Cap and trade completely rewrites the American dream

Cap-and-trade bill as written will rewrite the American dream – home ownership and provide heavy tax burdens for generations. Provisions within the largest tax increase in the country’s history will change the way you buy and sell a home, use energy and shop for goods and services.

A new government bureaucracy created within the bill will force homeowners who wish to sell their homes to retrofit their houses to be “environmentally-friendly.” The costs would fall to the homeowners possibly injuring an already fragile real estate marketplace.

Potential replacement items required would range from eco-friendly hot-water heaters to windows. The homes in California have already seen values fall through the floor and homeowners see no way to recoup the expensive upgrades the state and federal government would require.

Also included in the massive 1,500-page bill is water rationing. The federal government has set up a shower manager. One website selling a shower manager calls the gadget the “Shower Nazi.” Located in section 217 of the bill and the Shower Nazi units puts a three-to five-minute limit on showers.

Controlling other aspects of your life will be seen in the mandatory 20 percent wind/solar consumption to start; this would definitely lead to energy rationing if there was not enough wind turbines and solar panels in place.

Proponents of the bill say Waxman/Markey will help consumers use less energy because costs would be too expensive to use water and electricity. The end result say the Democrats is reduced energy use equals reduced cost monthly costs.

However, according to the Heritage Foundation by 2012, the average taxpayer will see an additional increase of $436 per year and the number will eventually hit $1,241 a year plus 2.5 million in U.S. job loses.

Heritage also contends that consumers will pay hidden taxes in grocery, gas and anything manufactured because business owners will simply pass the added cost onto taxpayers.

The farming community will also pay a hefty price with cap-and-trade. They will virtually be wiped out of the food export business because their “field to market” cost will no longer be competitive with foreign countries.

As with any increase in costs the low-income families would be hit the hardest; however the government insists it will offer rebates to those hurt the most, which translates into another tax for the middleclass to pay for those rebates.

When the consumer thinks of energy they think electricity and oil consumption. This legislation will do nothing to curb our foreign-oil disease.

“Instead of reducing dependency on overseas energy suppliers, Americans would be more dependant than ever,” says Clayton Mahaffey an analyst at Redchip Co. in Florida. “They’ll be searching the globe for refined products that don’t carry the same level of carbon costs.”

Experts from the American Petroleum Institute also agree that one in six refineries would be closed by 2020 leading us towards problems similar in Iran, tons of oil, but no refineries – gas rationing.

Adding to skyrocketing energy and fuel costs, the API estimate that carbon permits would add 77 cent per gallon to the cost of gasoline.

This cost alone will slam commuters, air travelers and trucking companies. Again, ordinary Americans would eventually feel the brunt of the rising energy costs.

There are rumors floating around Washington, says Congressman Tom Campbell R-Calif that the White House offered 9-figure pork projects to entice Democrats to vote yes on the cap-and-trade bill.

The bottom line is the American dream would be placed on hold.

MIT states American families will see a $3,000 increase per year in energy taxes – all for a 2/10ths of one degree reduction in temperatures in the next 100 years.

According to the Carbon Dioxide Information Analyst Center, CDIAC, if the country wants to curtail carbon dioxide the country should be building nuclear and hydroelectric plants. “They are cheaper, carbon-neutral and 100 percent domestically sourced.”

Cap and trade legislation translates into 17 percent of the U.S. economy and health care takes up 16 percent of the economy. Worse, Washington D.C. runs the auto industry and some financial sectors as well. Where does it end?

Ed Royce, a seventh-term congressman from Orange County, CA. says, “The power grabs and political maneuvering can be as ugly as the city is impressive.”


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