From “Front & Center”, by Bud Burrell
The House of Representatives passed the Cap and Tax Bill with a margin provided them by 8 Republicans who crossed the aisle to vote with the majority of Democrats. 44 Democrats reversed, in fear of their ability to hold their seats in 2010 if they voted for this bill. The margin of victory was 7 votes, meaning had the Republicans held together, this bill would not have passed.
No one knows how the US Senate will now act on this legislation. SEN Harry Reid says the Senate will not vote on the final version of the bill after conference and mark-up until sometime next Fall. This creates a level of uncertainty that will cripple new investment in the American economy, and drop a wall in front of any new job creation. The market has always been able to deal with rules, but when the rules are vague or uncertain, capital is paralyzed until things are clarified.
The Coal industry has been handed its own death warrant. At a time when our electric power generation needs all the help it can get, coal companies are being told they are to be shut down. Few Americans understand what this means, the size of the total infrastructure supporting the source of energy that produces literally 50% of our total electric power. From mining of the coal, to shipment to power plants, to technologies for handling pollution, Coal creates and supports literally millions of jobs in this country and abroad. [entire post]