Thursday, July 2, 2009

Cap and Trade Will Clobber the Poor

A new study by the Tax Foundation confirms the sad fact that every clear-thinking person already knows: Cap and Trade will bring the most suffering to the poorest among us because they pay the highest percentage of their incomes on fuel and electricity.

Astonishingly, Cap and Trade, if it passes the Senate or is implemented by Obama through policy means, will wipe out more than 6% of the incomes of the bottom 20 percent of American earners. This averages a $617 annual hit on incomes that aren't enough to begin with. This amount is the equivalent of almost doubling lower earners' federal payroll taxes.

Cap and Trade will most deprive seniors and young adults, single parents with dependent children, those dependent children of course, and low earning families in the South. Households over age 75 will pay an extra $830 per year, and households under age 25 will pay an extra $696.

The author of the study, economist Andrew Chamberlain, understands what the Congressional shape shifters are up to: "Cap-and-trade," he explains, "allows lawmakers to hide the costs of climate policy behind regulations rather than taxes."

Chamberlain's full study, "Who Pays for Climate Policy? New Estimates of the Household Burden and Economic Impact of a U.S. Cap-and-Trade System" is available here.

Think of the person you love who will be most hurt by Cap and Trade. Then click here.

__________
Related Posts:
Posted by Quite Rightly at 6:00 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)