Waxman's Economy Killer (House Bill Vote is Today)

Human Events ^ | June 25, 2009 | Steven Milloy

[flattorney]

The House of Representatives will vote Friday(Today) on the so-called “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009” -- a.k.a the “Waxman-Markey” global warming bill. But whatever you want to call this legislative atrocity, if enacted into law, it will go down in history as the death knell of the American standard of living and way of life. If you hate America, this bill is for you.

After decades of fierce battling between rabid greens -- that is, left-wingers masquerading as “environmentalists” -- and the global warming skeptics, few Americans seem to have bought into the bill’s premise ­ that manmade emissions of carbon dioxide are causing the planet to run a fever, as Al Gore is fond of saying. Just this week, a public relations firm advising House Democrats recommended that the notion of “global warming” be dropped as a primary message since “almost no one in our focus groups expressed such concern.” So despite all the frantic global warming alarmism and the vicious smears of skeptics by Gore and his fanatic green activists (they liken skeptics to Holocaust-deniers and many in the media repeat the smear) -- the out-manned and out-gunned skeptics have largely succeeded in being heard by Americans and in changing their minds.

Yet that is not stopping House Democrats who are under pressure not only from the greens who see the bill as the best way to advance their political agenda (Marxist? Socialist? Venezuelan?), but also big businesses who have given up on capitalism in favor of federal laws requiring that taxpayers and consumers pay through the nose for products and services they don’t need or want.

What would Waxman-Markey mean to you? It starts with much higher cost of living, less personal freedom and a less comfortable, convenient, dignified and hopeful existence. Waxman-Markey is fundamentally anti-economic growth in nature. If you don’t yet grasp the significance of national economic growth, just look around at the recession we and the rest of the world are now enduring. Waxman-Markey would be a permanent clampdown on economic growth. The bill does this by making energy, the life blood of our economy, much more expensive and scarce. Waxman-Markey will add $9 trillion in costs to the production of energy between 2012 and 2050 -- that works out to almost $800 per American per year for the next 38 years. Those are just the direct costs imposed by the bill’s cap-and-trade regime. These costs will ripple throughout the American economy -- everyone uses energy -- making all goods and services more expensive.

Electric utilities will be required to produce 20 percent of their power through so-called “renewable” energy sources, like wind and solar, by 2020. But such technology is incredibly expensive and requires heavy taxpayer subsidies -- 100 times greater than for fossil fuels. At the scale required by Waxman-Markey, such energy is more imaginary than renewable. Worse than the increased cost of energy, perhaps, is that the Waxman-Markey bill will essentially result in artificial limits on electricity production and, ultimately, electricity rationing. The bill will create a permanent energy crisis. In addition to the limits imposed by the renewable energy requirement, Waxman-Markey essentially phases out coal-generated electricity (50% of our current supply) while failing to guarantee the construction of the only realistic substitute for coal -- nuclear power. In the end, what we’ll have is an energy grid constrained by the supply of natural gas -- much of which will have to be imported. Even so, there’s simply not enough natural gas to affordably meet all our energy needs, so supplies will have to be rationed somehow.

Waxman-Markey tries to head-off the path to rationing by requiring that everything from cars to new buildings to appliances become dramatically more energy efficient. This may sound good, but it’s a fool’s errand that can only end in higher prices for inferior products. The only way to make cars get better gas mileage is to shrink them, making them more dangerous, less useful and less comfortable. New buildings will have to be more 50% more efficient by 2016; if it can be done, it will be very, perhaps prohibitively, expensive. All of this ignores the fact that, since the 1970s and despite all out leaps forward in technology, we’ve only increased energy efficiency on a societal basis by about 7% or so, according to the Congressional Research Service.

What will you get for all the pain associated with Waxman-Markey? The bill will not improve the environment one iota. For those who insist that carbon dioxide emissions are somehow bad for the climate, even if the U.S. cuts its emissions as prescribed by Waxman-Markey, China, India and other developing countries will not cut their emissions as they refuse to sacrifice vital economic growth. If you plug this scenario into the existing climate models, their gloom-and-doom forecasts don’t change. Moreover, since it is the wealthiest nations that have the cleanest environments -- consider the dirty China and India, for example -- Waxman-Markey is more likely to damage the environment as it retards U.S. economic growth and wealth creation, and saps funding for environmental protection on an individual and societal basis.

Waxman-Markey necessarily supersizes government and increases its intrusiveness. In addition to expanded authorities and budgets for the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and other existing federal behemoths, the bill creates a whole new bureaucracy of government agencies and boards that will dictate who can use how much energy. There’s the Offsets Integrity Advisory Board, Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Panel, National Climate Service, and the Centers for Energy and Environmental Knowledge and Outreach to name a few.

America under 1,200-page-long Waxman-Markey bill -- and the hundreds of thousands of pages of regulations that would necessarily follow it -- would be a fantasy world for central planners and their oppressive tendencies. Given the 20th century’s horrific experience with central planning, that should be enough reason for House members to vote ‘NO’ on Friday.

# # # # #

Mr. Milloy is the founder and publisher of JunkScience.com, co-founder of the Free Enterprise Action Fund, and co-director of the Free Enterprise Project at the National Center for Public Policy Research. His columns and op-ed pieces have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Financial Times, and Los Angeles Times. He is the author of "Green Hell," a new book from Regnery Publishing.

[flattorney]

FlAttorney's FR "Straight Talk" Section: Global Warming Hoax ~ Al "Fraud" Gore

Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act - A $1.9 Trillion Tax Hike
FR Keyword: Waxman-Markey Ping Lists: Waxbag-Malarkey Carbon Cap & Scam | Beam me to Planet Gore!
06.24.09: House Vote set for this Friday on fraudulent Waxman-Markey Climate Bill
06.24.09: CBO Grossly Underestimates Cost of Cap and Trade
06.23.09: “No” Vote Demanded on $1.9 Trillion Waxman-Markey Tax Hike
06.23.09: An Inconvenient Truth: Waxman-Markey Climate Global Warming Bill in Trouble
06.23.09: Al "Fraud" Gore's Nationwide Conference Call to push Bill approval.
06.15.09: Jim Inhofe: Democrats Cap & Tax Rush Job: All Economic Pain, No Climate Gain
04.26.09: Outrage of the Day: The Costly Waxman-Markey Global Warming Tax
03.09.09: Obama's Cap & Trade Program Is A Working Class Tax

MAR

[Venturer]

It dosnt surprise me that waxman sponsors this bill, just look at the fool. he isnt playiong woth a full deck.

Thiis bill wuld be a killer bill at any time it is so bad, but to bring it up now when we are struggling , is pure insanity.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Never trust anyone who has a two car garage attached to their face.

[don-o]

just look at the fool.

YOU ASKED FOR IT

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[driftdiver]

If you went through life looking like that wouldn’t you want to screw everyone else over as well.

[ETL]

photoshop credit to FReeper armymarinemom

photoshop credit to FReeper armymarinemom

[flattorney]

(The Legendary) HoosierMama Says: Contact information for congressmen on this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278007/pos ts

TAKE ACTION Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Tool free capital switchboard number are below.

800-828-0498

877-762-8762

List of all congressmen here and their individual phone numbers

http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/mcapdir.html

PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

MAR

[IamConservative]

I often wonder just how full of themselves these people really are. You get glimpses once in awhile; “Senator” Boxer admonishing a General for calling her Ma’am. Life long loser John Kerry wishing it was Palin who had committed adultery. I’m sure many of you have more and better examples.

But, I think this bill may be the height self righteousness. These buffoons believe that they can control the temperature of Gods own creation. Talk about governmental over reach? They are going to regulate (read tax) the third most abundant element on the planet.

[ETL]

Life long loser John Kerry wishing it was Palin who had committed adultery.

I think the commie-hugging piece of crap said that he wished she had been the one that disappeared (went 'missing').

[EBH]

E-mail sent today:

Dear Congressman Dennis Kucinich,

I am writing to you today to vote NO/AGAINST the “Energy Bill” to be presented before the House on Friday.

We, The People, see it for what it is. A high priced expensive and expansive shell game of the Federal government. Your statement yesterday supports this perception and validates it as indeed fact.

http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=133863

No real American ever wants to leave their children worse off. And like so many issues in the past 6 months pushed and rushed through Congress, we’re already seeing the new policies don’t work and gives our grandchildren nothing. This “Energy Bill” is another of those rushed through changes.

Democrats control the House, Senate, and White House. You have no need to rush to conclusions. The only thing rushing you(congress) is the corruption that permeates the highest levels. We can do better and we need Congressmen/women of good, strong, character to rise up and stop this nonsense.

Poor legislation, indifference of Congress, lack of appropriate debate even within the democrat party will hurt the 2010 elections. You are there in the People’s House to represent the People, not the Party, not Pelosi, and not the President’s agenda. WE THE PEOPLE is who you represent.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

Should be called the “Waxman-Malarkey Act”.

[Daisyjane69]

I’m happy to report my Blue Dog Dem (Jim Matheson) is supposed to be voting NO on this train wreck. But I’m going to call him at lunchtime to make doubly sure. (In case Pelosi tries to bribe him with something!)

[IamConservative]

I think the commie-hugging piece of crap said that he wished she had been the one that disappeared (went 'missing').

Thank you for the clarification. One can never think too badly about JF'inK in my book! :)

[LTCJ]

My Rep is about as conservative as they come but the Rep for the district in which I work is a Dem. Fortunately, he's taken out radio ads saying he see's Cap&Trade for what it is and will be voting it down.

He'd better not pull a switcher-roo.

[Daisyjane69]

Good for you. Fingers crossed!

[eleni121]

Bravo! This one deserves an award.

We should have our own Freeper awards for superior artistic contributions.

[dawn53]

The House of Representatives will vote Friday(Today)

Did I miss something...like Thursday????

No matter, I already contacted my Congresscritters.

[flattorney]

The House of Representatives will vote Friday(Today)

Sorry, Today was a typo. S/B Tomorrow

TAB

[Marie]

There is one upside to this going through. It will impact *everybody* and fast. People will be hurting. I think that about 50% of the population just isn’t paying attention and this will wake them up fast.