The Economic Impact of the Waxman-Markey Cap-and-Trade Bill

Testimony before the
Senate Republican Conference
June 22, 2009
Ben Lieberman: Senior Policy Analyst for Energy and Environment in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

Here are a couple quotes. For the whole testimony go here.

"...analysis we conducted at The Heritage Foundation, which is attached to my written statement, the higher energy costs kick in as soon as the bill's provisions take effect in 2012. For a household of four, energy costs go up $436 that year, and they eventually reach $1,241 in 2035 and average $829 annually over that span. Electricity costs go up 90 percent by 2035, gasoline by 58 percent, and natural gas by 55 percent by 2035. The cumulative higher energy costs for a family of four by then will be nearly $20,000."

"But direct energy costs are only part of the consumer impact. Nearly everything goes up, since higher energy costs raise production costs. If you look at the total cost of Waxman-Markey, it works out to an average of $2,979 annually from 2012-2035 for a household of four. By 2035 alone, the total cost is over $4,600."

We estimate job losses averaging 1,145,000 at any given time from 2012-2035."

Note too that the windmills and solar panels for 'green' energy are going to be built primarily in China, who will not reduce emissions; so their thick dirty filthy air (remember in the Olympics people having to wear masks to breathe?) will get worse, and of course catch the winds.

The phone lines are jammed, emails are jammed. protesting the passage of this bill. I got through by calling my congresswoman's local office. She's a full blown Statist and proven corrupt politician, but even if that's the situation you're in, call. We've stopped blanket amnesty for illegals and we stopped Hillarycare. After we stopped this huge tax increase and impoverishing Statist legislation, we must stop Obamacare the same way.

Not one legislator has read this bill. If they are voting for it, it's because of Statist ideology. They want you poor and dependent on the State.