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The Reality Of Cap And Trade Bites, From ‘Congressional Watch’ Today

May 20, 2009 (By Bud Burrell)

I have written in the past about the harsh realities of the Cap and Trade Bill and its impact as written. Today, the Congressional Watch put out its estimates of the impact of such legislation on the American economy in the near term.

Their first estimate is that the GDP would be reduced by $2 Trillion minimum every year beginning with its implementation.

The price of every vehicle manufactured to the new emissions standard would be upped by $1300 per vehicle.

Approximately 1.1 Million jobs would be lost, before application of economic magnification to a multiple of these losses.

The price of Gasoline would jump by 76%. The price of electricity would jump by 95%.

Overall, every American family would be paying over $3100 a year for these new programs best case, a staggering number for the average family, a hit they can’t absorb. [entire post]

Tags: 'congressional watch', (un)employment, california, cap & trade, capitalism, change, congress, cost(s), crisis, economic(s), economy, electricity, energy, family, financial(s), fuel, gasoline, gdp, government(s), hedge, job(s), legislation, obama, russia, sweden, tax(es)
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Tax Increases Start, 90 Days Into Presidency

April 30, 2009 (By Bud Burrell)

From “Front & Center”, by Bud Burrell

Today, the News Services announced that the Obama Administration and Congress will do away with the Middle Class Tax Cuts enacted under the Bush Administration. This comes on top an already announced decision to let the upper class tax cuts expire next year. Wow, that’s impressive, only 90 days to break the biggest recurring promise of his campaign.

The meager $400 Middle Class Tax Cut had already been eaten up with increased medical plan co-pay increases, along with increases in Social Security contributions. With only about 55% of Americans paying income tax, it means all tax payers paying over the standard social security contribution levels will be looking at tax increases next year.

The spectacular increase faced by all US citizens, tax payers or not, is the probable tax to be implemented for Cap and Trade, which will impose a 45% tax on all carbon based energy consumed by individuals, corporations, manufacturers, large buildings, and power plants. The minimum total tax increase on Utility bills alone will exceed 50% of current bills. This is money millions of Americans will not have to spend. [entire post]

Tags: (the) treasury, admistration, banks, cap & trade, co-pay, congress, energy, fund, government(s), gun control, health care, insurance, job(s), medical, middle class, obama, pension, retirement, single-pay, social security, socialism, tarp, tax(es), universal, utlilities
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Alternative Energy Thumbnail Sketches (Re: The Practicality Of A Cap & Trade Plan)

March 23, 2009 (By Bud Burrell)

From “Front & Center”, by Bud Burrell

I spent a number of years working in the alternative energy arena, spanning everything from Hydro, to Nuclear, to Coal, to CNG/Petroleum, to Wind, to Solar, to Brown’s Gas, to Ocean Wave Energy capture turbines, and a lot more along the way. We are being asked to bet on an alternative energy scheme that will wean us off of carbon based energy whether we are ready or not. How rational is a bet on these technologies right now?

The lowest cost power available in the US today is Hydro power from dams. Costs of such energy can approach as little as $.01 per kilowatt hour. Unfortunately, extremist environmentalists have made any new such products almost impossible to get approved. Its pollution and environmental impacts are the lowest of any power source.

The next lowest cost power comes from Nuclear Power. A major facility can generate power for as little as $.02 to $.03 per kilowatt hour. The two biggest negatives of this form of industrial power are the insane lead times to get such projects approved, their strategic vulnerability in the event of War or terrorism, and the difficult problem of disposal of spent fuel rods. France gets more than 80% of its power from Nuclear power plants, which they can do cost effectively because of their adaptation of breeder reactors for reprocessing spent fuel rods at a central facility. The French consumer pays well over $.10 per kilowatt hour conservatively, after taxation burdens. [entire post]

Tags: alternative, cap & trade, energy
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