Despite intense pressure from Governor Richardson, the regional cap and trade legislation was not passed. At the time I wrote:
Make no mistake this is an additional fee that will ultimately be passed on to you and me – the consumer – at the pump. Whenever government seeks to impose fees to help with some grand scheme, we are the ones who find ourselves squeezed. This time will be no exception. What makes this flawed policy even worse is that the negative impact of this misguided legislation will be felt not once, but twice by hard-working New Mexicans.
Well, it looks like at least one Democratic Congresswoman realizes this will not only hurt consumers, but negatively impact small businesses throughout the nation if the Democratic controlled Congress and President are successful in this misguided effort:
Small businesses need rebates to ease the higher energy costs that may result from capping carbon dioxide emissions, the chairwoman of House Small Business Committee wrote today to the Democratic sponsors of the legislation.
Some businesses “will not be able to insulate themselves from such rapid energy price increases and could experience serious economic disruption,” Democratic Representative Nydia Velazquez of New York wrote to Representatives Henry Waxman and Edward Markey.
The federal government keeps bailing out big businesses to the detriment of taxpayers and small businesses. When is enough, enough?