Site search
sponsored by
News
Sports
ENLARGE
BRENT GLENN
Last Friday (June 26) our Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Colo, voted yes on increasing energy taxes on you and your family for decades.
H.R. 2454, the Waxman-Markey energy bill, also known as “Cap and Trade,” was introduced the day before the vote and was 1,200 pages in length; a 300-page amendment was added at 3:09 a.m. on the day the bill was voted on and passed. (Bill author Markey is from Massachusetts, not Colorado). For the second time this year, our legislators have failed to exhibit proficiency in the most basic of skills ... reading.
This bill, as President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have proudly told us, is modeled on an energy program implemented in Spain. That country is currently in the process of dumping this very legislation because each “green” job caused a loss of 2.2 jobs in other industries. This very legislation damaged Spain's economy, failed to reduce emissions, and raised unemployment to 18 percent. If our leaders implement this legislation here in the U.S., we could expect similar results. Thankfully, we still have time to halt this tax increase as the bill must also be passed by the U.S. Senate.
By the year 2035, electricity costs would increase by 90 percent, gasoline by 58 percent and natural gas by 55 percent. These hikes are above and beyond rate increases to these commodities. The combined increase in energy expenditures for a family of four would be nearly $20,000 as a result of this bill.
This bill and its actions may not be advertised as a tax, but an increase in energy costs that goes directly to the Federal Government rather than the energy provider meets the definition of “tax.” So much for the President's campaign promise of never increasing taxes on anyone making less than $250,000. An excellent summary of what we can expect in increased costs can be found at this Web site: http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/tst062609a.cfm
The EPA suppressed a study by its own scientist Alan Carlin that was released two weeks before the organization came out in favor of this very legislation. This research stated, among its 98 pages, “We have become increasingly concerned that EPA and many other agencies and countries have paid too little attention to the science of global warming. EPA and others have tended to accept the findings reached by outside groups … as being correct without a careful and critical examination of their conclusions and documentation.”
How can we, the taxpayers, accept this tax in the face of facts ignored?
One provision in the bill will force you to modernize your home before you sell it. Your home will have to pass a “government test” to make sure it is energy-efficient, or you won't be allowed to sell.
If you contact Rep. Markey, one of the first questions to ask would be if she read the 1,500-page text of the bill? Perhaps we should ask her if she thinks we, the taxpayers, her constituents, really want an increase in energy costs during one of the worst economic downturns in world history? Perhaps we should ask her what she received in return for her “yes” vote?
Our next action to avoid this massive de facto tax increase is to contact Colorado senators Bennett and Udall at (202) 245-852 and (202) 224-5941, respectively. The legislation will go to the Senate within a few months. With 60 Democrat senators, your responses are more important than ever!
Remember our Congressional representatives who put us on this road to increased energy costs each November.
Brent Glenn, a Windsor resident for 12 years, is an extremely concerned father, outdoorsman and computer engineer at Intel Corp.
H.R. 2454, the Waxman-Markey energy bill, also known as “Cap and Trade,” was introduced the day before the vote and was 1,200 pages in length; a 300-page amendment was added at 3:09 a.m. on the day the bill was voted on and passed. (Bill author Markey is from Massachusetts, not Colorado). For the second time this year, our legislators have failed to exhibit proficiency in the most basic of skills ... reading.
This bill, as President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have proudly told us, is modeled on an energy program implemented in Spain. That country is currently in the process of dumping this very legislation because each “green” job caused a loss of 2.2 jobs in other industries. This very legislation damaged Spain's economy, failed to reduce emissions, and raised unemployment to 18 percent. If our leaders implement this legislation here in the U.S., we could expect similar results. Thankfully, we still have time to halt this tax increase as the bill must also be passed by the U.S. Senate.
By the year 2035, electricity costs would increase by 90 percent, gasoline by 58 percent and natural gas by 55 percent. These hikes are above and beyond rate increases to these commodities. The combined increase in energy expenditures for a family of four would be nearly $20,000 as a result of this bill.
This bill and its actions may not be advertised as a tax, but an increase in energy costs that goes directly to the Federal Government rather than the energy provider meets the definition of “tax.” So much for the President's campaign promise of never increasing taxes on anyone making less than $250,000. An excellent summary of what we can expect in increased costs can be found at this Web site: http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/tst062609a.cfm
The EPA suppressed a study by its own scientist Alan Carlin that was released two weeks before the organization came out in favor of this very legislation. This research stated, among its 98 pages, “We have become increasingly concerned that EPA and many other agencies and countries have paid too little attention to the science of global warming. EPA and others have tended to accept the findings reached by outside groups … as being correct without a careful and critical examination of their conclusions and documentation.”
How can we, the taxpayers, accept this tax in the face of facts ignored?
One provision in the bill will force you to modernize your home before you sell it. Your home will have to pass a “government test” to make sure it is energy-efficient, or you won't be allowed to sell.
If you contact Rep. Markey, one of the first questions to ask would be if she read the 1,500-page text of the bill? Perhaps we should ask her if she thinks we, the taxpayers, her constituents, really want an increase in energy costs during one of the worst economic downturns in world history? Perhaps we should ask her what she received in return for her “yes” vote?
Our next action to avoid this massive de facto tax increase is to contact Colorado senators Bennett and Udall at (202) 245-852 and (202) 224-5941, respectively. The legislation will go to the Senate within a few months. With 60 Democrat senators, your responses are more important than ever!
Remember our Congressional representatives who put us on this road to increased energy costs each November.
Brent Glenn, a Windsor resident for 12 years, is an extremely concerned father, outdoorsman and computer engineer at Intel Corp.
