GREEN BUSINESS VIEWS

Posts Tagged ‘waxman/markey’

Well, it’s started and the Congress is now in the throes of debate and accusations about the real meaning of the next energy bill put forward by Waxman and Markey.  It is obvious that the Obama administration and democrats favor this legislation.  Republicans see this law as a way to chase American jobs out of the country by further hamstringing U.S. businesses while other countries eagerly wait to replace our offerings with less regulated competition.  The question of real cost of these new regulation on a massively injured economy is yet another reason that many will oppose the proposed legislation.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has come out against the Waxman/Markey bill as well, saying:

Unfortunately, the debate in Congress has left the nation with two terrible options: (1) expensive, complicated, regulation-heavy, domestic-only legislation like ACES, or (2) an “even worse” set of mandatory CO2 controls on everyone and everything through existing Clean Air Act programs. The rigid ideology exhibited over the last twenty years of the climate change debate has not only clearly divided the nation but it has failed miserably to produce any results. Congress should stop, take a breath, and consider sensible policy alternatives that increase our energy security, promotes a strong economy, and contributes to a global reduction in emissions.

Democrats aren’t winning all the hearts and minds, though. Indiana’s governor sees dark plans afoot, in the WSJ: “It looks like imperialism. This bill would impose enormous taxes and restrictions on free commerce by wealthy but faltering powers — California, Massachusetts and New York — seeking to exploit politically weaker colonies in order to prop up their own decaying economies.”   House Democrats secured the support of Virginia Democrat Rick Boucher for the energy and climate bill—thanks to generous support for “clean coal”—bringing the bill one step closer to victory in committee.

The concern for global warming and energy independence is the driving force.  These concerns are real and need solutions.  That is not the heart of the debate, however.  It is the wisdom of heavy-handed, revenue-rich, government-controlled bills that further expands the Big Brother concerns of those who see their freedoms under attack once again.  Hard line environmentalist celebrate this bill, while struggling business and financially-crunch families fear it.

The 1000 page bill is likely to grow into a monster bill by the time it is done.  The revenue to the treasury is the prize at the end of the bureaucratic maze.  And though the promise is that there will be tax relief given to the average citizen, I am still waiting for the toll roads (promised to be freeways in ten years) to remove the tool booths.  This bill is destine to become a Frankenstein that the villagers will wish to kill before it ravages the villagers once again.  I am lost on the logic that more regulation, taxation, and complication will help a problem that really calls for leadership that leads instead of dominates.

The environmental dichotomy is the position of supporting environmental causes, but resisting government intrusions that penalize society into conformity.  This is a return to the classic B. F. Skinner “Behavior Modification” that uses punishment and reward in uneven proportions.  Behavior modification always ends up punishment heavy and reward light.  The enlightened view is encouraging by leadership, and incentivizing through tax credits and increased opportunity those that you wish to change.

The Waxman/Markey bill should be killed at birth, and a more reasoned and simplistic solution may arise in the second round of bipartisan revision.