Celebrating Human Achievement, Taxing AIG Bonuses and Cap and Trade in the Senate
Environmental activists encourage cities to celebrate “Earth Hour” by turning off lights for an hour on March 28th.
The House of Representatives approves a 90% income tax for executives at AIG and other firms that received bank bailout funds.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) cites the White House’s plans to apply the Clean Air Act to global warming as an excuse for Congress to pass “cap and trade” legislation.
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1. CULTURE
Environmental activists encourage cities to celebrate “Earth Hour” by turning off lights for an hour on March 28th.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Michelle Minton on the alternative celebration of “Human Achievement Hour”:
“We are so proud that millions of people plan to show their appreciation for human achievement by doing things like eating diner, watching television, going to the movies, and brushing their teeth. Never before has a new holiday caught on so quickly.”
2. BUSINESS
The House of Representatives approves a 90% income tax for executives at AIG and other firms that received bank bailout funds.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship John Berlau on why the bill is a terrible idea:
“…using the tax code to punish these firms’ employees is seriously wrongheaded. Many firms, unfortunately, have received government subsidies even before the [bailout fund] was created. Sports teams frequently receive subsidies for new stadiums, but we don’t tax athletes at 90 percent! We should end government subsidies to all these firms, but not punish individual employees who compete for the salaries the market will bear. The tax system is not the way to remedy an ill-conceived bailout. There is no way to separate firms receiving government money from the economy as a whole. This is a big foot in the door for confiscatory taxes that will produce anemic economic growth.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) cites the White House’s plans to apply the Clean Air Act to global warming as an excuse for Congress to pass “cap and trade” legislation.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis on the train wreck that would result from trying to restrict greenhouse gas emissions using the Clean Air Act:
“I advise friends of energy abundance, economic growth, and limited government to hang tough. Team Obama has got to know that EPA cannot control the regulatory cascade once it starts, that the results could be economically devastating, and that they won’t be able to blame G.W. Bush. If they open Pandora’s Box, there will be political hell to pay, and they know it. When the greenhouse gang invoke the specter of [Clean Air Act] regulation if we don’t support their cap-and-trade program, we should say: “First you take that gun away from our head, and then we’ll discuss the merits of your bill.”
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