Cap and Trade = Cap and TAX

Apparently members of Congress have too much time on their hands. Just a few short weeks after ramming ObamaCare through, Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman are already preparing for their next attack on the American taxpayer: the poorly named "American Power Act."

A far better name for this legislation would be the "American Power Grab." Little more than cap and trade in disguise, the bill would be a massive job-killing energy tax. In fact, the largest tax hike ever, and would hit the poor and middleclass, who spend a higher proportion of their income on essentials like electricity and fuel, the hardest. when American families are already struggling to make ends meet in our current economic downturn.

Cap and trade, or cap and tax, would mean sky high energy prices for consumers, but a new government slush fund for Washington. A twenty-seven cent "Fuels' Fee" on every gallon of gasoline included in the bill means not just higher prices at the pump, but higher prices on shipping and food production. It's hard to think of an area of life these higher costs won't affect. Higher energy costs will put the cost of doing business through the roof and send American jobs overseas at a time of record unemployment.

Altogether, this is far too high a price to pay for nothing in return. Any impact the legislation might have on global climate temperatures is too small to measure. The risks, on the other hand, are clear.