As ALG News has reported to you in “Capping Growth, Trading Principles” and “McCain’s Energy Freeze”, Global Warming is an issue that will be central to the 2008 presidential race. And it has now fostered an errant energy proposal – Warner-Lieberman – that could easily destroy the U.S. economy by placing an arbitrary (and unnecessary) cap on carbon emissions.
Such a cap on emissions is really a cap on economic growth. It would: greatly increase the costs of energy, encourage an energy black market, and be rife with corruption and fraud. In short, it is a public policy disaster that will make the ruinous ethanol subsidies look like a minor misstep.
Unfortunately, this issue is not simply a matter of theoretical debate for voters to consider months down the road when they go to the polls. (Not that it would matter much, since all three presidential candidates are in favor of capping carbon emissions one way or another.) More dangerously, as reported by the Wall Street Journal on May 27th, cap-and-trade legislation is headed to the Senate next week.
To aid journalists nationwide, ALG News is providing the following list of where each Senator now stands on the Lieberman-Warner cap-and-trade proposal, compiled based on a combination of key Capitol Hill sources:
