Capping Economic Growth

Tax-challenged Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House Budget Director Peter Orszag went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to defend a federal budget that assumes $650 billion in revenue from a cap-and-trade carbon emissions scheme that may be worse than Bill Clinton's defeated Btu tax on energy. Under the plan, the Obama administration would sell or auction off emission credits based on a predetermined cap of carbon emissions arbitrarily set for the U.S. economy. Lower-polluting companies could then trade their excess. At least that's the theory. The problem is that capping emissions based on dubious climate science will also kill hopes for a rapid economic recovery. Any good that comes from the stimulus package will be wiped out by this energy tax that will be passed on to every consumer through everything we produce and consume. Money that could be spent on creating jobs will be wasted trying to save the polar bear...IBD