First it was healthcare, now it is climate change. When the Democrats started their quest to take over 18% of our economy in the name of healthcare, they claimed it was a battle of exactly that ... healthcare. Then one day, Barack Obama gets up and makes a speech which changed the debate entirely. It was no longer about healthcare; the issue was suddenly insurance and the evil health insurance companies. Is any of this ringing a bell??
Well it seems as though the Democrats are going to try and do a similar maneuver with cap-and-trade legislation. John Kerry is the Democrat who has decided that cap-and-trade isn't really something that voters can identify with. In fact, John Kerry "doesn't even know what cap-and-trade means"! No lie. He really said that. His point was that if HE didn't know what the phrase cap-and-trade meant, then the average American (who clings to their guns and religion) DEFINITELY doesn't know what it means.
So he is simply going to change the term. So here it is, ladies and gentlemen. We no longer have a cap-and-trade proposal; we now have a "pollution reduction" bill. Doesn't that sound a lot nicer? A pollution reduction bill.
It's all about buzzwords to these people; buzzwords and focus groups. The right buzzwords will ensure that you maintain power over the people. These politicians aren't stupid. I'm guessing there was a focus group somewhere. I'm also guessing that the focus group facilitators asked the people what they thought of the phrases "cap and trade" and "pollution reduction." We all know which would be the winner there. I'm sure there are a lot of government-educated folks out there who will fall in line, believing this line about "pollution reduction" when the truth of the matter is that this has absolutely nothing to do with pollution. In fact cap-and-trade legislation won't do anything to actually curb global warming. But cap-and-trade legislation will do a few other things ... need I remind you?
- A family of four can expect its per-year energy costs to rise by $1,241;
- Including taxes, a family of four will pay an additional $4,609 per year;
- Aggregate GDP losses will be $9.4 trillion;
- Aggregate cap-and-trade energy taxes will be $5.7 trillion; and
- Job losses will be nearly 2.5 million
How about more of this hopey-changey focus group thing?