Cap and Trade War

The Wall Street Journal ^ | MARCH 30, 2009

[Delacon]

Team Obama floats a carbon tariff.

• One of President Obama's applause lines is that his climate tax policies will create new green jobs "that can't be outsourced." But if that's true, why is his main energy adviser floating a new carbon tariff on imports? Welcome to the coming cap and trade war.

AP

Energy Secretary Steven Chu made the protectionist point during an underreported House hearing this month, when he said tariffs and other trade barriers could be used as a "weapon" to force countries like China and India into cutting their own CO2 emissions. "If other countries don't impose a cost on carbon, then we will be at a disadvantage," he said. So a cap-and-trade policy won't be cost-free after all. Apparently Mr. Chu did not get the White House memo about obfuscating the impact of the Administration's anticarbon policies.

The Chinese certainly heard Mr. Chu, with Xie Zhenhua, a top economic minister, immediately responding that such a policy would be a "disaster" and "an excuse to impose trade restrictions." Beijing's reaction shows that as a means of coercing international cooperation, climate tariffs are worse than pointless. China and India are never going to endanger their own economic growth -- and the chance to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty -- merely to placate the climate neuroses of affluent Americans in Silicon Valley or Cambridge, Massachusetts. And they certainly won't do it under the threat of a tariff ultimatum.

[Delacon]

Democrats are already careless about trade -- i.e., the Mexican trucking spat, the "Buy America" provisions in the stimulus, and blocking the Colombia and South Korea free-trade pacts. Now cap and nontrade may lead to a retreat from the open global markets that have done so much to boost economic growth and innovation. The closer we get to the cap-and-trade dreams of Mr. Obama and Congress, the more dangerous they look.

[Delacon]

ping

[xcamel]

Carbon Scam/POGW

[FlyingEagle]

Crap and trade is a tax, plain and simple. There is no other way to describe it. It is a tax on consumption.

Expect a tax of $60/ton - that is what the Resident is going to charge you.

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx !

 

"Chu Have No Clue"

[!1776!]

"If other countries don't impose a cost on carbon, then we will be at a disadvantage,"

Could this be the first signs of reality digging into the administration?

I'm not going to hold my breath, but at least it is a sign.

Now if only Secretary Chu would come to the understanding that this isn't about reducing CO2, or climate, or anything like that.

If Secretary Chu really is a scientist, and objectively looks at the facts, he will have to come to the conclusion that this scheme is nothing more than attempt to reduce the standard of living of the first world. I personally don't think wealth transfer is the goal, maybe a means to an end, but not a goal.

My personal opinion is that the underlying goal of the climate change rhetoric, in addition to many new environmental issues, is nothing more than a modern eugenics program cloaked in feel good nothing speak.

Maybe that is extreme.

Our resources could be much better spent on improving lives across the globe if this kind of crap wasn't in the way...

[ari-freedom]

even pat buchanan should be against a carbon tariff

[Matchett-PI]

“Crap and trade is a tax, plain and simple. There is no other way to describe it. It is a tax on consumption.” ~ FlyingEagle

Sure is.

James Hansen wants Obama to just come out and admit that it is an energy tax that he wants to impose on Americans and stop beating around the bushes by calling it “cap and trade”. He says that Americans will “understand”:

Some on Left Join Fight to Expose the Lie that is Cap and Trade
http://blog.heritage.org/2008/12/05/some-on-left-join-fight-to-expose-the-lie-that-is-cap-and-trade/

[AnotherUnixGeek]

China and India are never going to endanger their own economic growth -- and the chance to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty -- merely to placate the climate neuroses of affluent Americans in Silicon Valley or Cambridge, Massachusetts. And they certainly won't do it under the threat of a tariff ultimatum.

Nor should they. What an embarrassment that the US government, under the control of Democrats, is now willing to keep billions of people around the world in poverty in order to pursue environmental quackery.

[DugwayDuke]

The problem is, American’s will ‘understand’. Just as soon as American’s understand what all this juke and jive is about reducing their standard of living, they will ‘understand’ all right and that will be the end of the government’s dream of funding a new slush fund.

Right now, everyone is telling American’s that all they have to do to save the polar bears is switch light bulbs. What till they ‘understand’ that saving those cute little bears means getting rid of their SUV, downsizing their house to 1000 square feet or less, and no more watching American Idol on a 60 inch LCD TV.

Oh, yes, they will ‘understand’ and the politicians ‘understand’ that as soon as they do ‘understand’, they will also ‘understand’ it’s time for some new politicians.

[Waco]

Trading what? Farts? Get em now all the beer fars you could ever want. Watch for next months’ special on bad breath Contact P.T. Barnum Trading S.B.E.M. LLC.

[Waco]

Trading what? Farts? Get em now all the beer fars you could ever want FOR Just 14,000,000. Watch for next months’ special on bad breath Contact P.T. Barnum Trading S.B.E.M. LLC.

[Delacon]

Gotta think in terms of sheer volume, rat farts have to contribute more to global warming than cows do. What about rabbits, mice and birds. Honestly this is getting ridiculous. As for human farts, my wife wants to turn me in.

[Delacon]

“even pat buchanan should be against a carbon tariff”

Interesting observation.