Cap And Trade

A "cap and trade" energy bill passed the House of Representatives last night. Earlier in the day, the 1000 page bill originally introduced was either augmented or replaced by a 300 page "amendment." There's not a single person on the planet who has really read the bill, not even those who wrote it. The sponsors probably got some speed reading geek to whip through it, but I guarantee you the 435 people with votes never had the chance. The reason is simply that the final bill really hasn't taken shape. In effect, the House of Representatives passed a concept. Just how to put the concept into practice will come later.

I'd feel somewhat more comfortable if the justification for this concept rested on hard science rather than environmentalism that is too often backed by anti-capitalists and unhinged lefties drifting in search of a secure port. As readers know, OTR has some doubts about anthropogenic contributions to the warming of the planet.

I'd also feel better about this bill if I didn't see it as simply another power grab by the centralized government. With certainty, it guarantees the American people with a huge "tax" increase on utilities to the tune of $1000-1300 per family annually. Remember during the campaign when Obama said that taxes for 95% of us would not increase? This was and is shrewd politics because most people will complain to the "greedy" utility companies about the increases, not to the Obama government that imposed the "tax" on the companies themselves. And if you think China and India will reciprocate with equally tough policies on their energy suppliers, you are wrong. What this means to Americans is nothing less than higher taxes and continued corporate and job migrations to friendlier economic climates. American readers, do take heart. I expect this concept/bill to have a wonderful death in the Senate.

For more on the story, go here for some commentary by Powerline and links to the original story.

Illustration: An early poster from the Soviet Union, the caption reads," The smoke of chimneys is the breath of Soviet Russia." My, how times have changed.