Cap and Trade Will Squeeze State Budgets, Raise Energy Prices, and Cost Jobs
The Heritage Foundation has a number of new facts on the impact of Cap and Trade, which the US House is supposed to vote on today.
Under Cap and Trade, as President Obama noted, "the price of electricity will necessarily skyrocket." Heritage estimates the average energy costs per a family of four will increase $426 in 2012, an increasing in years after that.
These higher prices will result in jobs losses. Particularly hard hit will be the manufacturing sector, but transportation, chemicals, wood products, machinery, paper, plastics & rubber, electrical equipment & appliances, and construction will also be areas where jobs are lost.
Of course, these jobs losses will impact states differently. And Heritage even breaks out the impact by Congressional District.
Lastly, Cap and Trade will hurt state budgets, causing a loss in revenue. Pennsylvania would see a state revenue loss of about $219 million.
2 comments:
NB. There is a huge economic opportunity for Pa. in this bill. Granted, it severely penalizes coal and coal burning utilities and electricity from those utilities. However, unlike other coal producing states, we are sitting on the biggest gas bonanza in history. If the state provides the right policies on taxes and regulation, the private sector state can take advantage of the federal law to create jobs in exploiting that resource. Now, not so good for other states, but really could be a new golden age for Pennsylvania -- the OPEC of shale natural gas.
Yes but, are we not enacting higher tax legislation at the state level on shale/natural gas?
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