U.S. interests first

Cap and trade, American manufacturing’s coup de grâce. No amount of misguided patriotism or counter-productive protectionism can prevent such legislation with such devastating consequences. Let’s ignore the crippling effect on the pockets of already strained consumers. Ignore the barriers to entry this presents for small businesses. Let’s focus on the unintended consequences of this legislation.

Over the last 30 years we’ve seen U.S. manufacturing flee to greener oversees pastures. Now we propose further restrictions on what little manufacturing remains in the U.S.

Manufacturers act like the rest of us: They make decisions rationally that maximize their individual positions. If the conditions in the U.S. aren’t profitable, move somewhere that is.

Cap and trade is the pile on dynamite ready to destroy the already leaking levee.
 
Brian Danker
Kansas City

Comments

[pmcw]

"pmcw why do you not cite the source of the extensive cut and paste jobs that you put here?"

Modesty... I wrote it. ;o) Sorry about the length, but it's an important message and I think I did pretty well keeping it at around 750 words.

[Kee]

Cap and Trade is a disaster.

pmcw why do you not cite the source of the extensive cut and paste jobs that you put here?

[pmcw]

The second greatest economic power held by government is to tax; the greatest is to selectively un-tax. With this seemingly innocuous power, Congress elicits favors from all those who are willing to pay the tab. To radically expand this power is the central goal of Cap and Trade legislation.

For months my friends and most of the pundits I follow thought there was so little chance of Cap and Trade legislation passing, they ignored the issue and, at best, humored me when I pointed to it as the greatest economic threat facing the U.S. economy today. However, with it now apparent there is real threat of this legislation passing the House; thinking people are beginning to take notice. Unfortunately, it may be too late.

Because Congress is not encumbered by truth in advertising laws, the Cap and Trade bill, which even some Democrats call "Cap and Tax," has been named the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009" or, as its called inside the beltway, "ACES." This title accompanies two House Resolutions, H.R. 2454 and H.R. 2998. When writing your Senators, I suggest referencing the full title (American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009) and both of the bill numbers noted above. This is a point in time when being abundantly clear is of the utmost importance.

The important thing to understand about ACES is that it is not at all designed to do what its name suggests; as a matter of fact, when viewed on a global basis, it may have just the opposite effect; there are strong arguments to be made supporting the contention that ACES would cause higher global CO2 emissions and significantly detract from our national security even beyond the nearly unbeatable fact it would be ruinous for our economy.

There are many easy, painless and even economically positive ways we can encourage reduced CO2 emissions and stimulate the development of new technologies that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, which is what is implied by the "security" part of the title. However, this bill will not accomplish these goals. What this bill will accomplish is a mechanism for massive corruption, the strengthening of the power of congressional incumbency, the establishment of a full employment act for lawyers and the debasement of the aggregate U.S. economy. Yes, those are bold words, but I can back them up.

If this bill passes, Congress will have the power to decide who gets to release CO2, how much they will get to release, how much they will have to pay if they want to release more than the congressional dictated allocation and who they must pay. Because nearly everything we do from raising cattle to growing crops to powering our electric grid to manufacturing everything we eat, wear and use emits CO2, the implication is Congress will have absolute control over not just our economy as a whole, but also in naming the winners and losers.

Make no mistake; what our Congress is trying to do is levy a huge carbon tax that will make virtually everything we do today more expensive and then give itself the ultimate and nearly infinite power to selectively un-tax without the annoying encumbrances or inconveniences of due process. Congress knows that if it is successful in this ruse, it will have industry cowering at its feet to beg for just one more bowl of CO2 credits and, with that, all the campaign contributions and perks you would expect to change hands when favors are denominated in tens or, in some cases, hundreds of billions of dollars.

When you write your Senators, which is something you can easily do today through the House web site, www.senate.gov, you should ask for two things. First, that they sign an affidavit stating they have read and understand the contents of both H.R. 2454 and H.R. 2998 and, second, to not only vote against the Senate version of ACES, but also mount a campaign to influence others to vote against them as well.

The bottom line here is that there is nothing that threatens our economy, our freedom, our state's rights, our class mobility and our security more than what is being deceitfully presented as the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009." The power it will grant Congress is absolute and its wording is so duplicitous that it will clog our courts for years, which will do nothing more than redirect what money is left in our economy to lawyers. We need legislation designed to give us more scientists, engineers and doctors, not more lawyers and avenues to corrupt our political process more than it already is.