Carney on Congress

Make sure to take a look today at Tim Carney’s latest Friday column for the DC Examiner, this time on the travesty of an energy bill the President signed this week. Could it be that politicians and big business have once again teamed up to screw over the majority of Americans? Tim has the story:

Congress’ new energy bill garnered strong support from both parties and from all sorts of industries, which is a sure sign regular people are getting scammed. Among the victorious lobbyists on the Energy Independence and Security Act are Alcoa and the rest of the aluminum industry, who stand to profit from the heightened fuel efficiency standards in the bill.

President Bush signed the energy bill Wednesday, after the final version had passed the House 314 to 100. Alongside heightened mandates for biofuels such as ethanol were higher federal standards for fuel efficiency.

Before this bill was passed, federal law required every automaker to attain an average fuel efficiency over all its car sales of 27.5 miles per gallon. The new law raises that to 35 mpg.

While chalked up as a win for environmental groups, H.R. 6 is another example of regulatory profiteering, and more evidence that a bill becomes a law only when somebody influential stands to get rich from it. In this case, it was the world’s largest aluminum company.

Also, with Christmas fast approaching, you’ll want to head to your nearest bookstore and satisfy your last-minute gift buying needs with a copy of Tim’s magnum awesomus, The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money. Get one for everyone on your list!