H.R. 2454 calls for a “cap and trade” system for the regulation of greenhouse gases, and is in essence, a tax that will drive up energy costs across the board.
Independent experts estimate that in the next eight years the legislation will take $2 trillion dollars from our economy, redistributing it to powerful, favored institutions through a complex regulatory scheme with standards that are impossible to meet, as has been found in other countries with similar systems in place. Actually doing so would set our economy back over 130 years to 1875, the last recorded time our carbon-emissions met the legislation’s goals.
The astronomical costs of this bill and the unachievable caps that cripple many industries such as FARMERS (still the largest employer in the state!) and miners will mean the loss of many jobs as manufacturers, shippers, and others are forced to scale back, close, or send jobs overseas. While the prospect of numerous new “green” jobs has been widely touted, a recent study by economist Gabriel Calzada has found that for every one green job, 2.2 other jobs are lost or not created. Each of those jobs comes at an enormous subsidy that pours money from the private sector into an overpriced, inefficient industry. We do NOT need more government jobs instead of private sector jobs.
At the same time many are losing jobs and struggling to get by on less, the Cap and Trade plan would raise energy rates across the board. That means sky-high electricity rates, and more pain at the pump. The CBO has estimated the bill could mean another 77 cents per gallon of gasoline. Higher electricity and fuel prices add to the over-all cost of everything, like food from farms where growers depend on fertilizers, tractors, and transportation. It’s one thing to conserve, but getting to work for the millions who don’t live near public transportation, and lighting and heating our homes are essentials people can’t avoid.
Estimates say that families could pay $3,000 more a year on energy and the entire plan would take $2 trillion from our economy in just over eight years. Numbers like these come at a very real cost, not just in terms of your wallet but in terms of the many, many jobs this legislation gambles with. I urge you to contact your senators and representative and tell them to vote NO on HR 2454.
