Cap and Trade dying? An inconvenient problem for Al Gore

I am so happy with the Democratic party today. Faced with waning support for their party as a result of the economy and other unpopular moves; the Dems have finally put aside their agendas and done whats right for the country. Politico.com reports today that several prominent Dems have lobbied the White House to refrain from pushing any Cap and Trade bills in 2010. This bill would have imposed tariffs on companies that exceed the carbon footprint allotted for a company of a particular size. This was a bill aimed particularly at energy companies and would have forced them to either "Go Green" or pay hefty fines. Either way who ends up paying but the consumer? This particular moment in our history is hardly the right time to impose added financial burden on Americans. Especially for something we use every moment of our day.

The reason I was against this bill is because 1) it really does nothing to improve our situation with the environment. The US already has some of the most strict environmental guidelines and without China or India cooperating it makes no difference what we do 2) We have to pay for the stimulus, we have to pay for healthcare for everyone, and now extra taxes would be imposed on our energy? It is not the time 3) The people that stand to gain from this are hypocrites like Al Gore, or mega billionaires like Warren Buffet whom have established companies that will allow them to make millions or billions by selling carbon offset.

Now what we have to examine is what prompted this move? Was it the widespread fraud reported in Europe's version of Cap and Trade or was it simply that passing three unpopular bills before mid term elections would have sealed the fate of the Democrats? Was it the recent scandal prominent Democrat Al Gore has been involved in? Either way, I am happy that they are taking steps to eliminate this energy tax. As I have stated before I will be fair on this blog and this is a move that I whole heartedly agree with.