Waxman-Markey

By now, you've probably heard of the Waxman-Markey bill, technically called the "American Clean Energy and Security Act," H. R. 2454. You've heard several sources, including this newsletter, rant on how terrible/hazardous/unnecessary the 946 page piece of prospective legislation is. But I've never seen the disastrous consequences of this legislation outlines so clearly and thoroughly as in this article by Myron Ebell, succinctly titled, "The Biggest Tax Increase in World History."
If enacted, H. R. 2454 would be the biggest government takeover of the economy since the Second World War, which is the last time energy, food, and other basic commodities were rationed. It would also be the biggest tax increase in the history of the world and would cause a colossal transfer of wealth from consumers to big businesses.
The ostensible purpose of Waxman-Markey is to contain global warming by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. The cap-and-trade scheme at the heart of the bill would do this by limiting severely the amount of energy derived from the three carbon-dioxide producing fuels -- coal, oil, and natural gas -- Americans would be allowed to use. Currently, over 80% of U. S. energy comes from these three fuels simply because they are the least expensive fuels available. Waxman-Markey would require cutting emissions by 17 percent below a 2005 baseline by 2020, 42 percent by 2030, and 83 percent by 2050...
How far might energy prices rise under Waxman-Markey? It's hard to tell, but it's clear that committee Democrats think it may require more than doubling electric rates and gasoline above five dollars a gallon. President Obama agrees. When Obama was running for President, he told the San Francisco Chronicle on January 17, 2008, "Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity prices would necessarily skyrocket."
The same week, former president Bill Clinton was in Spain talking about green jobs. What did he say? Planet Gore translates:
Former US President turned ecologist Bill Clinton is aware of the impact on employment by the development on renewable energy. Even though he is, as a former dweller of the White House, one of the most visible supporters in that industry, the US Democrat recognized yesterday that clean energies "have cost many jobs" in Spain.

Though without citing it directly, Clinton was acknowledging yesterday during his conference in Madrid that the study about the impact of public support on renewable energies, released by Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, has very valid conclusions. That report, which has received enormous coverage in US media and been used against Barack Obama's energy policy, argues that every job in renewable energies created in Spain in the year 2000 has cost 571138 Euros and has been the cause of the loss of 2.2 jobs elsewhere in the economy.

Bill Clinton recognized yesterday that "this commitment to clean energy has cost many jobs" while at the same time calling for Spain to intensify investment in this industry to be able to turn high costs into new jobs.

So, the Green Agenda consists of a dramatic rise in unemployment, coupled with the biggest tax increase in world history.

Good to know.