Next time you hear Eric Cantor, Bob McDonnell, Newt Gingrich, or any other anti-environment Republican talking about how the Waxman/Markey American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act is a
"lethal job killer" or
completely discredited claims about it costing "every American family up to $3,100 per year in higher energy prices," you can
point them right here.
On June 19, the Congressional Budget Office announced that the average household would spend a miniscule amount to reduce global warming pollution under H.R. 2454. This independent analysis determined “that the net annual economywide cost of the cap-and-trade program in 2020 would be $22 billion—or about $175 per household.” This is 48 cents per day –- a little more than the cost of a postage stamp.
The least well off households — those “in the lowest income quintile — would see an average net benefit of about $40 in 2020.” These households had an income under $20,292 in 2007.
[...]
Signficantly, CBO’s estimate also does not include the economic benefits of other provisions in H.R. 2454. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy estimates that the efficiency provisions alone could save businesses and consumers $22 billion annually by 2020. The savings would be $170 per household in 2020 –- roughly equal to CBO’s cost per household estimate for ACES in 2020.
That's right, the Waxman/Markey cap-and-trade bill will encourage energy efficiency measures and actually end up saving individuals and small businesses money, all while protecting the environment
and enhancing our energy security. You can't get much more of a "win-win-win" than that, but as usual Republicans are being mindlessly reactionaries. They're also spreading false information and irresponsibly demagoguing the issue. Sadly, this behavior falls into the "what else is new" category when it comes to the Eric Cantors and Bob McDonnells of the world, but it's sad nonethless to see a once-great American political party acting like a bunch of know-nothing nincompoops.
