Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 08/31/2009 1:52:27 PM PDT by markomalley
Inspired by the speed and spending of the Apollo moon landing, the Apollo Alliance — a coalition of community organizers, environmentalists and big labor — is aggressively pushing President Barack Obama’s plan to regulate carbon emissions through cap-and-trade.
If a recent meeting of labor and environmentalists is any indication, however, cap-and-trade may end up in a disaster more reminiscent of the Apollo 13 mission than the triumphant Apollo 11 landing.
Earlier this month, the AFL-CIO and its Washington state affiliate hosted a conference on the proposal in Wenatchee, Wash. Despite labor’s seat at the table, Bob Baugh, executive director of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council, conceded that cap-and-trade posed a serious threat to workers, especially labor members in energy-intensive industries.
Baugh’s right. According to a recent report by the Heritage Foundation, Waxman-Markey would cost millions of jobs and would increase unemployment levels for every year: 1.9 million fewer jobs in 2012, and an average of 1.14 million fewer jobs from 2012 through 2035. Those industries most affected would include manufacturing, glass, plastic and rubber-product production, and the fabricated-metal industries — all heavily unionized sectors.
Under cap-and-trade, industries would be forced to pay for expensive carbon credits or face massive fines. Some manufacturers would shut down facilities to fit under the cap or to seek a profit from selling their extra carbon credits. Other industries will simply relocate facilities, and the jobs that come with them, overseas.
Proponents of cap-and-trade refer to these job and industry losses as “leakage,” and concede there is no real answer for the problem, barring an international commitment from developing nations, which currently seems unlikely. According to Baugh, the AFL-CIO is demanding “border adjustments,” or “taxing the hell out of” every product that comes into the country, in order to even the playing field.
The Obama administration, which initially hinted at including such measures in order to gain union support, is now backing away under pressure from Canada and other U.S. trading partners. Obama also dashed hopes by big labor that developing nations would also face restrictive caps on emissions, stating that now “is not the time” to include countries like China and India.
Baugh called failure to include developing nations under an international cap and border adjustments “a deal breaker” for trade unions, and warned that it was “hard enough” keeping local unions on board.
A recent Pew Research Center poll explains why. Americans’ primary concern is the economy and keeping jobs. Climate change is dead last on a list of 30 issues.
Joel Merkel, legislative counsel for Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., says the senator is leaning against supporting Waxman-Markey because she worries about the federal government “picking winners and losers” among industries.
Merkel told the conference that Cantwell didn’t believe the bill that passed the House had any chance of passing in the Senate. Cap-and-trade is expected to generate billions of dollars, and Merkel explained that the only way the House was able to narrowly pass the bill was by promising “slices of the cap-and-trade pie” to particular industries in specific districts.
Senators, who represent states with multiple, diverse industries, do not want to be put in the position of helping some workers, while devastating others.
The economic and political realities of job leakage may soon have many cap-and-trade proponents in the Obama administration and the Apollo Alliance making the same assessment.
Neat! Cap n Tax will begin a trade war as well! Obama really is channeling FDR.....
Break out the popcorn and adult beverages as its about to get fun!!!
Cap-N-Trade will pay the Enviros and Obamacare will fill the pockets of the Unions!
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