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Obama Owes Michael Jackson and Mark Sanford Thanks
In case you missed it, and no doubt you likely may have missed it with the around-the-clock coverage of the death of Michael Jackson and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's Argentine trist, the cap and trade bill narrowly passed in Congress on Friday.
If and when President Obama signs that bill into law, he should give his heartfelt thanks to Jackson and Sanford.
Why is cap and trade a big deal?
Under the provisions of the cap and trade bill, American manufacturers will have to pay an estimated $80 billion (according to the Congressional Budget Office) to purchase carbon cap permits.
When manufacturers have to pay for the amount of carbon emissions they produce, they’ll have an incentive to reduce those emissions, and thus have a motivation to adopt sustainable or “greener” energy practices. That's the theory, anyway.
There’s one big problem. American manufacturers, that is, those still willing to remain in the United States once this law goes into effect, will pass those costs onto consumers, costing the average household (again, according to the CBO) $1,600 annually. Food will cost more, transportation will cost more, durable goods, everything.
The result will be that the American economy will soon become much like Michael Jackson’s face after too much plastic surgery – FUBAR – F***** Up Beyond All Recognition. That’s because if there’s one thing most economists can agree upon, it is that imposing costs on manufacturers and raising taxes in a time of recession is not the way to spur economic growth.
The cap and trade law will be, in effect, a job killing monster of a tax increase. It follows that companies that have to spend more on buying carbon caps will have less to spend on other things - like American hiring workers or research and development. That’s great news for China and India.
China and India are probably ecstatic because they won’t be shackled by the same cap and trade cost burdens to which American manufacturers will have to adhere. Any hope of being competitive with Chinese and Indian manufacturers is all but over.
So thanks again to the American media. They packed into hours of broadcasting what could have been covered in about 10 minutes. How many times did we need to hear that Michael Jackson was an icon? About how bizarre he was? How his distraught fans, hysterical with grief, were moonwalking off the cliffs of the Grand Canyon (that I would pay to see). I mean, really. It’s not like he was FDR. He was an entertainer.
And Governor Mark Sanford? Thanks. Thanks a lot.
Try not to feel too bad about distracting the American people by being unable to keep it in your pants. After all, nothing important was going on except for the fact that a brave minority in Iran was trying to make a courageous stand for democracy.
So you and Mr. Jackson helped the news media and the American people forget about the fate of the Iranian people, enabling the totalitarian government to brutally crack down and quell further demonstrations.
Really, Governor, what you helped accomplish was nothing short of a political double play against your own party and the very cause of freedom; liberty out at second, economic recovery out at first.
Not that I’m necessarily judging Mr. Sanford. He had an attractive, Georgetown-educated wife who quit a career on Wall Street to raise his children, and he had a legitimate shot at the presidency of the United States. Why not flush that all down the toilet for the sake of an infatuation - with a woman who lives in a different freakin’ hemisphere? I mean, it’s a long distance relationship, but it could’ve worked, right?
On the bright side, I suppose the Grand Old Party can thank their lucky stars that Sanford proved that he is simply too stupid to be the nation’s chief executive.
Better to learn it now, because if analysts are right, and the cap and trade law kills jobs and further cripples the American economy, we’re going a need a pretty smart man or woman to clean up this mess in 2013.
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If and when President Obama signs that bill into law, he should give his heartfelt thanks to Jackson and Sanford.
Why is cap and trade a big deal?
Under the provisions of the cap and trade bill, American manufacturers will have to pay an estimated $80 billion (according to the Congressional Budget Office) to purchase carbon cap permits.
When manufacturers have to pay for the amount of carbon emissions they produce, they’ll have an incentive to reduce those emissions, and thus have a motivation to adopt sustainable or “greener” energy practices. That's the theory, anyway.
There’s one big problem. American manufacturers, that is, those still willing to remain in the United States once this law goes into effect, will pass those costs onto consumers, costing the average household (again, according to the CBO) $1,600 annually. Food will cost more, transportation will cost more, durable goods, everything.
The result will be that the American economy will soon become much like Michael Jackson’s face after too much plastic surgery – FUBAR – F***** Up Beyond All Recognition. That’s because if there’s one thing most economists can agree upon, it is that imposing costs on manufacturers and raising taxes in a time of recession is not the way to spur economic growth.
The cap and trade law will be, in effect, a job killing monster of a tax increase. It follows that companies that have to spend more on buying carbon caps will have less to spend on other things - like American hiring workers or research and development. That’s great news for China and India.
China and India are probably ecstatic because they won’t be shackled by the same cap and trade cost burdens to which American manufacturers will have to adhere. Any hope of being competitive with Chinese and Indian manufacturers is all but over.
So thanks again to the American media. They packed into hours of broadcasting what could have been covered in about 10 minutes. How many times did we need to hear that Michael Jackson was an icon? About how bizarre he was? How his distraught fans, hysterical with grief, were moonwalking off the cliffs of the Grand Canyon (that I would pay to see). I mean, really. It’s not like he was FDR. He was an entertainer.
And Governor Mark Sanford? Thanks. Thanks a lot.
Try not to feel too bad about distracting the American people by being unable to keep it in your pants. After all, nothing important was going on except for the fact that a brave minority in Iran was trying to make a courageous stand for democracy.
So you and Mr. Jackson helped the news media and the American people forget about the fate of the Iranian people, enabling the totalitarian government to brutally crack down and quell further demonstrations.
Really, Governor, what you helped accomplish was nothing short of a political double play against your own party and the very cause of freedom; liberty out at second, economic recovery out at first.
Not that I’m necessarily judging Mr. Sanford. He had an attractive, Georgetown-educated wife who quit a career on Wall Street to raise his children, and he had a legitimate shot at the presidency of the United States. Why not flush that all down the toilet for the sake of an infatuation - with a woman who lives in a different freakin’ hemisphere? I mean, it’s a long distance relationship, but it could’ve worked, right?
On the bright side, I suppose the Grand Old Party can thank their lucky stars that Sanford proved that he is simply too stupid to be the nation’s chief executive.
Better to learn it now, because if analysts are right, and the cap and trade law kills jobs and further cripples the American economy, we’re going a need a pretty smart man or woman to clean up this mess in 2013.
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