An Independent Analysis
The Greens keep trying to change the subject when it comes to what the released Treasury documents about cap-and-trade actually show. They’ve got a bunch of talking points and, by Jove, they’re sticking to them. One of them is this one, from the Environmental Defense Fund’s spokesman:
In terms of the Waxman-Markey bill, “Every one of the independent analyses out there show small costs,” Kreindler added.
Really? Every one?
What about this one? (“The annual cost of emissions permits to energy users will be at least $100 billion by 2012 and could exceed $390 billion by 2035″)
Or this one? (“High energy prices, fewer jobs, and loss of industrial output are estimated to reduce U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by between $419 billion and $571 billion by 2030”)
Ah, but they aren’t independent, are they? After all, they weren’t, err, produced by, erm, arms of the Federal Government like the Congressional Budget Office, Energy Information Administration or Environmental Protection Agency.
Meanwhile, even using the figures of those “independent” government estimates, the Waxman-Markey Bill is still a terrible deal for Americans.