Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Congress Passes Obama's Budget: Cap and Trade Thankfully Omitted

I guess the "down payment" for universal healthcare is now in the works. Wait until Americans have to wait months or years for needed surgery. Then Obama can blame doctors or insurance companies or some other scapegoat when that happens.

Wednesday's House and Senate votes to adopt the nonbinding budget blueprint were only a first step toward Obama's goal of providing health care coverage for all Americans. The budget plan for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 sets the parameters for subsequent tax and spending bills expected to boost clean energy programs and student aid and extend many of former President George W. Bush's tax cuts.

It seems the tax cut for 95% of Americans was left on the cutting room floor though. I hope no one got used to spending that $13 per paycheck worth of change that Obama threw our way.

As a result, Democrats opted against extending Obama's signature $400 tax cut for most workers beyond next year and cut $10 billion from his budget for non-defense programs. Also gone are revenues from Obama's "cap-and-trade" plan for curbing global warming by auctioning permits to emit greenhouse gases.

That last bit was enormously important because it would have levied a tax on 100% of Americans whenever they flipped a light switch or filled up their car with gas. I hope someone in the Democratic party understands that taxing energy companies just makes them pass "carbon taxes" right on to Americans in the form of higher prices.

I think this energy bill that is supposed to be passed this summer will be vitally important to any recovery effort. Raising taxes during a recession (even using indirect methods) is a recipe for a multi-year Depression. Maybe Obama will channel Carter and tell us to put on a sweater and turn down our thermostats to save money.

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