Bob McCarty Writes

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.)

“There is nothing in it for taxpayers, consumers or the climate,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) while speaking about President Barack Obama’s cap-and-trade tax scheme on the Senate floor this morning.  “If it is time for anything, it is time for us to get realistic about these policies, and focus on what is achievable, both globally and domestically, to help bring down energy costs to consumers and make us more energy secure so the American public doesn’t get yet another raw deal.”

Senator Inhofe, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, waxed eloquently on the subject of cap and trade for several minutes before pointing out that “the rest of the country outside the Beltway is also beginning to wake up” and citing several news media accounts about the scheme which appear below:

Wall Street Journal: “Cap and trade, in other words, is a scheme to redistribute income and wealth – but in a very curious way.  It takes from the working class and gives to the affluent; takes from Miami, Ohio and gives to Miami, Florida; and takes from an industrial America that is already struggling and gives to rich Silicon Valley and Wall Street ‘green tech’ investors who know how to leverage the political class.”  (”Who Pays for Cap and Trade?” 3-9-09)

Warren Buffett: “That tax is probably going to be pretty regressive.  If you put a cost of issuing — putting carbon into the atmosphere — in the utility business it’s going to be born by customers.  And it’s a tax like anything else.” (CNBC interview 3-9-09)

Ben Stein in NY Times: “Why add another element of uncertainty to energy production, especially if the goal of suppressing carbon-based fuel burning can be accomplished by another means? Energy companies have enough problems as it is — including reduced supplies, political risks and wildly changing prices for raw materials.”  (”The Danger of Cap and Trade” 2-22-09)

CNBC’s Jim Cramer: Obama’s Budget is “pushing an aggressive cap and trade program that could raise the price of energy for millions of people.”  (”Cramer: My Response to the White House” MainStreet.com 3-5-09)

The Detroit News: “President Barack Obama’s proposed cap-and-trade system on greenhouse gas emissions is a giant economic dagger aimed at the nation’s heartland — particularly Michigan. It is a multi-billion-dollar tax hike on everything that Michigan does, including making things, driving cars and burning coal.” (”Cap-and-trade plan will sink Michigan” 3-4-09)

Wall Street Journal: “Not only does cap and trade tax at the point of production (even if some of those costs are ultimately borne by consumers elsewhere), but it also shifts economic activity away from those industries. The states that produce the most emissions are going to see the strongest ancillary declines in income and increases in unemployment. The top carbon states — in absolute, not per capita, emissions — include Ohio (No. 3), Pennsylvania (No. 4), Indiana (No. 7) and Michigan (No. 9).”  (”Who Pays for Cap and Trade? — II“, 3-13-09)

“All of these reports reflect the numbers that were released in the president’s proposed budget which estimated that a cap-and-trade program would generate $646 billion in federal revenues through 2019,” Senator Inhofe explained.  “Wait until they discover that the costs of such a program will actually be much higher.”

To read the complete text of Senator Inhofe’s news release on President Obama’s cap-and-trade scheme, click here.