Sen. Inhofe's Cap-And-Trade Scare Tactics
On June 15, 2009, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) penned an op-ed in The Hill titled "Democrats' Cap and Tax rush job: all economic pain, no climate gain." It is unclear how the Senate's most prominent denier of global warming is qualified to assess "climate gain." What is clear, however, is that Sen. Inhofe's column is full of tired talking points and misleading statistics intended to scare the public about the cost of the Democrats' cap-and-trade plan.
Inhofe Claims Cap-And-Trade Will "Cost Millions Of American Jobs"
Sen. Inhofe: "The Waxman-Markey bill is the latest incarnation of costly cap-and-trade legislation that will have a devastating impact on the economy, cost millions of American jobs, push jobs overseas and drastically increase the size and scope of the federal government." [The Hill, 6/15/09; emphasis added]
Investment In Clean Energy Means More Jobs
Investment In Clean Energy Technology Will Create Over 1.5 Million American Jobs. According to the Center for American Progress, a $100 billion Green Recovery program would create 1,578, 282 American jobs. [Center for American Progress, "Green Recovery," September 2008]
Investment In Clean Energy Technology Creates FOUR TIMES As Many Jobs As An Investment In Oil & Gas. According to the Center for American Progress: "Spending $100 billion within the domestic oil industry would create only about 542,000 jobs in the United States. A green infrastructure investment program would create nearly four times more jobs than spending the same amount of money on oil energy resources. And again, spending on oil offers no benefits in transitioning the U.S. economy toward a low-carbon future, while perpetuating the economic and national security vulnerabilities by continuing to rely on oil for the lifeblood of our economy." [Center for American Progress, "Green Recovery," September 2008]
Investment In Renewable Energy Has Already Salvaged Many Manufacturing Facilities Closed During Economic Downturn. Across America, factories and plants abandoned by the old economy have been re-tooled and re-opened to satisfy the growing demand for new energy technologies. For instance, once hopeless manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Michigan have re-energized their communities by creating jobs and leading the charge toward a new energy future. [Bloomberg, 4/2/09; Star Tribune, 4/22/09; Grand Rapids Press, 3/6/08]
Inhofe Cites CRA Study As Evidence That Cap-And-Trade Will "Destroy" Jobs
Sen. Inhofe: "In a recent study conducted for the National Black Chamber of Commerce, CRA International found that Waxman-Markey will destroy 2.3 to 2.7 million jobs in each year of the policy through 2030." [The Hill, 6/15/09; emphasis added]
Charles River Associates International (CRA) Works For The Oil And Utility Industries
CRA Has "A Long History Of Assisting Both National And International Oil Companies." According to CRA's website, "CRA has extraordinary capacity to comprehend and meet the business, financial, and structural challenges faced by the oil and gas industry, particularly in the Middle East, where we have a long history of assisting both national and international oil companies and government agencies." [CRAI.com, accessed 6/11/09]
- Rep. Markey: CRA Is A "Hired Gun" For Big Oil. According to Rep. Markey's office: "The Republican campaign to kill clean energy legislation uses the names of respected organizations like the Congressional Budget Office and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then distorts their trusted analyses. It takes the gloom and doom predictions from industry-hired consultants like Charles River Associates to prey on fears of hard-working Americans over the future of our economy." [Markey.House.gov, 4/2/09]
- CRA Was Commissioned By The Edison Electric Institute. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists: "A consulting firm, Charles River Associates International (CRA), conducted the analysis for the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), a trade association for big utilities. The analysis, which predicts the bill's cap-and-trade program would hurt the economy, has been criticized even by electric utility companies." [Union of Concerned Scientists via CommonDreams.org, 3/12/08]
Inhofe Claims Cap-And-Trade Will Hinder U.S. Competitiveness
Sen. Inhofe: "There is also little question that Waxman-Markey will hinder U.S. competitiveness, pushing American jobs overseas where environmental regulations are much more lenient. Consider, for example, that developing nations such as China and India have little interest in a self-imposed tax on their economies." [The Hill, 6/15/09; emphasis added]
However, China Is Out-Competing The U.S. When It Comes To Investing In Green Energy
China Is Investing SIX TIMES As Much As America In New Energy Technologies, Amounting To $12.6 Million Every HOUR. According to the Center for American Progress: "China's leaders are investing $12.6 million every hour to green their economy... This massive stimulus plan will spend over 3 percent of China's 2008 gross domestic product annually in 2009 and 2010 on green investments-more than six times America's green stimulus spending as a percentage of our respective economies. This is about $12.6 million every hour over the next two years." [Center for American Progress, 4/20/09]
