Cap and Tax (Clean Energy Act)

I wanted to bring to your attention that we once again have another battle on our hands if we want to keep any of the money that we earn! Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer have introduced the Clean Energy Act a couple weeks back. It's been sort of just sitting there as the media focus has been on the Baucus Health Care Plan and now the closed door sessions to blend all five versions of healthcare reform into a single bill. But now, there's a full-bore push on the Clean Energy Act. (And they changed the name from Cap and Trade because it was too easy to make a slogan against it - "Cap and Tax" - but that's basically what it is.)


When the House rushed their version of the bill through, the CBO was called upon to make an assessment of the cost to American families. The CBO analysis looked only at the "day-to-day" costs of operating a trading program and did not include what the greater consequences that the necessary energy restrictions would ultimately have on the overall economy. The CBO added this footnote to their analysis: "The resource cost does not indicate the potential decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) that could result from the cap."

The Democrats in the House have said the cost would equal approximately the cost of a postage stamp. (Nevermind that the Post Office increases the price of the postage stamp every year or so with less and less efficiency. Symbolic?) However, the Obama Administration has estimated that the Cap and Trade bill would cost the taxpayers up to $200 billion per year, which figures to about $1,761 per year. (Geez, seems like that's in the neighborhood of what the penalty for not buying health insurance will cost!) If you listen to what Obama said about his proposal, even he says that the cost of electricity is going to go up significantly. OUCH!

Again, it's time to put the pressure on our legislators about Cap and Trade or the "Clean Energy Act", stand our ground, and make them realize that every one of the issues that they have pushed through (piling one on top of the other) in the last few months is going to place upon the average American citizen a burden that they cannot afford. These issues do not affect the wealthy lawmakers - especially those who conveniently forget to pay their taxes - so they have no context on how it affects the daily lives of "normal" Americans. Those who are just getting by will no longer be able to make ends meet, and those who have been falling behind due to loss of jobs will never be able to get their feet back on the ground. It will utterly destroy many families financially.

If you haven't read my article of about three week ago on this subject, you may want to check it out here: http://tinyurl.com/y9zg73a.