Stop the Climate Socialism Act

UPDATE: The bill was defeated for now. The vote was 48-36 against cloture.

It's one damn thing after another. The US Senate is now debating the Lieberman-Warner bill, a descendant of the McCain-Lieberman bill. The stated purpose of the bill is to fight the supposed threat of global warming. It is called the "Climate Security Act".

He who trades liberty for climate security...

The bill would impose a 'cap and trade' system to reduce carbon emissions that supposedly cause global warming. This means that the government would mandate a maximum amount of carbon emissions. This limit would gradually increase to 60% below current levels. The bill imposes a complicated scheme of regulations. Try to read this chart if you want to figure it out.

Various organizations that want to emit carbon would have to buy carbon credits from the government or each other. Even worse, the government gives away credits to various politically favored groups, resulting in a massive transfer of wealth.

This amounts to a tax. If supply is reduced, then price increases. Thus the price to emit carbon will increase. This means that the prices of energy and anything produced using energy will increase.

This will result in a massive increase in poverty. It would go a long way to wrecking the American economy. Energy prices would be much higher. If you don't like $4 gas, how about $6 or $8 gas?

There will also be massive job losses. Manufacturing in America would simply be too expensive. Millions of jobs would be shipped to China, India, and other countries that don't have such self-destructive rules.

Estimates of the specific effects of the big vary, but they are sure to be huge. The costs are estimated to be 1.7-4.8 trillion (!) dollars. There could four million job losses.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) estimates that Boxer-Warner-Lieberman will increase the cost of a gallon of gas by as much as $3.25 by 2030.

Even the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the bill will increase the cost of gas.

What's more, the EPA also estimates that Boxer-Warner-Lieberman will increase electricity prices by 44% by 2030.

See this Heritage Foundation produced chart for how far gas prices will rise under Boxer-Warner-Lieberman in your state.

And see this chart for estimated job losses in your state under the bill.

And all to fight a threat that doesn't exist.

Call your senators. The Lieberman-Warner Climate Socialism Act must be defeated.

Newt Gingrich: Stop the Green Pig: Defeat the Boxer-Warner-Lieberman Green Pork Bill Capping American Jobs and Trading America's Future
Robert Bluey: McCain’s Global-Warming Plan Upsets Conservatives
Ross Kamisky: Potential Costs to America From Cap-and-Trade
Heritage Foundation: Huge Economic Costs of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Change Legislation