Posted on 04/08/2012 7:48:38 AM PDT by SmithL
For the past 10 years, California has struggled with huge budget deficits and wrenching cuts. Suddenly, however, the state is poised to raise billions from an unusual new source: the proceeds from its landmark global warming law.
The windfall could come as soon as this fall, when state officials are set to begin auctioning off pollution credits to oil refineries, power plants and other major polluters as part of a new "cap-and-trade" system.
The amounts are potentially enormous: from $1 billion to $3 billion a year in 2012 and 2013, jumping to as high as $14 billion a year by 2015, according to the nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst's Office. By comparison, the state's current budget deficit is $9 billion.
But like thirsty castaways on an island surrounded by ocean water they can't drink, Gov. Jerry Brown and state legislators face strict constraints on how they can spend the money. More than 30 years of court rulings and ballot measures -- dating to Proposition 13 in 1978 -- limit its use, probably only to projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
To add another hurdle, major business groups are preparing lawsuits, arguing that the state cannot collect the money at all.
Still, Brown and others in the Capitol are cautiously making plans. On Monday, the state's High-Speed Rail Authority slipped into a news release that the money would be used as "a backstop" that could save the struggling bullet-train project. And in a follow-up interview with this newspaper, Dan Richard, chairman of the rail authority, asserted that a large portion of the money could go to fund high-speed rail.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
This is not a wacky idea in the sense that land management services toward environmental ends do cost money are are therefore (in theory) "worth" compensation. For example, how I manage my land does effect how much runoff there is and therefore can mitigate floods to a degree while storing water for late season release or human groundwater use. It might not be much in the aggregate sense, but automated transaction processing could make it worth the overhead by the time all such contracts were combined. Such a market would then optimize each property for its appropriate combination of uses.
There is a problem however: How do you measure (and more importantly VERIFY) what is or is not actually performed and how did it work? My patent covers that. Bartels does not.
Because I foresaw the potential for an enormous and corrupt market in bogus "services" (complete with university-determined price fixing), I filed for patent to preclude such a powerful monopoly. Because it was sitting in the USPTO for eight long years and I had no money to do much more than keep it going, the thugs of this world didn't know of my application while they got the fast track. Once I fired my lawyer (on his recommendation) I went pro-se, wrote my own claims, and gained that patent.
I hate like hell sitting on this thing because it gets weaker without me putting it into motion, but at least it could be cited as prior art, thus invalidating the claim for royalties under Bartels.
A FReeper throwing sand in those gears would be news, n'est ce pas?
The article presupposes that any one is going to abide by crap and trade. The money has already been spent and California is is far in debt that 3 billion wouldn’t put a dent in it.
For those companies who have finally realized that they have no hope of continuing running a decent business in California:
There are 7 states that have NO personal income tax. Some don’t tax corporations, either.
Properties are less expensive in many of those states. Property taxes are less, also. I have 5.58 acres with house, garage, well, septic & my property taxes last year were $1200. Properties can be bought at the bottom or the top of the price ranges.
Talented & qualified persons you have now would have an opportunity to go with you and improve their usable income, also.
Here in N Nevada, the reacreational activities are abundant. Summer/winter & in between.
Look at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Park just east of Reno, along Interstate 80. Also- look in the Carson Valley at the aitport complex.
If your business needs access to major transportation, or wants to build a newer facility, see what they offer on their website.
I have absolutely no personal connection with Lance Gilman, the developer, nor with any company that is there already.
I just am a former resident of California who has known for years that California is sinking into a morass of it’s own making.
I left & I don’t miss it.
The alternative to being scammed by cap and trade is to shutdown. Watch the power plants go away. No taxes from them or from businesses who can’t function without electricity. Windfall? No. Windstorm with lots of damage.
magic thinking - on a par with cargo cults among Pacific islanders.
It seems to me that the net effect will be to force power generation and manufacturing out of CA.
The grid will have to be improved to accommodate the change. Remember the brown-outs?
Then Californians will pay rates for electricity that is imported from other states.
Perhaps CA will then increase taxes on imported energy to create the next “windfall.”
This is actually funny, in a sickening sort of way.
Democrats always project that they will get huge increases in revenues by raising taxes. And it *never* works. Never, ever. It is the curse of Arthur Laffer.
And corporate taxes are the worst, because Democrats are just unable to grasp the idea that all those “mountains of free money” that are corporate profits, DO NOT go to bizarre “Scrooge McDuck” types, who use it to fill swimming pools with gold coins, buy chicken egg-sized diamonds, and smoke cigars rolled in one million dollar bills.
But because of the mindless greed and hate of Democrats, corporations *do* spend far more money than they want to on ambitious young tax attorneys and accountants, who are then tasked with a major, ongoing project: Tax avoidance (note: “avoid”==legal; “evade”==illegal).
And when the Democrats projected tax revenues of “millions and billions and trillions” of dollars results instead in a handful of subway tokens and some used chewing gum, the Democrats loudly complain and whine that the “evil” corporations are “stealing” money from the government, and should be forced to give more money. That is, even higher taxes.
Some people are really slow on the uptake.
However, because of their persistence, some corporation do eventually cough up some bread, which instantly translates to inflation, as they pass 105% of the costs on to consumers. And while the Democrats have no problem with screwing consumers, in past, even in California, consumers had other ideas.
Yet this time, push may have come to shove. This is because California has been oppressing industry for years, to the point where California is borderline for any profit margin at all.
Cap’n Trade IS NOT about “global warming”, “climate change” or “savin da planit”. Cap’n Trade is about politicians stealing other people’s money to get themselves reelected by promising the voters more “free stuff”.
Wow. 100% of the comments at the mercury news site would fit in right here at FR!
““The windfall could come as soon as this fall...”
I thought windfalls were bad. The lefties are always screaming about the evils windfall profits. Where are they now?
Now, where is all the loot gonna really come from?
Utility companies that will bill consumers - especially all those businesses looking to locate to California?
Or maybe adding the “costs to pollute” to the other costs of starting and staying in business?
Farmers! yeah, go after agriculture! Farming pollutes!
Airlines? Make ‘em pay to fly.
The US military! Fine all those military bases - they pollute.
(crickets)
Bundle up $450,000 in untraceable small dollar donations to obama and you’ll be “in like flynn”
Talk about buying a license to pollute ...
That is the effect. Emissions trading schemes and carbon taxes (as well as EPA regs) are taxes on capital. They reduce the value of a company's assets because of a reduced future revenue stream and will cause what businesses that do remain in California to cease capital improvements.
Our rising standard of living is directly due to capital improvements and accumulation. The end result of cap-and-trade will be to reduce living standards and to increase the very income inequality the liberals profess to despise.
Of course, they'll just blame the capitalists.
They must be on black tar heroin.. crack.. prescription drugs.. who knows.. legislators and the electorate are out of their freakin minds.. politics is whack in california if this happens..
You can bet there is going to an “unexpected” shortfall in this revenue stream soon.
Take a number and get to the back of the line. There's thousands ahead of you. Hussein has to fill his kickback pockets first.
As if pigs could fly. And bring your umbrella, too, ‘cause the skittle-pooping unicorn is scheduled for an over-flight.
I engineer at a radio station on the weekends for a number of talk shows. One of the shows is hosted by a guy who is all over the UN Agenda 21 scam and its related tentacles. My spidey senses tell me Cap & Trade is one of those tentacles.
You can get a feel for his show by going to his website http://www.edtalkradio.com and click on the MYSYTV LIVE link.
If you're willing to be interviewed in-studio or on the phone, FReepmail me and I'll set it up.
Yes and yes, but be aware, my work goes far beyond the patent.
The free market environmental management system was first proposed in my first book, Natural Process: That Environmental Laws May Serve the Laws of Nature. (Reviews here).
Of interest to you also is that I have restored our property to perhaps the purest native plant landscape in North America. It has taken us 22 years, a project of scope, intensity, and duration far beyond anything ever attempted by the university/government/foundation cabal. You can read about that here.
ALSO of interest is the discovery of the original purpose and intent of the Biblical Sabbath for the Land, lost for 3,500 years. You can read about that here.
For more on where I'm coming from in general, there is an interview here.
I know you know that I've been around here for a long time. If you need one, I can supply a list of FReepers who can vouch for what I've just said.
In the normal world, yes, it is. Unfortunately, here in CA, it's not.
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