Beware the consequences of cap-and-trade

Beware the consequences of cap-and-trade
Ed Hartman

Published Saturday, July 18, 2009

I agree with Bob Edwards (“Reader disagrees with cap-and-trade talk,” Wednesday, July 15) that the cap-and-trade bill will cost Americans jobs and further damage the economy.

The authors of this onerous bill know that American workers will be displaced and that it will cause energy costs to soar. On Page 1,157 this bill states that any worker who looses his or her job as a result of the changes made by the bill will be eligible for special unemployment benefits for a period of up to 156 weeks. That is three years that our government will knowingly force Americans out of work. In an economy that’s losing many jobs a month, how could anyone justify putting more people out of work?

In addition, energy rates will drastically increase. In January 2008, presidential candidate Obama admitted, “Electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket” under this program. In our faltering economy, I do not want to scramble for additional funds to cover outrageous electric or fuel bills. Yet, if you fall within a socioeconomic level of no more than 150 percent of the poverty line, the government will be here to bail you out. On Page 1,193, the “Energy Refund Program” will allot monthly cash payments to offset the additional burden of energy costs caused by this bill.

On Page 1,209 this bill references the Earned Income Tax Credit. The E.I.T.C. for an individual with no dependents will double and include annual inflation adjustments. What does a so-called “energy bill” have to do with E.I.T.C.? Nothing but pandering!

Another interesting section is No. 443: “Protection of Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds.” It allows the administrators of Medicare and Social Security to access the general revenues of the U.S. government if it’s determined that the cap-and-trade bill resulted in the reduction of revenues going into these two trust funds. Does Congress expect more damage to these two programs by this bill? Where will the money come from for any of it?

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated this bill would cost each household $175 in 2020. The Heritage Foundation estimates that the cost will range from $426 in 2012 to $1,241 in 2035. This estimate seems reasonable in that every product on a store shelf will have a carbon tax included to be passed on to the consumer. The cost of transporting goods to market will drastically increase, too. This cost will be passed to the consumer.

As far as scientists supporting cap-and-trade to stop global warming, there are many against this bill. I challenge The Tidewater News to obtain and reprint an article written in 2008 by Eric Creed entitled “The Greatest Hoax Ever Perpetrated.” He covers much information refuting the global-warming mantra.

On Dec. 13, 2007, a hundred scientists wrote a letter to the secretary-general of the United Nations. This letter made three declarations:

■ 1. Recent observations of the phenomena such as glacial retreats, sea-level rise and the migration of temperature-sensitive species are not evidence for abnormal climate change, and none of the changes has been shown to lie outside the bounds of known natural variability.

■ 2. The average rates of warming per decade recorded by satellites in the late 20th century fall within known natural rates of warming and cooling over the last 10,000 years.

■ 3. Leading scientists acknowledge that computer models can’t predict climate, and there has been no net global warming since 1998.

On March 4, 2008, in an International Conference on Climate Change, more than 500 scientists closed the conference with what is referred to as the “Manhattan Declaration”: Global climate has always changed and always will, independent of the actions of humans, and carbon dioxide is not a pollutant but rather a necessity for all life. There is no convincing evidence that CO2 emissions from modern industrial activity have in the past, now or will ever cause catastrophic climate change.

In conclusion, cap-and-trade is wrong because it’s a massive new energy tax. It will kill American jobs, cause electric bills and fuel prices to sharply increase, and be highly susceptible to fraud and corruption in a time when Americans can’t afford it. In short those few who earn the money to pay the taxes can‘t afford to perpetuate this hoax.

I suggest all concerned taxpayers contact U.S. Sen. Jim Webb and Sen. Mark Warner and urge them to vote against cap-and-trade.

Edward Hartman of Courtland is co-owner of Mid Atlantic Gin LLC in Emporia. His e-mail address is edhartman30@charter.net.