22 Jul A Modest Proposal… Not

In a recent article in the Washington Post, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid’s newest energy bill is dubbed “modest”. Now I’m unsure as to what criterion they have used to call this a modest bill, but if this is the norm now I’m afraid American standards of modesty have tanked in recent years. There is nothing “modest” about this bill.

I have written in less detail about this bill before in my June article Piggy Back Tax. In that article I focused on the fact that Sen. Reid is trying desperately to sneak a new Cap and Trade initiative through with his Gulf of Mexico response bill. This cannot be allowed to happen.

What the Washington Post refers to as a “modest bill” would wreak havoc on the businesses of America and put an unnecessary load on the taxpayers. At one point in the article I almost laughed out loud. It said: “By gradually increasing the cost to companies of the carbon dioxide they produce, the United States can generate revenue and marshal market forces to encourage businesses to invest in greener technology.” This may sound all well and good on the surface, however the “United States” would not gain revenue from these tariffs but rather the United States Federal Government.

A more fitting name for Cap and Trade is a Blackmail Tax. Essentially the government is blackmailing people into making their business “greener”, and they will tax all those who do not comply.

This tax (for Cap and Trade is a tax) has no place in a free market. It places restrictions and fines on private companies for the gain of the Federal Government.