The whole carbon credits idea is nothing but a socialist plot to further drive the US to ruin, while enriching the elites like Al Gore and the folks at Goldman Sachs. Does any SANE person believe that even IF reducing CO@ could stop the natural warming of the planet, and even IF the US cut CO2 emissions in HALF, that the rest of the world would not just fill in where our CO2 emissions were cut? Will Saudi Arabia pump less oil? NO!!...Will China stop opening one new cheap/dirty coal plant every 7-10 days? NO!! Will India and the rest of the developing world slow there economies in order to cap their quickly rising CO@ emissions? NO, NO, NO!!! The morons who have devised these carbon trafing schemes are taking everyone for fools. As they jst off to the UN Climate Change Conference in their private jets, the rest of us are elft to ponder a country with energy shortages, higher costs, and a declining economy. I feel like I am leving in an alternate reality, where black is white, and vice versa.
I agree that CO2 control is a socialist dream. CO2 emissions control through some form of taxation will allow government to have a large influence on the costs of goods and services. The UN climate panel arrogantly indicates that the cost of CO2 emissions control will not be substantial (less than 3% of GDP as though 3% of GDP is not substantial). Further the climate panel asserts that global temperature increases can be constrained by CO2 emissions controls.
The contrast between reality of CO2 emissions controls and current living are stark. People like to travel by plane, air condition their homes, drive to work and shopping, light their outdoors with Christmas lights, and so on. Modern living demands reliable power and increases in power over time. These CO2 emissions control schemes will restrict choices, reduce growth, move jobs to other countries, increase inflation, and generally lower standards of living without any benefits.
The global warming hysteria is a test of the broken windows theory of economics. The left seems to believe that if you smash every window in the country, economic growth and prosperity will ensue. The left only wants to see the visible jobs created, not the lost economic opportunities due to repairing all of the windows. The rats do not want any blame for the economic fallout. They will push goals into the future where the blame cannot be laid at their feet.
You are absolutely right. Spitzer's scheme is nothing but a price fixing scheme and/or hidden tax wrapped in the language of free-market capitalism just to make it palatable to the unwary.