House Passes Climate Bill
House Narrowly Passes Cap and Trade Bill
Once again President Obama proves he has no real concern for the housing industry by supporting the energy climate bill despite the fact procedurally the bill should have never been voted on inasmuch as a copy of the bill was NOT in the well of the House. How is this possible you ask? The bill was still being rewritten and no copies we available.
How is it that the Congress of the United States can vote 219-212 on a bill without reading it? While the main stream media kept reporting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Obama worked diligently to muster enough votes to pass the Waxman-Markey Bill, many reliable sources report Democrat Representatives were assessed and forced or excused to vote for the legislation based entirely on vulnerability for re-election in their prospective districts. This is a clear signal that even the Democrat Party understands the devastating effects on the American public.
This climate bill not only breaks President Obama’s pledge again of not raising taxes on individuals making less than $250,000 per year it will have disastrous effects on the economy and the housing industry. The “Cap and Trade” aspect of this legislation will cause utility rates to escalate for all Americans. The increase cost of doing business will be passed along to consumers on everything we use in our daily lives. Our fuel and gas costs will skyrocket. Businesses that can not justify passing on higher costs due to competition will either go out of business or move offshore. Either way this will have another negative impact on our economy and will defiantly add to our already swelling un-employment figures.
Country’s that experimented with this type of similar tax like Spain experienced devastating unemployment and abandoned it.
Affects on the Las Vegas Real Estate Market
Distressed home owners that can barley make their mortgage payments now will be forced to pay more for electric rates, gas and all goods and services they currently use. It is insane that our government would even consider raising taxes and costs on an already cash strapped citizenry.
There is also verbiage in the bill that forces homeowners to have an environmental inspection prior to being able to market their home. Windows, appliances and insulation will have to be inspected and approved by a government inspector and modifications would have to be made for compliance prior to the sale of your Las Vegas home.
Who Benefits from Cap and Trade?
Many Representatives in Congress and Senators have stock in “Green” companies and are the recipients of attention from numerous lobbyists. And let’s not forget former Vice President Al Gore who most certainly will become the first “Global Warming” Billionaire when his stocks and investments in currently worthless “Green” companies will literally be worth billions overnight. Now there is a real “Inconvenient Truth”.
CNBC, MSNBC and NBC have been avid backers of President Obama before and after the presidential campaign. Their parent company’s CEO of General Electric (NYSE:GE) Jeff Immelt has been an outspoken advocate of President Obama and his “Green Agenda”. General Electric stands to gain billions with a joint venture to handle carbon trades if the cap-and-trade bill becomes law. In an April 23, 2009 article on News Busters, author Jeff Poor sights Fox News Bill O’Reilly’s claims of corruption by GE promoting cap-and-trade for financial gain. “The level of corruption is so big, it stands to make Watergate look small.” according to Bill O’Reilly.
It seems as though everyone that supports this bill has a clear agenda and is in clear conflict with the interest of the common family in America or the health of the planet for that matter.
Obama promised change and that is one promise he seems to be intent on delivering. Change is all that will be left in our pockets if we don’t become active opponents to this trend of bigger government controlling every aspect of our lives.
Call Your Senator
Our only hope is that bill fails in the Senate. We must let every Senator know that we are against this bill in any form. Take the time to personally contact your Senators and tell them that American’s can not afford this nonsense and we will not tolerate their voting for stripping more income from us to split between special interest groups and the government. Let your Senators know that you will support their opposition in the next election cycle if they do decide to vote for this bill. And yes, that includes you Senator Harry Reid!
Get involved before it is too late Las Vegas and America. Call your Senators today.
10 Comments to House Passes Climate Bill
Comments
There are definitely arguments on both sides of this issue. However, the bill is not unexpected. Addressing climate change was a key component of President Obama’s platform, and this president (for a change) was elected by a clear majority of the U.S. population. That entitles him to pursue the legislation accordingly. Whether the Senate will approve the Cap and Trade bill remains to be seen.
No one wants further dampers on the real estate market. But it should be noted that the bill applies California-style building codes to new home development, and does not require inspections or retrofitting of existing homes. New home sales have not been especially hurt by current California laws… No more than other states have experienced since the general downturn of real estate over the past few years. The $10,000 California tax credit to new home buyers has been very effective at stimulating new home purchases since March 1, 2009. The $100 million allocated to that state tax credit program is nearly depleted, with roughly than 9,500 new home buyers taking advantage of the opportunity to buy a new home in California under the program. Rather than hurt sales, the “green” building codes may have actually stimulated demand among environmentally-conscious home buyers. The efficiency standards of the new homes will save the home owners money on their utility bills over time.
Regarding the overall impact of the cap and trade bill, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the law would cost $175 per household by 2020. Lower income households could actually save $40 per year, and upper-income households could pay a higher average of $245 per year. Those numbers can and should be debated, but there is a strong argument that net cost is a nominal 0.2% of the average after-tax household income.
Whether utility bills or gas prices would increase due to the bill is also debatable. Even without the bill, manipulation of energy prices by the private sector sent gas prices up to nearly $5 per gallon less than two years ago. Fictitious statements about “potential global demand” or “likely global shortages” were used to explain the increases. But how would anyone know for sure, since the Bush administration (led by Halliburton front-man Dick Cheney) kept the national energy policy meetings secret, thereby helping to line the pockets of the oil and gas industry at the expense of every American.
Efforts at regulation of emissions under the Clean Air Act of 1990 were criticized along the same lines as the Cap and Trade bill. But the Clean Air Act passed anyway (even under a Republican Congress), and it did not hinder economic growth. In the 1990’s we witnessed some of the most phenomenal economic growth in our nation’s history, thanks largely to the leadership of our Democrat President Clinton. Unfortunately the skimming and corruption under the subsequent administration reversed those gains. Hopefully we will experience another turnaround to the bright side during the next 8 years and beyond… with our without laws aimed at addressing concerns over climate change.
Thanks for your post!
San Diego Homes,
I am painfully aware that President Obama was elected by the majority. That is to be expected when you run virtually unopposed and backed by a highly bias and shamefully unprofessional liberal press. The only real surprise there was that it was not by a landslide.
Obama’s “Green Agenda” is about as appealing as his “Green” level of executive experience and expertise to most conservatives. Least we not forget that he had all of his opponents kicked off the ballet in his State Senate campaign and once elected Obama began running for the US Senate. As soon as he began his US Senate career he almost immediately began running for the presidency and sent less than 160 actual “days on the job” as a US Senator.
“We deserve the government we get” as they say, so if the people wanted “Green” they could not have picked a greener president. But when it comes to “Green” on an environmental level Obama is either pushing an agenda to repay political favors or is clueless, or BOTH. This cap-and-trade bill is based on flawed science and will do virtually nothing to affect global warming. It does nothing but raises taxes on all utilities, goods and services and will have a devastating effect on our economy. The only beneficiaries are the political supporters of Obama like GE and MSNBC and Al Gore.
The Clean Air Act of 1990 was an amendment and placed restrictions on pollution, not taxes. The Candidate Barack Obama admitted that utility prices would sharply escalate if cap-and-trade became law.
Yes, gas prices did rise sharply in 2008 due to speculation in the private sector. Yet another promise that was broken by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid.
California Chronicle – April 24th, 2006 – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement: “With record gas prices, record CEO pay packages, and record oil company profits, Speaker Hastert and the Republican Congress continue to give the American people empty rhetoric rather than join Democrats who are working to lower gas prices now.
Democrats have a commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices by cracking down on price gouging, rolling back the billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, tax breaks and royalty relief given to big oil and gas companies, and increasing production of alternative fuels.” If the oil companies have absolutely no hope of producing new fields and refineries under the current Congress and Administration do you really believe that gas prices will stay down with or without the cap-and-trade bill?
The fact that the Congress even attempted to enact this legislation both angers and frightens me.
“But it should be noted that the bill applies California-style building codes to new home development, and does not require inspections or retrofitting of existing homes.”
Oh, really? Is that what the bill actually says (my congressman certainly doesn’t know because a copy of the bill wasn’t available before a vote was taken).
This bill will send US manufacturing and manufacturing jobs overseas. And now, we see that it will require government approved inspections prior to permitting a sale. It isn’t sufficient to tell the prospective buyer about potential problems; they have to be fixed and paid for by the current home owners.
Germany has tried a similar cap and trade policy; it decreased carbon use by 18% and increased energy bills by 25%. On the good side, it will give GE a lot more taxpayer money. And by 2100, it will decrease global temperatures by 0.2 F. So the bill is ineffective at stopping climate change and puts the US at a huge competitive disadvantage. And now, it will add to the cost and difficulty of selling your house.
Harry Reid must either stop this madness, or he must be hounded out of office. This bill is another gut shot to our economy.
SEIG HEIL MEIN FUHRER
The oil companies have made way too much money in the past 10 years. We used to call it price gouging. These companies were subject to anti-trust suits in the 1970’s, but ever since the anti-trust laws were rolled back under Reagan the oil companies have successfully consolidated into a legal little oligopoloy that takes advantage of consumers at every opportunity. It’s time for regulation, not time for giving a free ticket to these scalpers. Much of their oil is under U.S. soil, stretching miles in every direction beneath their claims. Those claims were granted to them for fair use, not for unfair trade practices. I admit, I don’t have stock in the oil companies, but hopefully that doesn’t make me biased. I do have stock in Microsoft, but I’m able to say that their trade practices pretty much stink too. But no one seems to bat an eye when Microsoft is reprimanded for taking advantage of the competition and the U.S. consumer. It’s time to stand up against the oil companies. More power to you Nancy Pelosi!
Nancy Pelosi gained power running on the promise of curving fuel prices and having complete transparency. She and the Democrats have done neither. Their interference with the oil companies has ensured us of higher fuel cost in the future. It is simply an issue of supply and demand.
In spite of the billions it cost for exploration, refinement and delivery of fuel, our state and federal government makes considerably more per gallon of gas than the oil companies do. The government does nothing to earn the tax revenues on gasoline and squanders the money.
Having worked in the oilfields of Louisiana for almost two decades I am very familiar with what it takes to deliver the refined product to your 7-11.
If you really want high fuel cost and gas shortages just turn President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid loose on the oil companies.
With the lost of Senator Norm Coleman’s Minnesota Supreme Court challenge there is now a filibuster proof majority in the Senate and I am sure oil companies will be targeted soon enough. Once the Democrats have removed all the incentive for new exploration (profits) we can anticipate even more job losses and dependency on foreign oil. Maybe Obama was just practicing his bow earlier this year in anticipation.
The Democrats have controlled BOTH Houses of Congress since 2006. What have they accomplished specifically other than overseeing the biggest deficit in American history, allowing Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac to go unregulated with a blank check from the American Tax Payer, force solvent lenders into making bad loans and have aided and abetted in scandalous crimes by Acorn, then help cover them up while supporting Acorn with billions of dollars from the US Treasury?
“More power to you Nancy Pelosi” you say? Transparency she says. Give me a break I say.
Congratulations! You got EXACTLY what you voted for!
Just in the Real Estate arena:
Harder to sell your house? You voted for that.
Costs more to heat/cool your house? You voted for that.
New appliances cost more? You voted for that.
New asphalt (oil-based) roofing shingles just went up 30%? You voted for that.
Be happy! You won!
>> Many Representatives in Congress and Senators have stock in “Green” companies and are the recipients of attention from numerous lobbyists.
If you are implying that many Democrats own shares in Green companies, I suspect that many Republicans also own shares in those same companies. I further suspect that both Democrats and Republicans own shares in oil companies. Face it, these are politicians, and we all know that politicians go where the money is. Mark my words, the politicians who become Green millionaires will be fairly evenly split between the Democrats and the Republicans.
Congress always voted on bills without reading them. it goes on who you know not what you have read.
That’s a very good point Natalie. I remember when a congresswoman said that the bill she was being sent to sign was still warm from the printer. Actually there was a moment when the floor didn’t even have a couple of the bill they were all about to sign. That’s really bad, good point, it’s more about money and favors trading hands than anything else.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] more to build, but will also cost the home buyer more to purchase [Article - 1. Buried Code | 2. House Passes Climate Bill | 3. The Economic Impact of the Waxman-Markey Cap-and-Trade Bill]. Of course, under [...]