Posted on 12/08/2012 7:54:17 AM PST by Kaslin
It’s a bad omen for free enterprise, prosperity and liberty when normally warring special interest groups such as big business and progressive activists agree on public policy.
During President Obama’s first term big business interests led by the pharmaceutical industry joined the union lobby in successfully making ObamaCare the law of the land.
Shortly after Obama’s re-election, history may be repeating itself this time regarding energy policy.
While it’s known that politics makes strange bedfellows none can be more bizarre than former White House green jobs czar Van Jones and Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson agreeing on a carbon tax.
As we witnessed with ObamaCare, the key to progressive legislative victory is converting a powerful opponent to a potent ally.
Transforming Exxon into a lobbyist for the left-wing’s war on fossil fuels is a huge coup for progressives and it’s been years in the making.
After hammering Exxon as the enemy of the environment for more than a decade and the public relations headaches that it brings to the board room – the company was ripe for waving the white flag.
Exxon faced the full armada of the environmental advocacy complex. Activist shareholders and protests at the company’s annual shareholder meetings were part of the advocacy targeting the company.
Activist groups also tracked Exxon’s financial support for conservative public policy organizations that conflicted with their view that industrial activity is responsible for global warming.
In an effort to repair its public image and lower its public profile Exxon ended its financial support of many conservative organizations and the company went soft on its global warming position.
A carbon tax meets both Exxon’s financial and public relations needs which also meshes with Obama’s war on coal.
Since coal emits twice as much carbon dioxide than natural gas, coal would be preferentially harmed by a carbon tax and open the door for Exxon – the largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. – to fill the void for electricity generation.
In a recent post on Seeking Alpha – a financial website – John Mylant described how a carbon tax would benefit Exxon.
“There is strong competition between coal and natural gas to generate electricity. It's really simple-if coal costs more, natural gas will look more appealing.”
Mylant also said, “Some believe the carbon tax will be a knockout blow for the thermal coal industry and a boon for the natural gas industry. Thus, a huge revenue benefit to Exxon.”
The goal for progressive activists and Exxon is to eliminate the coal industry through government and not through free market competition.
The coal industry is already on the ropes because of President Obama’s war on coal. The Environmental Protection Agency has issued regulations that dramatically increase the cost of using coal for electricity generation and a proposed rule for greenhouse gases, if finalized, would in effect stop the construction of new coal-fired power plants.
A carbon tax would certainly devastate the domestic coal industry and eliminate competition for power generation.
If passed, Exxon and other natural gas producers would likely profit from a carbon tax but it would come at a great cost to hardworking Americans.
A carbon tax would raise the cost of energy harming manufacturing, domestic energy production and push jobs overseas.
Higher energy prices are regressive harming those least able to pay such as lower and fixed-income households.
These adverse consequences will not affect the environmental progressive elites such as Jones or negatively impact Tillerson, his leadership team and Exxon board members.
Exxon is not alone in seeking ways to reduce the use of carbon based energy by making it more expensive. Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and more than 100 other corporations signed a policy statement supporting, “a clear, transparent and unambiguous price on carbon emissions
must be a core policy objective, as part of a broader policy framework.”
While Obama rejected the idea of a carbon tax during his first press conference following the election, he could easily initiate the plan if a coalition of progressives and Exxon would lead the way.
Recall Obama’s first attempt to tax fossil fuels through cap-and-trade failed. Executing a carbon tax in his second term would add to his big government and anti-free enterprise legacy.
I don’t think a carbon tax goes far enough. I think that we should tax ALL of the elements.
Neither Van Jones nor Exxon Mobil have the slightest interest in free enterprise nor liberty.
Why does the delusion that multi-nationals are capitalist entities persist?
A carbon tax would certainly devastate the domestic coal industry and eliminate competition for power generation.
If passed, Exxon and other natural gas producers would likely profit from a carbon tax but it would come at a great cost to hardworking Americans.
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Interesting article; thanks for posting.
Exxon is a multi-national and wants what’s best for Exxon. Simple as that.
Considering the controversy over the passage of the 16th and 17th Amendments to the US Constitution, look it up if you haven’t before. Most of these problems could be solved overnight if just one State where the Governor and Legislature were in lockstep together could simply file a Formal Declaration with the House of Represantitives that the forementioned Ratification of either of these amendments were FRAUDULENT and after doing an exhaustive search of the records surrounding said Certificate of Ratification we have determined that said certificate ,to be FALSE, We the People of the State of () DID NOT RATIFY EITHER OF THESE AMENDMENTS, making them Non-Existent.
Create a Constitutional Crisis, stand your ground and SAVE THE COUNTRY.
Correct. We are witnessing a convergence of the resurgent Left, The Muzzies and the Globalist Fascists against the Christians, Jews and Freedom Lovers of the world.
Why don't I get a tax refund for the trees that I have?
Well, it’s the self admitted communist Van Jones, so what do you expect?
I’m certainly all for getting rid of those two devastating amendments. Unfortunately Michigan is tied up with a battle royale right now and that would be a bridge too far.
Personally I wish we could see all the GOP held states standing together. There are already something like 24 states with all 3 branches of state government in GOP hands. We need to start standing together and forming coalitions.
It really sucks being in a state where our legitimate state government is trying to do good only to be undercut by two senators who represent the emperor.
Example: in this article, the "control" ideologues are described as "progressives," which is how they now boldly describe themselves.
Consider the image which that word evokes: progress, forward movement, advancement--all normally considered to be positive for individuals or a society.
The "Progressives," in turn further confuse the language by calling taxing and spending by the name of "investment," and on and on.
"It’s a bad omen for free enterprise, prosperity and liberty when normally warring special interest groups such as big business and progressive activists agree on public policy."
Well, of course, it's a "bad omen"; because "free enterprise, prosperity and liberty" are incompatible with and impossible to achieve when "the People" yield up their liberty to coercive control of elected and unelected persons in positions of power in government!
So-called "progressives" are not progressive (in the dictionary sense) at all. As a matter of fact, their ideology, if implemented in America, will lead it back to the Old World ideas which preceded the Declaration of Independence's assertion of the Creator-endowed, thus unalienable, rights of individuals.
I must note that many of the elements which are normally solid are white. Why do they just want to tax the black element? Seems racist to me...
Here is what is actually going on.......
.......Disclaimer......
what follows is deduced theory and not condoned practice.
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The democrats all ready have the long term solution. It is cap and trade. The liberals have dug a hole from which they can’t climb out. They have incrementally given their voters the ability to pay no taxes at all. There is no way they can take back the no tax position. At least 50 % of the population is in that group of nontax payers.
The solution is to provide a tax on the nonpayers that is not a tax and that is paid unknowingly. The payment fuels hate of someone else rather than the corrupt, vote needing, democrat, politician, liars. The solution is Cap And Trade.
The tax is levied on energy producers, all energy producers, that then can raise rates to all consumers. Since the tax is uniform it does not effect rate competition and can by all be passed on with no effect on sales. When passed on it is effectively a trickle down tax. I say energy producers but I think it is mainly electricity. It is a tax on electricity sales covered with a carbon fig leaf described as first aid for man made climate change.
The real and only solution to eliminating the debt is inflation that devalues the amount owed over time. The cap and trade induced rise in energy costs will be hidden within the coming general inflation. That is, the pain and associated hatred will be mitigated somewhat by the general rise in the cost of everything.
The Cap and Trade tax trickle down is coming. That’s what it is, a trickle down consumption tax. Many have tax proposals, VAT, Fair Tax, etc that will cause the 50% of non payers to cough up their fair share. But they are all taxes and new taxes will be strongly resisted by the 50%. An indirect trickle down tax will not be understood when sold as a planet saving necessity.
The beauty is that the value of the tax is compounded. In the coming inflation, the incremental total will be increased compounded by the inflation rate. As all prices, including energy prices are increased the $ value of C&T receipts increases as well.
Since the election, two efforts have begun. The first is to renew the media attention to those insisting on the need to curb climate change. The other is the effort by unions to increase wages. Both are harbingers of inflation. Cap and trade increases costs across the board for all business. In an economy with unemployment wages do not rise. For the needed inflation, labor costs must rise and push general costs up. The wage inflation is being pushed by the unions and will lead to general wage increases in spite of high unemployment.
Then there is the no tax pledge. One must wonder if supporting cap and trade violates the pledge? Charging a fee for carbon emissions is not actually a tax. The fee is like usage fees for visiting a National Park or the ports or perhaps a toll road. For a politician, even a Republican politician, voting for a fee is not voting for a pledge prohibited tax.
Better fix that mistaken impression. The owners of oil and gas companies have used their tax exempt foundations to fund green groups since at least the sixties.
“progressive” is the new “Bolshevik” (they were not the “Majority”, either).
It doesn't say anything that it is owned by the Arabs.
replace corporate income tax and payroll taxes with a VAT and you have a deal!
Big corporations use government regulation and taxation to force out competitors and prevent new ones. Highly capitalized entities can absorb the cost and pass it along to existing customers. Weaker competitors are forced out of business.
Welcome to Big Governess, Big Government and Big Business. B-P
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