Sunday, March 29, 2009

In Tight with My Rep

I am proud to announce that since I have been so regularly sending my opinion to my representative and senators they have begun to reply back. I received a letter from Orrin Hatch in the mail the other day regarding his stance on health care reform after I expressed great anxiety at the prospect of universal health care. Yes, it was a mass produced letter to be sent to many people, but how many of us can actually say we have received a letter from our senator? I would bet that too few of us can.
Anyway, the point of this post is to share an email I received from my US House representative. Yes, my representative contacted ME which means it is real. It's about the "Cap and Trade" tax President Obama is trying to enact. In a nut shell this puts a tax on companies for contributing to "global warming." You'll see below in the table, it says "based on the Stern Review's recommended carbon price of $85 per ton" which should give you a good idea of what we're talking about. First of all, I am saying straight out that global warming is the biggest hoax and bunch of hooey facing us today. I absolutely don't believe in it. It is merely a scare tactic to make some people rich and everyone else scared, easier to manage (putting the public in a state of fear makes for easier social control) and distracted from real problems. But I won't go into all the conspiracy theories; read State of Fear by Michael Crichton if you are interested (it's the one where he footnotes a bunch).
So, wondering/doubting if this "Cap and Trade" tax will actually affect you? Well, look no further. And I consider this a founded piece of information and as it is straight from the source. So yes, this is real. Be scared and angry. Contact your state's representative and senators and let them know this is not okay; my side bar has a link to their contact info. And please, share this information with your friends, family, co-workers, etc.

March 27, 2009

Dear Mrs. Merrill,

Data released on March 26 by the House Committee on Ways and Means demonstrates that every state in the Union - and every American - will be hit hard by a new and highly regressive "Cap and Trade" tax.

The President's recently-released budget imposes a $3.01 billion tax on Utahns. On a per capita basis, each Utahn will be hit with $1,115.47 in new taxes on their electricity bill alone (Table 1). Families will be hit even harder. The data show this new tax will increase the average Utah family's (3.08 people/household) annual electricity bill by $3,435.65 or by nearly $290 per month. While other energy costs are low as a result of the recession, all energy costs will increase as the Administration increases the velocity of its frontal assault on American energy security.

At a recent congressional hearing on energy consumption I asked Mr. Howard Gruenspecht, an expert witness from the Energy Information Agency (EIA), a non-partisan federal agency dealing with energy issues, what percent of Americans consume some form of energy. He replied: "All of them." Further, I asked him what percent of Americans would be impacted by a cap and trade tax. His answer: "Probably all of them."

Since everyone in America consumes energy, then everyone in America will suffer the consequences of the Obama Administration's foolhardy proposal to regulate climate change through so-called "Cap and Trade (Tax)" policies. The Administration's proposal will not only further cripple the economy, it will impose a crushing energy consumption tax on every man, woman, and child in the United States.

With so many individuals already living on the margins, this massive new tax increase will destroy our hope of recovering from the current recession. The financial security of all Americans will be jeopardized if this tax is enacted. Now is not the time to increase taxes, nor is this the way. Despite the President's assurances that 95 percent of Americans will not see their taxes increase by one dime, the numbers clearly show his plan will actually increase taxes on 100 percent of Americans.

Table 1:

Annual Increase in Electricity Costs
(based on the Stern Review's recommended carbon price of $85 per ton)

State

Cost at 100% Auction

(in millions)

Increase in Electricity Costs per Capita

.Alabama

7124.6

$1,528.26

.Alaska

367.5

$535.49

.Arizona

4365.3

$671.57

.Arkansas

2240.6

$784.69

.California

4647.8

$126.45

.Colorado

3471.5

$702.81

.Connecticut

981

$280.19

.Delaware

19.9

$22.79

.District of Columbia

578.4

$977.30

.Florida

11077.6

$604.40

.Georgia

7586.5

$783.26

.Hawaii

767.6

$595.87

.Idaho

113.4

$74.42

.Illinois

8567.2

$664.04

.Indiana

10378

$1,627.46

.Iowa

3417.6

$1,138.23

.Kansas

3199.6

$1,141.84

.Kentucky

7677.1

$1,798.23

.Louisiana

4853.6

$1,100.39

.Maine

599.9

$455.69

.Maryland

2832.7

$502.82

.Massachusetts

2279.6

$350.82

.Michigan

6691.7

$668.94

.Minnesota

3304.7

$633.04

.Mississippi

2137.4

$727.35

.Missouri

6785.5

$1,147.83

.Montana

1661.7

$1,717.63

.Nebraska

1876.7

$1,052.30

.Nevada

2206.1

$848.45

.New Hampshire

694.1

$527.51

.New Jersey

1793.8

$206.60

.New Mexico

2782.9

$1,402.42

.New York

5137.8

$263.61

.North Carolina

6450.7

$699.46

.North Dakota

2790.8

$4,350.56

.Ohio

11205.6

$975.60

.Oklahoma

4373.3

$1,200.68

.Oregon

762.1

$201.08

.Pennsylvania

10770.6

$865.23

.Rhode Island

221.2

$210.51

.South Carolina

3473.7

$775.41

.South Dakota

280.5

$348.80

.Tennessee

5090

$819.00

.Texas

21986.2

$903.78

.Utah

3052.4

$1,115.47

.Vermont

1.2

$1.93

.Virginia

4055.2

$521.97

.Washington

1267.1

$193.47

.West Virginia

7207.6

$3,972.29

.Wisconsin

4587.4

$815.11

.Wyoming

3861.6

$7,249.54




Source: Committee on Ways & Means Republican Staff analysis

Sincerely,

Jason Chaffetz
Member of Congress

2 comments:

Tyler M. said...

Another great idea! What is the big problem here? We need the government to help us. Recently, the president of united states told the President of GM to resign, and also took bonuses away from AIG execs. He has to have his hand in every aspect of our lives so we realize how important he is to our eternal existence.

Melanie said...

OK, even if global warming were happening, how the heck does paying the government money for energy we are using make the situation any better?!? Do they use those taxes to create a neat kind of vacuum to suck CO2 out of the air? Or does it just make us all feel better that at least we are penalizing ourselves for the pollution we are making every time we use energy? I think the latter. You know, our country is really getting massacistic. Anything to make our pain worse... let's do it. Let's run this awful good for nothing nation into the ground!!! YARRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!