The sweeping measure is aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions while ending America’s dependence on foreign oil with cleaner, homegrown energy. Sources which, by the way, are not explained in the bill. Independent Joe Lieberman, called the legislation “strong and balanced.” The bill was crafted after eight months of bipartisan negotiations, but the republican collaborator, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, recently dropped out over disagreement with many parts of the bill.
The biggest challenge for the Senate bill will be to explain a complicated formula that limits how much CO2 power plants can produce without having to pay a fine based,on the amount of CO2 that’s produce in excess of their government mandated limit. Later factories will face the same limits and fines. The legislation would send two-thirds of the revenue from emissions permit sales directly back to consumers as refunds on their utility bills.
The plan is to eventually refund nearly all of the proceeds to consumers in an effort to blunt energy cost increases. But notice, the energy cost increases mentioned in the proposal, natural gas, electricity and gasoline will all see price increases under this proposal. How much of the promised refund to consumers will ever make it back to them is not guaranteed. If similar tactics are used for the energy refunds as the government has used in the past for other supposed refunds, any funnelling of money back to taxpayers could be much less than expected. Is government more efficient than private industry? Isn’t that one of the key questions about any new law that impacts our homes, cars, trucks and most of all our wallets.
This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.
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