THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VIII, Issue # 225, November 24, 2006
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE CALIFORNICATION OF THE ECONOMY
By Alan Caruba
CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS, POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM, & THE AMERICAN ECONOMY: THE POLITICAL
AGENDA OF LEADERS OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY MAJORITY IN CONGRESS: ENACT LEGISLATION THAT
WILL PUT INTO EFFECT PUBLIC POLICIES FAVORED BY POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS & WILL THEREBY DESTROY
AMERICA'S LATEST SPATE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH & PROSPERITY -- IMPOSE EXORBITANT TAXES THAT WILL DEPRIVE
OIL COMPANIES OF THE PROFITS THEY NEED TO EXPLORE FOR & EXTRACT MUCH-NEEDED NEW SOURCES OF OIL OR TO
BUILD NEW REFINERIES -- REPLACE AMERICA'S MARKET ECONOMY WITH SOME FORM OF STATISM OR SOCIALISM
FULL STORY:
The midterm elections were held on November 7, 2006, and, by November 10, the Associated Press reported that U.S.
Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat - California) was promising “major policy shifts on global warming, air quality and
toxic-waste cleanup, as she prepares to lead the U.S. Senate’s environmental committee.”
“Time is running out,” said Sen. Boxer about global warming “and we need to move forward on this,” during a conference
call with reporters. Noticeably missing from her Chicken Little pronouncement was any scientific evidence that (1) there
actually is a global warming threat and (2) why any of the draconian proposals to deal with it would have the slightest
effect.
During the conference call, “Boxer said she intends to introduce legislation to curb greenhouse gases, strengthen
environmental laws regarding public health and hold oversight hearings on federal plans to clean up Superfund
hazardous waste sites across the country.”
I call this the “Californication” of the American economy because Senator Boxer would model federal legislation on a
new California law that imposes the first statewide limit on greenhouse gases, seeking to cut that state’s emissions by 25
percent in an effort to return them to 1990 levels by 2020.
The National Center for Public Policy Research recently noted:
“Despite ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, the European Union is on
track to miss its Kyoto emissions reduction target of 8% below
1990 levels by 2012. According to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration, the CO2 emissions for the l5 original member
nations of the EU increased an average of 9% between 2000 and
2004.”
Industrialized societies that require economic growth should never place a meaningless obstacle like “greenhouse gas
emissions” in the way, but that’s exactly what the United Nations Kyoto Protocol does.
The primary greenhouse gas that impacts the Earth’s climate is nothing more ominous than water vapor. The other
greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2). Every living animal on the planet breathes in oxygen and exhales CO2. At the
same time, every form of vegetation absorbs CO2 and gives off oxygen. This symbiosis accounts for life on this planet
and has worked well for millions of years.
Imposing an entirely bogus scheme in which some companies can pay hard cash for greenhouse gas “credits” that would
allow them to continue to emit the designated gases has already been tried and the result, as in the case of Europe, is that
no reductions have occurred or ever will occur.
Neither California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger nor U.S. Senator Boxer appears to be aware that nations such as
India and China are not participating in this nonsense, nor other developing nations, many of whom are still in need of
energy sources that will enable their economies to grow.
Energy efficiency is a worthy goal, but it is something the marketplace should determine, not the government. There is a
growing “cleantech” industry and, for example, truck fleet operators are saving millions of dollars by installing systems
that allow drivers to plug into electrical outlets, rather than running truck engines, for auxiliary power at night or during
rests. As the cost of oil edges up worldwide, you can be sure that all kinds of industries will seek ways to be more energy
efficient. They will not need government mandates to make it happen.
Politicians, now calling themselves “Progressives,” instead of Socialists, see global warming as a big club to wield against
corporations.
In early November, 2006, U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (Republican -Maine) and U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (Democrat -
West Virginia) wrote a joint letter to Exxon Mobil CEO, Rex W. Tillerson, demanding that Exxon Mobil cease funding two
dozen organizations and individuals they call a “small cadre of global climate change skeptics.”
To put it another way, the two Senators and other like-minded persons want to silence any dissent about “global
warming,” despite the fact that there is ample scientific evidence that dramatic climate changes are not occurring.
Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil has announced it will contribute a million Euros to a European research project devoted to
carbon capture and storage.
The Earth, of course, has been warming since the last Ice Age about 11,500 years ago, but, despite the bogus “computer
models” on which the “global warming” hoax is based, there is no evidence that anything other than perfectly natural
climate cycles are occurring.
When oil prices spiked after the temporary impact Hurricane Katrina had on oil from the Gulf of Mexico, two Democratic
U.S. Senators, Byron Dorgan (Democrat - North Dakota) and Christopher Dodd (Democrat - Connecticut) were calling for
a “windfall profits tax” that would have imposed an excise tax when the price of a barrel is more than $40.00. What better
way to deprive oil companies of the profits they need to explore for and extract much-needed new sources of oil or to
build new refineries? These enterprises cost billions, but some legislators would rather that money go into government
coffers.
The new Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, has announced that Democrats
intend to move toward greater energy independence “by rolling back the multibillion dollar subsidies for Big Oil.” This is
utter nonsense. The government provides a plethora of subsidies for every kind of industry in the nation. How much
energy independence does Representative Pelosi, another Californian, think the U.S.A. will achieve, if Congress attacks
energy companies?
Political guru, Charles Cook, interviewed in Business Week magazine’s November 20, 2006, issue, was asked
which industries should be worried by a Congress where the Democratic Party is the majority. He named pharmaceutical
companies, managed-care companies, and oil companies.
A cadre of “Progressive” (Socialist, or Leftwing Liberal) members of Congress will now attempt to destroy the nation’s
latest spate of economic growth and prosperity. They will do so in the name of “global warming” and a working class
they say is suffering under the heel of evil capitalist exploiters.
In short, the radical Leftists in the Democratic Party will attempt to use the legislative power of Congress to destroy the
American economy -- and America itself..
Karl Marx is dead, but Marxism marches on, despite its unbroken record of failure.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, & Other Leftists
American Politics & Political Competition
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba’s new book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press.
© Alan Caruba 2006
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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