Greenhouse Gas Regulation, High-Speed Rail and Waiting on Crist in Florida
The 2006 Supreme Court verdict in Massachusetts v. EPA is cited as one of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens’ most influential.
President Obama pushes for high-speed rail development.
Residents of Florida wait to see if Governor Charlie Crist will veto a bill allowing insurance rate hikes.
1. ENVIRONMENT
The 2006 Supreme Court verdict in Massachusetts v. EPA is cited as one of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens’ most influential.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: CEI President Fred Smith on the consequences of that decision.
“A few states have access to non-carbon energy sources (hydro-power or older nuclear power) and, thus, can reward their ideological majorities at lower cost. But most Americans will become poorer as energy prices sky rocket. With EPA moving aggressively toward mandating this new power, restricting energy use throughout the nation, conflict will surely erupt among the states of the union.”
2. TRANSPORTATION
President Obama pushes for high-speed rail development.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Marc Scribner on why high-speed rail is a waste of taxpayers’ money.
“But why then the passenger rail push? So we can mimic the wasteful rail systems of Europe and Asia that are losing more and more of their market shares to cars as people become wealthier? Well, yes; a ‘national greatness’ transportation policy is apparently a key component of Obama’s imagined future. What this really means is that, decades from now, we’re likely going to be stuck with crumbling public transportation infrastructure that taxpayers and travelers never wanted in the first place.”
3. INSURANCE
Residents of Florida wait to see if Governor Charlie Crist will veto a bill allowing insurance rate hikes.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Michelle Minton on why Florida insurance rates are so high.
“It isn’t greedy CEOs, global warming, or even a really bad, really expensive decade of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico that is the cause of high insurance rates in the state of Florida. The real reason is uncertainty. That insurance companies are now holding their collective breath, waiting to find out if Governor Crist will put down his scepter and pick up a pen to sign a bill allowing private insurers to raise rates–that is the reason insurance will remain more expensive than it needs to be.”