'Greener' isn't always better

According to Democrats, the climate change bill passed by the House will create "green jobs" and accelerate movement toward an energy-efficient economy, but the climate change legislation also includes steep increases on the cost of all carbon-based energy, which fuels our nation.

"The argument is silly on its face, although one might reasonably wonder how anyone could seriously believe this bilge," said The Kansas City Star earlier this month.

 "How do you end up with a vibrant economy and lots of net job creation by forcing people to pay higher energy prices?" questioned The Star. "Well, you don't, and that's why this measure is one of the biggest threats to the U.S. economy ever to emerge on Capitol Hill."

Faced with a potentially historic tax increase on all refined oil products, one petroleum supplier has indicated that climate change legislation could increase the cost of gasoline by 77 cents per gallon and the cost of diesel fuel by 88 cents per gallon. Just a one-cent increase in the average price of diesel costs the trucking industry $390 million a year, which would be passed on to shippers of goods and materials and ultimately to consumers. Constraining the country's freight delivery system would change our way of life for the worse by significantly increasing the cost of everything we buy.

The increasing costs of goods will also stifle global competitiveness. According to the Brookings institute, an energy tax will decrease U.S. GDP by 2.5 percent, a loss of $355 billion. This decline would come on the heels of a 5.5 percent loss sustained from January to March this year.

Neither the U.S. economy nor the American people can afford the financial burdens of climate change legislation.