U.S. Senators Don't Want a Level Playing Field for CO2?

Democrats hold the scissors, the taxpayer owns the nose.

Those wacky senators… you just never know what they will do next.  After the House of Representatives rammed through a bill that nobody read and which had 320 pages added to it in the middle of the night, it appears as though some Democrats want some protections that were placed in the bill removed:

Senior Democrat senators said on Wednesday they would change a provision that imposes carbon taxes on imports following warnings that the clause in the House’s cap-and-trade bill could spark a global trade war.

The House’s bill contained tough provisions to impose carbon tariffs, aimed at protecting American companies’ competitiveness against imports from countries without equivalent carbon emission controls to those in the US.

What is at stake here?  Essentially, if this bill becomes law without protections then it means the XYZ company, based in Ohio, would have to pay carbon taxes to the government but the ABC company, in China would not.  Realistically, the American XYZ company would be placed at a huge disadvantage because, aside from the cheaper labor in China, their competitors would not have to pay CO2 taxes.  The XYZ company could sell its product for less profit (or a loss), move overseas, or just close up shop and fire all of its employees.

Our trading partners like China and India (who have sworn not to pass a similar CO2 tax scheme) are not amused by efforts to protect U.S. industry from this man-made taxation foolishness:

President Barack Obama has warned the House’s carbon tariffs plan could send the wrong signal to trading partners. India called the measures “pernicious” while China said they would violate World Trade Organisation principles and amounted to “trade protectionism in the disguise of environmental protection”.

American consumers have shown a willingness to embrace non-traditional brands as the items they produce have become so good so as to minimize the differences between so-called “first tier” brands and the new upstarts.  For example, Pioneer shut down plasma TV production in the face of mounting losses from Korea and Chinese makers.  Brands such as Hyundai have taken chunks of market share from German, American, and Japanese automakers and once strong brands like Sony have struggled to compete with their Asian competitors.

The problem with Cap and Trade, aside from the fact that its entire reason for being is false, is that if the U.S. government forces American companies to pay huge taxes based on the amount of CO2 they or their products generate this country will be at a tremendous disadvantage in the global marketplace.  Obviously Democrats realize this or why would they be trying to pass another bill which would give displaced Cap and Trade workers money for getting laid off?

Cap and Trade will create a weird marketplace.

For the time being, the whole Cap and Trade issue has been delayed until at least September by the Democrats in the Senate… sent off to “committee” (which usually means there isn’t a chance to pass it in its current form).  What is most disturbing, however, is that Obama’s healthcare “reform” will probably come up for a vote before Cap and Trade does:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he wants the full Senate to debate a climate change bill this fall. But since the chamber could be preoccupied at least through October with legislation expanding healthcare to some 46 million uninsured people, the environmental bill may get crowded out.

The problem however is that healthcare “reform” is likely to be very expensive and where is all that money going to come from?  You guessed it… from Cap and Trade.  So the U.S. Senate will be in the position of trying to pass a bill that will create a huge financial liability for the country without the revenue from Cap and Trade.  As a result, I predict both bills will fail which will be a win for taxpayers.

What the Democrats are trying to do to the U.S. economy, to taxpayers, and all of the help they are trying to give to countries like China and India verges on the criminal.  American industry will take it in the shorts (soon after so will workers and not long after that the taxpayer) and our trading “partners” will gain a huge advantage as they easily undercut this country’s ability to compete in the global marketplace.

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