WSJ: Cap-and-Trade Just a Ploy to Increase Federal Regulations

Despite the narrow passage of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill last month in the House, most of America's states and communities didn't even like the legislation, said The Wall Street Journal. Of the 50 state delegations, "28 voted no and 22 aye, and one quarter of the 219 majority votes came from New York and California."

 

According to The Journal, nobody in Congress, not even Waxman or Markey, make the case that this legislation will prevent any long-term environmental catastrophe. The real winners of climate change legislation and 'green investments' will be labor unions, "for tucked away is the requirement that any project receiving grants from the billions of giveaways in the Waxman-Markey bill would be required to apply Davis-Bacon union wage rules," said The Journal.

 

The proposed climate change legislation will usher in federal regulation of everything from personal wages to the use of items like lawnmowers and light fixtures.

 

According to The Journal, "The Waxman-Markey bill would be without question the biggest expansion of federal government control over our economy since the 1930s."

 

"The real purpose of Waxman-Markey is to vastly expand the scope, power and authority of the federal government," said The Journal. "Washington would permanently regulate and dictate the performance of the U.S. economy, reward constituencies it favors and punish those it doesn't, and make more and more Americans dependant upon federal largesse."

 

Across the board, climate change legislation comes at a tremendous cost for all Americans.

 

"The Heritage Foundation concludes it would reduce America's real gross domestic product by $400 billion each year--a cumulative loss of $9.4 trillion by 2035--leading to almost 2.5 million job losses, and raise inflation-adjusted electricity rates by 90 percent," said The Journal. For a household of four, it would cost on average $2,979 annually and in 2035 the total family cost would be over $4,600 for everything, including power, food, supplies, gasoline and transportation."

 

With no substantial environmental benefits, climate change legislation promises nothing but increased energy costs and decreased global competitiveness.