Knee-Cap [the Economy] and Stop Trade

"...from an economic standpoint, the C&T bill should be titled the "Raise the Cost of Living and Ship Jobs Overseas [and reduce the American standard of living to the level of Mexico] Act of 2009."

The purpose of cap and trade (C&T) legislation is to reduce Americans' consumption of fossil fuels — coal, oil, and natural gas — and to speed up the transition to alternate forms of energy, such as wind and solar power. The "cap" part would be a legislated limit to the quantity of carbon dioxide that Americans would be permitted to put into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. The government would then issue permits that it would sell or give (details are being worked out) to businesses who could then either emit CO2 up to the amount stipulated in their permit, or, if they can curb CO2 emissions below that amount, could sell or "trade" the permit to the highest bidder in the after-market.

The stated overarching goal of proposed C&T is to save the planet from human-caused climate change, which C&T proponents attribute to human emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily CO2 from fossil fuels. These proponents truly believe (despite considerable scientific disagreement) that such measures are necessary to save the earth. Others have a political agenda: If government can regulate energy consumption, then government has great control over economic activity and people's lives — an irresistible lure to central planners, social engineers, utopian visionaries, and megalomaniacs. [not to mention wannabe dictators, marxist idiots, and assorted loonie-tunes]

/snip

We the people, though, should reckon the cost to our liberty. If this principle becomes law, we may face a day when a federal bureaucrat will grant permission to Al Gore to jet around to preach the evils of CO2 emissions while denying Joe Sixpack the right to fly cross-country to see his girlfriend once a month.

Might we emulate the Brits, who currently are devising a "para-police" force to monitor energy consumption?

There is much at stake in the C&T debate. This is one of the major issues of our time. Become informed.