“Even as Democrats have promised that this cap-and-trade legislation won’t pinch wallets, behind the scenes they’ve acknowledged the energy price tsunami that is coming. During the brief few days in which the bill was debated in the House Energy Committee, Republicans offered three amendments: one to suspend the program if gas hit $5 a gallon; one to suspend the program if electricity prices rose 10% over 2009; and one to suspend the program if unemployment rates hit 15%. Democrats defeated all of them.
The reality is that cost estimates for climate legislation are as unreliable as the models predicting climate change. What comes out of the computer is a function of what politicians type in. A better indicator might be what other countries are already experiencing. Britain’s Taxpayer Alliance estimates the average family there is paying nearly $1,300 a year in green taxes for carbon-cutting programs in effect only a few years.
Americans should know that those Members who vote for this climate bill are voting for what is likely to be the biggest tax in American history. Even Democrats can’t repeal that reality.”
This is the first part in a series dedicated to chronicling the means of paying for a trillion dollar stimulus package without raising Federal Income Tax.
Part I: DECLARE GREENHOUSE GASES TO BE A PUBLIC THREAT. Once you’ve declared Greenhouse gases a public threat establish carbon taxes and a cap and trade program.
“The Obama administration will declare greenhouse gases a threat to public health today, sources said, marking a major step — both practically and symbolically — toward federal limits on the carbon dioxide emissions scientists blame for global warming.
The move by the Environmental Protection Agency is prompted by a two-year-old Supreme Court decision. It paves the way for the White House to regulate emissions from vehicles and effectively force the U.S. auto fleet to be cleaner and more efficient – a plan the administration is expected to put in place soon.”
Although not stated in this latest announcement, I cannot help but believe this move is simply laying the groundwork for greater energy taxes which will ultimately be passed on to the consumer.
Business Week reports that you can buy a home for less than a car in Motor City. Investors must be excited at the prospect. But does this bode well for the rest of the country? The reduction of home prices in January by 39% is due to the 20% unemployment rate in Detroit. Which is due to crazy liberal policies that have bankrupted the local economy. What will happen to home prices when the same policies in Detroit are applied at the national level?
In order to save our children from a future of debt, we will also end the tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. But let me perfectly clear, because I know you’ll hear the same old claims that rolling back these tax breaks means a massive tax increase on the American people: if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime. In fact, the recovery plan provides a tax cut – that’s right, a tax cut – for 95% of working families. And these checks are on the way.
- President Obama addressing Congress, February 24th, 2009
Ending “tax breaks for the wealthiest 2%” of Americans will not save our children from a future of debt.
The Wall Street Journal says, “Even the most basic inspection of the IRS income tax statistics shows that raising taxes on the salaries, dividends and capital gains of those making more than $250,000 can’t possibly raise enough revenue to fund Mr. Obama’s new spending ambitions.”1
When you add up the cost of TARP ([post="196" text="Where did that money go?"]), The Stimulus Bill, The Mortgage Bailout, not to mention all other obligations including Social Security and Medicare which amount to over $65 trillion, or more than the gross domestic product of the ENTIRE WORLD, a 100% tax of all those making over $500,000 per year would not even begin to make a dent (That would only give the federal government $1.3 trillion in revenue).
I understand the phrase politicians use, “tax breaks for the wealthy”, is a way of stoking discontent and diverting your attention from the source of the problem (It’s called the politics of class envy).
And what gets my ire is the highest income earners President Obama is referring to are usually employers and/or owners of small businesses. Yup, the people that help most of us put food on the table.
You may not make a quarter of a million dollars a year, but your taxes will go up too.
Why do I say that? Because it is simply not possible to spend the way we are and not pay for it.
The taxes may not come in the form of a payroll tax. But they may look like a compulsory Carbon Offset Tax4 or higher federal gas taxes.5 There are myriad possibilities.
The President is hoping the economy will recover in spite of the spending.
I hope he’s right.
In the meantime, don’t be distracted by calls to blame “the wealthiest 2%”.
WARNING: You may need to listen to a little George Benson while reading this post.
- – -
“Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before.”
– White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel
The Stimulus Bill, or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, contains $789 Billion in spending and is 1419 pages long. The people voting on the bill did not get a copy of it until 11 p. m. last night. They’ll have had less than 24 hours to read it and will vote on it later today. Why the rush?
I know most people simply don’t care. But remember, this bill will saddle our children with so much debt they will not even be able to pay off the interest in their lifetimes. With interest calculated over the next ten years, this bill will cost upwards of around $2.7 trillion. Twenty-four hours is a small price compared to that, much too small.
From the Wall Street Journal, 
Business Week reports that 
WARNING: You may need to listen to a little