Now imagine carbon emission permits sold by the government. Who would aquire those permits? Who would trade those permits? Would electricity prices double or triple suddenly, soaring as gas prices have soared? Pushed by speculators manipulating markets with insider information?
No recovery of the funds stolen in the mortgage/credit crisis will ever happen. That money is safely stashed in Switzerland or Dubai. Investment "banks" go under, are bought out, or are bailed out with public funds.
The hedge fund operators who stole the cash will never be punsihed. In fact Bernanke (Bushs' financial advisor, great choice for fed chatrman, the one who advised the worst president in history. Who got US into this financial disaster) turned to these very hedge fund managers, who created the crisis, to explain it to him.
A hedge fund bubble in corn and corn farm land is building right now. Chemical fertilizer is following along in the bubble mode.
Is it wise to turn over GHG climate disaster cure to these "free" market operators? When they sell carbon emission permits back to your local utility at 500% profit, and your electric bill suddenly triples. Will it still seem like a good idea then?
Please realize exactly why many corporate CEOs support cap and trade. They can raise caps with lobbying pressure. And they think that trading carbon permits can actually add to their bottomline profits. they know that cap and trade will effectively stop any additional environmental legislation.
Politicians can point to it as their green responsibility fullfilled. And say, "Let market forces provide the cure". While they take the lobbyist "contributions", bundled to get around campaign finance laws.
Industry will keep it's 100 billion per year in subsidies. The agribizz corn subsidy amounts to over 30 dollars per acre. For instance.
In an illuminating film, "King Corn", two city dwellers moved back to Iowa and grew an acre of corn. They lost 9 bucks on their acre. But the subsidies gave them a 20 dollar profit. Farmers in the area told them that no one makes money growing corn, the money is made from the subsidies.
If all those subsidies from business as usual were diverted to subsidize GHG free energy and ag, then industry would provide the devices for consumers to invest in. Consumers would use subsidies to pay for the devices.
No new taxes. Just a leveled market deciding which GHG-free technologies to invest in.
This adds cost to GHG intensive energy and ag by withdrawing subsidies. And lowers cost for GHG free energy and ag. Simple. Not easily scammed by traders. They will be left with trading the booming renewable energy and conservation manufacturing stocks. And shorting GHG intensive energy and ag company stocks, and commodities like coal.
As far as government intervention in suburban and urban planning, well that's a whole other area of speculation. It has huge local, state, and national political resistance. It might be overcome here and there, with bike lanes, mass transit, and more centralized living.
But it's tough. Urban landscapes are dangerous and getting worse as economic disaster hits the poorest people the hardest. The drug war "justice" system has created a revolving door for violent crime. No room left to protect the public with all the drug "criminals" incarcerted.
It's "Clockwork Orange" for real out there in most urban areas and it's spreading to suburbs. The cops have portable taser torture devices along with their clubs and guns. The US already has the largest percentage of its population in jail of any other nation on earth.
And you are asking us to crowd into high crime areas and take our chances? Not likely. In fact anyone who fights back against crime is more likely to be a victim of police corruption.
This climate crisis demands action now, no time to reform our whole culture. Direct subsidies diverted to cure the GHG crisis is the only solution that will work, barely in time. Many believe the tipping point already happend in '06.
Methane from melting tundra and methane hydrate sea floor ice and fertilzer and manure run off in an exponential feedback loop has done it.
