Cap and Trade Will Cost Americans

HR2454, referred to as the "Cap and Trade bill" by Democrats and Obama administration, but referred to as "Cap and Tax bill" or the "Carbon Tax bill" by Republicans and millions of Americans, got passed by the House of Representatives last Friday, by a razor thin margin, with 219 voting for the bill, 212 voting against it.

Obama is pushing for this bill to be passed by the Senate. It is questionable whether the Obama can get this bill successfully passed by the Senate, given that 95% of the Republicans will stand united against this single biggest (hidden and indirect) tax increase our country has even seen, and given that a few Democratic senators from agriculturalist / industrialist states may be forced to vote against the bill.

If Obama administration does succeed in its attempt to pass the bill through the Senate, every American household will be see its energy costs rise by over $22,800 from 2012-2035, as evident in an extensive research conducted by "The Heritage Foundation". "The Heritage Foundation" research revealed that our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be hit with a loss of $9.6 trillion dollars, destroying 2.5 million jobs, raising electric rates by 90%, raising gasoline prices by 74%, and raising natural gas prices by 55%, after adjusting for inflation.

The research concluded that a typical family will be paying $1,500 per year extra in utility costs, if the administration does succeed in its attempt to pass this bill, commonly referred to using one of the following names: "Climate Change" / "Cap and Trade" / "Cap and Tax" / "Carbon Tax" / HR 2454 bill. All middle class American families will be hit hard, if Obama administration does succeed in turning this bill into law. The hidden costs are not visible to the people of America, and the media, which is mostly in tank for Obama, is doing a bad job of giving out the facts, and explaining the impact to the common people.

We all know that our Congress, in the recent past, never gets a chance to read the bills they vote on, given that many of the bills, running into 1000+ pages, were forced to be voted on the same day, that it was made available by the Obama administration, for reading. But if we choose to read the 1000+ page "HR2454" bill, we will be surprised and shocked at how it can impact us all.

While there were many pages in the bill that supported the conclusion coming out of the research done by "The Heritage Foundation", there was one section that surprised a few, including this writer, but has not caught much attention, since it is hidden deep in the bill. Let us look at Section 432 of the bill, which states:

(1) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, or the agency designated by the Administrator shall formulate and administer the 'Energy Refund Program'.

(2) At the request of the State agency, eligible low-income households within the State shall receive a monthly cash energy refund equal to the estimated loss in purchasing power resulting from this Act.

The words "estimated loss in purchasing power resulting from this Act", as in this section of the bill, clearly acknowledges the fact that energy prices will go up, and purchasing power will go down, as a result of this change.

And, as seen in the above words in section 432, the Obama administration is planning on giving "monthly cash", in the name of energy refund, to eligible low-income households, to offset the utility price increase. Let us also read the following lines from section 432 of the bill:

Delivery Mechanism-

(1) Subject to standards and an implementation schedule set by the Administrator, the energy refund shall be provided in monthly installments via--

(A) direct deposit into the eligible household's designated bank account

The above lines from the bill implies that the "Monthly Cash" given away to these families will be "direct deposited" into their bank account.

"The Heritage Foundation" study might have found that every American family will be spending $1500 per year extra, out of their bank account, to offset the increased cost of lighting and heating their homes, as a consequence of this bill. But, any one who reads section 432 of this bill, will also notice that, the American families will be hit with more, not just the $1500 per year. The Obama government, as stated in section 432 of the bill, is planning on taking money from middle class and upper class American families, in the form of taxes, and is planning on giving away "Monthly Free Cash", direct deposited, into low-income family bank accounts, to offset their utility price increase.

Few people were surprised and shocked, when people on the New York streets, back in October 2008 said, "If we vote for Obama, we don't have to pay anything every month, we don't have to pay rent, we don't have to pay for utilities, and we don't have to work, Obama will give us free money every month and he will take care of us". Well, looks like, Section 432 of the bill, is in fact making sure those people who had that expectation, are happy, to some extent. It is giving away "Free monthly Cash', direct deposited, into certain people's bank account, using the money that the middle class and upper class people pay, in the form of tax.

Well, looks like Karl Marx is also going to be happy, given that, Obama administration, with each and every policy that is being enacted, is clearly putting us on the road to "From the people, based on their ability, to the people based on their needs

Ref:

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h2454/text

http://www.askheritage.org/Issues.aspx?ID=333&page=1