Posted on 06/04/2009 1:32:16 PM PDT by InvisibleChurch
Rising gasoline prices are back. Millions of Americans at the end of May faced prices for regular gas averaging $2.35 per gallon, a full 30 cents higher than the beginning of the month and nearly 60 cents more than at the start of the year. But don't expect any help from Congress. In fact, Washington is working on a bill that would raise costs further, says Ben Lieberman is a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.
The proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (the Waxman-Markey proposal) essentially would limit how much gasoline and other fossil fuels Americans can use. The aim is to cut emissions of carbon dioxide from energy use; yet, prices would have to rise high enough so the public would be forced to drive less and meet the ever-tightening energy rationing targets.
How high? A Heritage Foundation analysis estimates that gasoline costs will rise $118 annually for a typical four-person household once the bill's provisions take effect in 2012:
That's about 10 cents more per gallon, and the impact goes up as the bill demands tougher energy use restrictions each year, tacking on an additional $1.23 to the inflation-adjusted price per gallon by 2035. Electricity is also hit hard; in fact, the main target of the bill is coal, which affordably provides 50 percent of America's electricity. The costs would filter down to consumers and boost electric bills by $235 in 2012, rising to $468 by 2035; that's a 90 percent increase over current rates. The bill also would cost jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector. Overall, this is a regressive tax that would harm the working poor the most. At the same time, it would leave a million or more people without a paycheck to deal with the higher costs, says Lieberman.
Source: Ben Lieberman, "A shock at the pump?" Heritage Foundation, June 1, 2009.
For text:
http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed060109a.cfm
For more on National Energy Policy:
http://environment.ncpa.org/issues/?c=national-energy-policy
For more on Energy Issues:
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=22
$118 a year is nothing compared to Cap N Trade
Prices for gas and electricity are going to be much higher than this article would lead you to believe. Or maybe not, as with the absence of any productive economic activity, there won’t be much demand.
The teleprompter rear view mirrors are a nice touch...
LMAO
Those idiots in Congress and the idiots in the oil industry are out to destroy western civilization.
They keep this up... Someone’s gonna get hurt.
“...destroy western civilization.”
Yes, and they also want to control our freedom to travel.
Most Americans will blame Bush, Cheney, Halliburton, etc.
Kiss the tourist and boating industry goodbye.... and much, much more.
That is NOT funny. TOTUS could ride in one. No one else could.
A cross-country trip in one of those would be killer.
Bookmark
The article mentions $2.35 gas a week ago. It’s now $2.75 here (in Ohio). I noticed the 40-cent-per-gallon jump happened almost immediately after Obama said Iran has the right to nuclear power, i.e., weapons. Might have been Monday, can’t remember.
Then you could change to, *Big Pig*. I like it!
An energy policy that is based on limiting the amount of energy each is allowed is as bankrupt as this administration. Our energy policy should be the opposite. Do what is necessary to insure cheap, plentiful energy. Unfortunately, that would allow citizen too much freedom and our government can’t tolerate that.
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