As The Cap And Trade Energy Tax Heads To The Senate, We Must Look At Who Will Profit From It

One of the principles of ethics that should govern politicians and their dealings with the private sector is that politicians should not be voting on legislation that directly involves their own personal investments. Ideally, politicians shouldn't be investing in the market at all since they can vote to influence the market in their favor. If they do have investments in the private sector, then they should recuse themsleves from voting on any legislation that would influence the profitability of those investments.

The Cap and Trace Energy Tax recently passed by the House of Representatives is a good case in point. Several lawmakers will enjoy direct financial benefits from the legislation should it become law. Among these are Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

From Mark Tapscott at the Washington Examiner:

How much money will Pelosi make if the measure (Obama-Waxman-Markey (OWM)) becomes law, as seems quite likely? Pelosi, of course, is not the only member of Congress to own significant shares of energy companies. Senators and representatives from all over the country do, not just the "oilies" from energy states like Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. But as House Speaker, Pelosi's ownership of an unknown number of shares in the Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) valued at between $15,000 and $50,000, may deserve particular attention. ... Pelosi will profit because OWM will boost the price of natural gas on the market. This is because natural gas burns with significantly less carbon emissions than other fossil fuels. For companies trying to get under OWM limits for greenhouse gases emissions, burning more natural gas instead of, say coal, will be a no-brainer. That will drive up demand for natural gas, which in turn will create upward price pressures.

Pelosi claims that her husband handles the stocks and that she has no knowledge of what stocks he is purchasing. This is an irrelevent cop-out. Mr. Pelosi knows very well what legislation his wife is working on and whether or not it is likely to be passed. He further knows what effect such legislation would have on the stocks he will be purchasing. That is the same thing as insider trading and that makes it every bit as unethical as it would be if Speaker Pelosi purchased the stocks herself.

Rather than fulfill her 2006 promise of ridding D.C. of the culture of corruption, Pelosi and her fellow Dems simply claimed the cess pool as their own, jumped in and began splashing around.

You can access this story on on-line here:

Pelosi Will Profit From Obama-Waxman-Markey Cap-And-Trade Energy Bill
Mark Tapscott
Washington Examiner
June 24, 2009

And who else stands to make bank from this legislation? Al Gore and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) for two. Markey holds between $51,000 and $115,000 in investments in Firsthand Technology Value Fund (solar-evergy manufacturers) and Al Gore has $6 million in the Venture Capital Group (CO₂ emmissions tracking software), both of which will make very nice profits under the cap-and-trade tax. Profits that will come from fleecing the American people through higher taxes.

Before this gets voted on in the Senate, we should seriously look into which members of Congress will make a profit off of it and how they voted or intend to vote.

Small Businesses Will Get Hammered Under The Cap And Trade Energy Tax

You know, the Dems try to paint themselves as friends of "the little guy," but since their takeover of Congress in 2006 and the election of Barack Obama to the White House, it is clear that the Democrats are all about big government and controlling the people. There really is no counter-argument to that since is it simply a fact that cannot be denied.

The energy tax that was passed by the House Dems (and 8 back-stabbing Republicans) is a perfect example of how the Dems really want to control "the little guy" through big government intervention rather than do anything to help.

McArthur's Bakery in St. Louis will be facing a very difficult time because of Pelosi's energy tax. The owner, David McArthur explains why.

From Fox News:

David McArthur, vice president of the 52-year-old family operation, a Gateway City institution, is one of a growing number of business owners and taxpayers nationwide who are mobilizing against the so-called cap-and-trade bill, which would levy harsh fines on energy consumption ... ... McArthur told FOXNews.com that every aspect of his business relies on the forms of energy targeted by the American Clean Energy and Security Act, and that his congressman, Carnahan, was supporting "a direct tax increase on small business" by voting for it. "We make (our product) with electricity, we bake it with gas, we refrigerate and freeze it with electricity and we distribute it with gas and oil," said McArthur, who said he worries that high prices could cost his company up to $15,000 a year in an industry with a very tight margin for profit.

Think about all the small businesses that rely on energy. Basically, all of them. If this energy tax passes the Senate, it will hit small businesses like 10 tons of bricks. Beauty salons that require electricity to run dryers and water heaters will begin to close. Delivery companies will have to raise their rates to account for the gasoline and diesel that their trucks use. Farming will become more expensive. In turn, food prices will go up as will the price of any commodity that needs to be transported from producer to market.

Very few small businesses will be able to withstand such an economic onslaught. Most will have to lay off workers in order to make ends meet. That will mean fewer people getting paychecks while prices will be going higher.

This cap and trade energy tax is a disaster waiting to happen and the Dems (and a few short-sighted Republicans) are completely blind to the danger. Instead, they have beholden themsleves to the junk science espoused by Al Gore.

What is even worse is that once again, the House of Representatives voted on a bill that members did not get a chance to read:

"He's killing small business -- he's killing us," McArthur said of Carnahan, who was one of a majority of Democrats who voted for the bill in a closely fought 219-212 vote. McArthur, who penned a scathing letter to Carnahan, is not alone in taking the message directly to his congressman. Dozens of small protests were organized at the end of June at federal buildings and outside the offices of national lawmakers who voted for the bill. Mike Wilson, who led a protest in Cincinnati of about 100 people on June 27 across from the offices of Rep. Steve Driehaus, D-Ohio, said he was appalled by the 1,500-page legislation, which was fast-tracked by House leaders for a vote Friday. A 310-page amendment was slapped onto the bill Friday morning. "It was, quite frankly, criminal passing a bill that you didn't read," said Wilson, founder of the anti-tax group Cincinnati Tea Party.

One thing is certain though. If this becomes law, the effects will be harsh and far-reaching. And the Dems will not be able to blame this on George W. Bush. Blame will rest solely and squarely on the shoulders of the current party in power.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Small Businesses Irate Over Climate Change Bill
Joseph Abrams
FoxNews.com
July 7, 2009

Democrat Admits On Tape That 'Cap and Trade' Is Really A 'Huge Tax'

Check out the video at the following link. If there was any question that the libs were using the global warming issue as a means for taking greater contro over our lives and livelihoods, that question has now been answered:

Democrat Admits On Tape That “Cap & Trade Is A Huge Tax”
912 Project
April 25, 2009

E.P.A.’s Greenhouse Gas Proposal Critiqued

This comes from the New York Times. Yes, the New York Times.

An internal government memo critiques the Envirnomental Protection Agency's proposal to regulate CO₂. The memo, prepared by the White House Office of Management and Budget says that the issue behind the proposal was "not based on a systematic analysis of costs and benefits and fell short of scientific rigor."

According to John M. Broder:

[T]he E.P.A.’s proposal to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act would have “serious economic consequences for regulated entities throughout the U.S. economy, including small businesses and small communities.” The document also raised questions about the E.P.A.’s inclusion of gases that are believed to contribute to global warming without proving that they have direct health effects.

It didn't take long for Congress to get wind of this document.

Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, waved the nine-page document at Lisa P. Jackson at a hearing of the Environment and Public Works committee this morning. He called it a “smoking gun” that proved the proposed finding was based on politics, not science. “This misuse of the Clean Air Act will be a trigger for overwhelming regulation and lawsuits based on gases emitted from cars, schools, hospitals and small business,” Mr. Barrasso said. “This will affect any number of other sources, including lawn mowers, snowmobiles and farms. This will be a disaster for the small businesses that drive America.”

But don't expect the socialist Obama administration to start looking into the real science behind climate change. It would only muddle the emotionalisms they want to exploit.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

E.P.A.’s Greenhouse Gas Proposal Critiqued
John M. Broder
New York Times
May 12, 2009