Coming Soon to the US: Third-World Living Standards

Apparently the Left-o-Weenies have given up on "raising living standards" in the Third World; so now, they'll simply bulldoze US living-standards down, to find some sort of balance.

...the Waxman-Markey bill that was recently passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would reduce allowable CO2 emissions to 83 percent of the 2005 level by 2020, then gradually decrease the amount further. Under the cap-and-trade system, the federal government would limit the total volume of CO2 that U.S. companies can emit each year and would issue permits that companies would be required to have for each ton of CO2 emitted. Once issued, these permits would be tradable and could be bought and sold, establishing a market price reflecting the targeted CO2 reduction, with a tougher CO2 standard and fewer available permits leading to higher prices

The trading-desk is a profit center, folks..and that will be run by Goldman Sachs.

...Companies would also pass along the cost of the permits in their prices, pushing up the relative price of CO2-intensive goods and services such as gasoline, electricity and a range of industrial products.

But 'gasoline, electricity, and industrial products' are just the most-visible marks. Recall that 'gasoline' and 'electricity' are large elements in the food-processing and delivery systems in this country.

The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that the resulting increases in consumer prices needed to achieve a 15 percent CO2 reduction -- slightly less than the Waxman-Markey target -- would raise the cost of living of a typical household by $1,600 a year. Some expert studies estimate that the cost to households could be substantially higher. The future cost to the typical household would rise significantly as the government reduces the total allowable amount of CO2.

That would be above and beyond the tax hikes necessary to repay the Obamunist national debt.

All this for what?

...the U.S. share of global CO2 production is now less than 25 percent (and is projected to decline as China and other developing nations grow), a 15 percent fall in U.S. CO2 output would lower global CO2 output by less than 4 percent. Its impact on global warming would be virtually unnoticeable. The U.S. should wait until there is a global agreement on CO2 that includes China and India before committing to costly reductions in the United States.

"Agreement" is completely unacceptable. VERIFIED reductions from PRC/India, not just "agreed-to," and we verify their cooperation before we do jack.

HT: Sykes