Cap and Trade, Contact your Representative!

Today is the day of the big vote that will play a big role, or better yet, a huge role in the future of American energy and climate policy. "Cap and trade"'s been a well known bill around political circles, and today is the day that it will become known in households across America (If not today, due to the mourning of the death of Michael Jackson, very soon). Even as someone who supports the green movement, and the need to address the issue of climate change, I cannot support the bill, and I urge you to contact your local congressional representative and urge them to vote no. This bill promises to put extremely high costs on the shoulders of farm state citizens and businesses, and it will result in the loss of jobs as a result. The way "cap and trade" works is that the federal government will set a standard for how much carbon can be emitted, and then companies can buy and sell permits to emit carbon. In the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) analysis of the bill in 2020, it will cost an American company $28 to emit a ton of carbon. How are we expecting to get America back on board to compete with foreign companies with this type of nonsense going on? This bill also threatens to take a $161 billion hit on GDP according to an analysis done by the Heritage Foundation. Once again, we're seeing politicians like Henry Waxman promising short term fixes so rural Democrats hop on in exchange for more pain later.

From the Politico:

The final 1,201-page bill includes compromises for Michigan auto interests, Rust Belt manufacturers, Texas oil refineries, Midwestern farmers and Southeastern coal companies.

In the same article, Earl Pomeroy (D), the at large representative from North Dakota, had this to add about the bill:

“I’m here to represent North Dakota, and we only have one guy: me,” the senior Ways and Means Committee member said. “I know how badly the speaker wants this bill, but I have a job to do. On this one, I don’t feel any pressure at all.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24232.html#ixzz0JYMFZCR8&C

Charles Calomiris, a Columbia professor of financial institutions, had this to add in the Politico's arena:

As economists Terry Anderson and Gary Libecap have shown in their incisive, factual, and balanced analysis, this bill will do significant harm to the economy and accomplish little that is worthwhile in the process. To quote those authors (): "Our major points are (1) that the administration has not been candid with the American public about the costs of these initiatives or about the likelihood of their ability to improve the environment; (2) that these initiatives are likely to encourage protectionism, reduce international trade, and hence slow the recovery of the U.S. and world economies; and (3) that slower growth will undermine environmental improvements at home and abroad." Reduce...

So today, I urge all of you, liberal or conservative, Democrat of Republican, to not let this bill pass by getting in touch with your congressional office, and to speak about on the effects this bill's passage would have.

-Joe