Dems’ National Energy Tax, Part Deux

June 15, 2012

Obama Signals He Will Make Cap-And-Trade, Not Jobs, His Top Priority in a Second Term

President Obama signaled this week that his top priority for a second term will be reviving the Democrats’ failed attempt at a cap-and-trade national energy tax and continuing the Democrats’ war on energy.
Democrats just can’t quit their job-destroying national energy tax despite the fact that jobs remain scarce.
President Obama’s plan to prioritize cap-and-trade in a second term signals that Democrats will continue their war on energy, no matter the economic costs.

President Obama signaled this week that his top priority for a second term will be reviving the Democrats’ failed attempt at a cap-and-trade national energy tax and continuing the Democrats’ war on energy:

OBAMA SAYS THE “MOST IMPORTANT POLICY HE COULD ADDRESS IN HIS SECOND TERM” IS NOT JOBS, BUT CAP-AND-TRADE: “Obama has an ambitious second-term agenda, which, at least in broad ways, his campaign is beginning to highlight. The President has said that the most important policy he could address in his second term is climate change, one of the few issues that he thinks could fundamentally improve the world decades from now.”(Ryan Lizza, “The Second Term,” The New Yorker, 6/11/2012)

ENERGY AND COMMERCE RANKING DEMOCRAT HENRY WAXMAN ALSO RENEWED PUSH FOR CAP-AND-TRADE RECENTLY: “But if we could put in place a price on carbon and then use the sales of carbon allowances to raise revenues we could raise money and cut emissions at the same time, and we can have a transition that will be as orderly as possible. If we leave both to become much more severe then the answers will be more radical and painful.” (Ezra Klein, “Henry Waxman’s Plan to Cut the Deficit and Stop Global Warming—at the Same Time,” The Washington Post, 2/26/2012)

TOP DEMOCRATS ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE CALL FOR REVIVING PLANS FOR $200 BILLION NATIONAL ENERGY TAX: “The best approach would be to use a market mechanism such as the sale of carbon allowances or a fee on carbon pollution to lower emissions and increase revenue. Using these policies, the United States could raise $200 billion or more over 10 years and trillions of dollars by 2050 while cutting carbon emissions by 17 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050, providing transition assistance to affected industries, and supporting investments in clean-energy technologies.”(Henry A. Waxman, Sherwood Boehlert, Edward J. Markey and Wayne Gilchrest, “Carbon Emission Policy Could Slash Debt, Improve Environment,” The Washington Post, 2/23/2012)

Democrats just can’t quit their job-destroying national energy tax despite the fact that jobs remain scarce:

HOUSEHOLD WEALTH FELL 40% FROM 2007 TO 2010, THE SAME LEVEL AS 20 YEARS AGO: “The recent recession wiped out nearly two decades of Americans’ wealth, according togovernment data released Monday, with middle-class families bearing the brunt of the decline. The Federal Reserve said the median net worth of families plunged by 39 percent in just three years, from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010. That puts Americans roughly on par with where they were in 1992.” (Ylan Mui, “Americans saw wealth plummet 40 percent from 2007 to 2010, Federal Reserve says,” Washington Post,6/11/12)

OBAMA: “THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS DOING FINE.” (Zeke Miller, “Obama: ‘The Private Sector is Doing Fine,” BuzzFeed, 6/8/2012)

NOT DOING FINE: PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS UP A PALTRY 82,000 IN MAY:(Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 6/1/2012)

40 STRAIGHT MONTHS OF UNEMPLOYMENT ABOVE 8%: (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 6/1/2012)

DEMS SAID UNEMPLOYMENT WOULD BE AT 5.7% UNDER THEIR STIMULUS:(James Pethokoukis, “Miserable May Jobs Report Suggests U.S. in Recession Red Zone,” The American, 6/1/2012)

WITH ONLY 69K JOBS IN MAY, “DISMAL JOBS DATA WILL FAN FEARS THAT THE ECONOMY IS SPUTTERING”: “The U.S. economy suddenly looks a lot weaker. U.S. employers created only 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate ticked up. The dismal jobs data will fan fears that the economy is sputtering.” (Christopher Rugaber, “Updated: US Hiring Slow Sharply as Economy Looks Weaker,” Associated Press, 6/1/2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ROSE TO 8.2%: “The unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent in April, the first increase in 11 months.” (Christopher Rugaber, “Updated: US Hiring Slow Sharply as Economy Looks Weaker,” Associated Press, 6/1/2012)

“CORE 25-54 EMPLOYMENT RATES STILL NEAR HISTORIC LOWS”: (David Hogberg, “Core 25-54 Employment Rates Still Near Historic Lows,” Investors’ Business Daily, 6/1/2012)

UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE AT 14.8%: (Table A-15, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 6/1/2012)

300,000 INCREASE IN THE LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED: (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 6/1/2012)

REVISED MARCH AND APRIL DATA SHOW 49,000 FEWER JOBS: (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 6/1/2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG HISPANICS UP 0.7% IN ONE MONTH TO 11.0%.(Stephanie Czekalinski, “Unemployment Up for Hispanics, Blacks,” National Journal, 6/1/2012)

President Obama’s plan to prioritize cap-and-trade in a second term signals that Democrats will continue their war on energy, no matter the economic costs:

82% OF HOUSE DEMOCRATS RAM THROUGH CAP-AND-TRADE NATIONAL ENERGY TAX: Final Vote: 219-212. (Roll Call 477, Clerk of the U.S. House, 6/26/2009)

WSJ: CAP-AND-TRADE COULD HAVE BEEN “THE BIGGEST TAX IN AMERICAN HISTORY”: (Editorial, “The Cap and Tax Fiction,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/26/2009)

WOULD HAVE COST AS MUCH AS $3.1 TRILLION LOSS IN ECONOMIC OUTPUT: (“State-by-State Analysis of Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade Legislation Paints Dour Picture for Nation’s Economy,” National Association of Manufacturers, 8/12/2009)

WOULD HAVE DESTROYED TO 2.4 MILLION JOBS: (“State-by-State Analysis of Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade Legislation Paints Dour Picture for Nation’s Economy,”National Association of Manufacturers, 8/12/2009)

WOULD HAVE CAUSED UP TO 50% INCREASE IN ELECTRICITY PRICES: (“State-by-State Analysis of Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade Legislation Paints Dour Picture for Nation’s Economy,” National Association of Manufacturers, 8/12/2009)

WOULD HAVE CAUSED UP TO 26% INCREASE IN GAS PRICES: (“State-by-State Analysis of Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade Legislation Paints Dour Picture for Nation’s Economy,” National Association of Manufacturers, 8/12/2009)