Well, they snuck it in while we wasn't looking. While the country was busy following the tragic news coming out of L.A. yesterday, the House of Representatives was busy passing the Global Warming Bill by 7 votes.
All we can hope for now is the Senate ripping this, wolf in sheep's clothing, bill to shreds. We all better keep our fingers crossed. Let's hope the Senate takes a bit more time to read the approx. 1,400 page bill. The House freely admitted, no one had read the bill completely. Kinda makes you wonder what kind of earmarks were snuck into the bill.
So, if passed by both the House and the Senate and signed into law by the President, what does it mean to you and I? Well, first thing it will do is pretty much force the coal industry out of business. That means all those coal miners and their families will be searching for new employment. I wonder what kind of rise in unemployment this will cause? I wonder how much more of a burden on the welfare system this will cause?
Next will be the rise in our utilities. Yes, there will be an increase in your utilities, so get ready for it. Electricity, water and natural gas prices are going to rise. This isn't a theory, it is a fact. Even the politicians supporting the bill freely admit to this. But, how much? Well, according to most estimates you should be looking at an approximate $1,200 - $1,400 increase per year.
Next is fuel prices. I have seen varying estimations on the rise it will cause in fuel prices. These estimates have ranged from a $1.50 - $5.00 per gallon increase. So, more or less, we could expect to see what happened last year to happen again, except this time to stay.
Starting in 2012 and going through 2035, our gross domestic product losses caused by this bill will average $491 billion per year. By 2035 the total GDP loss is expected to be $9.4 trillion. There's that T word again. Must be Obama's favorite letter or something.
These numbers do not even take into account what it will do to the rest of the economy as a whole. Remember, our economy is very much linked together. When one facet is affected by rising costs it will assuredly affect another.
So you can best bet when fuel and utilities go up, it will cause pretty much everything else to go up. Expect to be paying higher prices at the grocery stores, department stores, clothing stores, hardware stores, hair dressers, nail salons, athletic gyms, doctor's office, dentist office, convenient stores, your plumber, your roofer, your lawn guy, etc...etc...
Basically, everything will be going up if this bill, now passed by the House of Representatives yesterday, somehow passes through the Senate, as is, also.
Haven't we let Obama spend enough? I've never seen such backward thinking in Washington in all my years. Isn't it basic economics to know if you are in debt you have to conserve. Instead, Washington has decided to try and spend their way out of debt. That DOES NOT and CAN NOT work.
Being in debt is very much akin to being in slavery. I'm starting to get an eerie feeling that may be the whole point. Look what it has done to the Auto industry. They now are, basically, servants to the government. The government now has complete control over them. They are the governments slaves.
The states that have taken the government's stimulus money will be facing the same fate. Thank God, with all my state's (Louisiana) faults withstanding, we haven't accepted the stimulus. We have Bobby Jindal to thank for that.
My whole point to the slavery comment, though, is to ask a simple question. Just where are we getting all this money and who are we (United States) indebted to. Well, our biggest lenders have been China ($740 billion) and Japan ($635 billion).
Japan is an ally that would probably have patience with us. Do you think China would give us the same consideration? I have my doubts. So, what happens if they call in the debt? Well the quick simple answer is they can't. They are invested in treasury bills that do not all mature simultaneously.
That being said, they still have a vested interest in the way we handle our finances. If we are foolish with the way we spend and it drives our dollar down, then it also drives their investment down. How do you think they feel about that? I'm sure they're not happy with us right now. Matter of fact, they have said they are concerned and who can blame them. I'm concerned, too.
So, if they can't call in the debt we don't have anything to worry about with them, right? Well, no not exactly. If you don't think the U.S. foreign creditors hold sway over us, just think about your own situation. Does your creditors hold sway over you? Well of course they do. If they didn't you wouldn't get up and go to work every morning.
Essentially, we are slaves to our creditors. That statement goes for individuals as well as entire countries.
Anyhow, I got way off on a whole separate subject there. Well, not really, because it's all intertwined. This Global Warming bill just puts us further in debt and if we add up what Obama has already spent it's mind boggling. We're talking TRILLIONS people, not billions.
Ok, I'm stepping down off my soap box now. But, if you are as concerned as I am, call your Senator, write them or email them. Just make sure they know you're not happy with all this spending and you want it all stopped. And that includes this Global Warming Bill.
I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger