Since the economic tribulations began last year, the size of the U.S. government has increased at an alarming rate. Every new piece of legislation and executive order seems to be urgent.
After Congress denied bailouts for American automakers, the Bush administration gave them billions of dollars to avoid bankruptcy. Mere months after taking taxpayers’ dollars, General Motors and Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In February, President Barack Obama sold his $787 billion stimulus package on the premise that, if passed, unemployment would not exceed 8 percent. National unemployment now stands at 9.4 percent, and the White House has announced it will most likely soon climb to more than 10.
Congress is now attempting to fix the entire planet. The House of Representatives narrowly passed the Markey-Waxman Climate Change Bill on Fridayby a vote of 219 to 212. The bill is intended to curb carbon emissions by American companies and incentivize green industries to minimize the effects of manmade climate change via a cap and trade system.
Many climatologists disagree that man is the primary cause of climate change. Despite this, the House passed a bill that will have devastating economic effects on our struggling economy.
Supported by a majority of Democrats, The bill boils down to a nationwide tax on energy. During his presidential campaign, Obama admitted as much when he said under his cap and trade plan, ‘energy costs would necessarily skyrocket.’ This tax on energy is one our country simply cannot afford.
Cap and trade does not work. Since 2005, the European Union has had a cap and trade system, and has seen an increase in their carbon emissions while the U.S. has seen a decrease in emissions without it.
Obama and House Democrats say this bill will create millions of jobs. Hopefully, the push for green jobs in the U.S. will not garner the same results as it has in Spain where, for every green job created, the economy lost 2.2 conventional jobs.
The Senate has the potential to stop this bill that has been called a 1,200-page economic suicide note. If the Senate fails to act in the economic interests of this country, the consequences could be dire.
Timothy Mathis is a history junior and may be reached at [email protected]
