in 2012.
The budget assumes the U.S. adopts the cap-and-trade system that would set limits on the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that industries can emit, and allow companies to buy and sell rights to emit those gases. The budget assumes a starting price of $20 per ton for carbon emissions, an amount that Mr. Obama’s aides says is conservative and would likely rise.
The budget projects raising $645 billion from the auction of emissions credits between 2012, when the system kicks in, and 2019. Mr. Obama would use some of that money to pay for about $120 billion of spending on various low-carbon technologies over that time. The rest of the money — about $525 billion — would be retuned “to the people, especially vulnerable families, communities and businesses to help the transition to a clean energy economy,” according to Mr. Obama’s proposal.
Obama is from the government and he is here to help. As we head towards a European-style, quasi-socialist state, we should pause for a moment to consider how well these carbon schemes have worked out in Europe.
Business Week: Is Europe Leading or Losing on CO2 Emissions?
The bureaucrats that run the European Union’s day-to-day business aren’t known for taking risks. Yet back in 2005, when they devised the EU Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS), these pencil pushers gambled that a cap-and-trade scheme would help cut the EU’s carbon dioxide emissions. Now, three years on, the environmental benefits from the EU ETS remain unclear: The continent’s CO2 output actually rose 1.1% last year.
UK Guardian: A collapsing carbon market makes mega-pollution cheap
Europe’s system to edge up the cost of emissions and boost green energy has backfired. There isn’t much time to rescue it
The lesson of the carbon slump, like the credit crunch, is that markets can be a conduit, but not a substitute, for political will. They only work when properly primed and regulated. Europe hoped that the mere creation of a carbon market would drive everyone away from fossil fuels. It forgot that demand had to outstrip supply, and that if growth stops, demand drops too.
There is not much time to rescue the system. Carbon trading remains at the heart of the international response to climate change. Obama backs what Americans call cap and trade. Australia wants to try the same thing. It should be at the heart of a deal at the Copenhagen summit this winter. But both are hesitating, given Europe’s mess.
Well, at least Australia is “hesitating”.
The law of unintended consequences has struck again. Two years ago, the European Union created a market to control carbon dioxide emissions by setting a cap, then issuing tradable “allowances.” But those chits are now trading for pennies on the dollar. It’s become so cheap to emit greenhouse gas that it now pays to burn more dirty fossil fuel than less. Along the way, millions of dollars have been spent on projects of questionable environmental value.
That worked out well, didn’t it. Let’s try it here! Hope & Change.