Climate-change legislation helps a few big utility companies, but costs most Americans.

Wall Street Journal ^ | 10/02/09 | Kimberley Strassel

[Winged Hussar]

An internal memo produced by Bernstein Research in June described how Mr. Rowe met with investors to rejoice that the House legislation will allow Exelon to rake in additional revenue—by some estimates, up to $1.5 billion a year. Others will pay for this Exelon privilege, of course—notably, Midwestern customers of traditional coal utilities who will see their energy prices double. But hey, all's fair in love and lobbying.

...Let's also not forget that Chicago-based Exelon and employees, including Mr. Rowe, contributed tens of thousands of dollars for their home-city presidential aspirant. And that Mr. Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, was once a consultant to Exelon. In an energy world in which winners and losers are picked on the Potomac, there is no harm in reminding the president who his friends are.

[Winged Hussar]

Cap and trade (Waxman-Markey) is a scam and a fraud that will enrich corporate special interests at the expense of the American people.

US Climate Action Partnership member General Electric raised almost $500K in bundled contributions (legal, they are not corporate contributions but rather bundled individual contributions) to help elect Barry the Community Organizer, and it is clear that GE's employees and shareholders are getting more than their money's worth.

A good argument for boycotting GE consumer goods, and it won't hurt American workers; when I last looked at a GE consumer appliance, it was made in China.

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[Blood of Tyrants]

I heard that the zero has already used the EPA to implement part of the cap and trade. What I want to know is does the EPA even have the power to implement what amounts to a tax on the American people?

[Achilles Heel]

people are asleep on this...most don’t know what it all means to them. It is not told in the media, and if it is mentioned, the slant is environmental.

[PDMiller]

Don’t leave out Dow Chemical’s formal support for this garbage.

[HiTech RedNeck]

This is IF Wackedman-Malarkey passes the Senate. They are probably waiting on the convention in Copenhagen which will feature a hundred countries (!) many of which are now skeptics of the global-warming panic.

[FlingWingFlyer]

The very people that the commie 'RATS say they are punishing with Cap'n Tax are the people who are going to be getting filthy rich with its passage.

BIG energy.

Hardworking Americans are the big losers when it comes to Cap'n Tax.

[old curmudgeon]

You and the others posting along the same lines are absolutely correct.

But you have to remember three things:

Corporations are obligated to make as much money for their stockholders as they can and do so within the law.

Cap and trade will, if passed, be legal.

The third point, but most important of all: This is another example of why government should never ever meddle in the markets. They distort markets; they always set in motion the law of unintended consequences.