Government, Politics and the Economy
Climate Bill Helps Utilities, Factories and Farms More Than Oil Companies
While the global warming bill passed by the US House sets up a cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gases, it also cushions the cost for power producers, manufacturers and farmers and limits aid to oil companies. Bloomberg.com
Obama: Hints at Amnesty for Illegal Aliens
President Obama shied away from any hot-button words in remarks last week on immigration reform, but he did hint at some kind of “amnesty” or “legal path” for illegal immigrants already in the US. BizJournals.com
Manage...
By Charles M Cooper · June 29 2009
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
There is a last minute push going on around the country to get to as many fence-sitters on the climate change issue as possible to vote NO on the final ballot. Why is this? After all, the legislation is just to put a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses that we pump into the atmosphere each day; we need it to fight global warming. The UN says so, and there is that consensus in the scientific community, and that guy from NASA has been going on about this for years! Al Gore made that movie! If anyone knows about climate and planetary atmospheres, it’s the folks a NASA and Al Gore. Right?
Not so fast. There are a number of reasons why this bill is getting the opposition it is, but it all comes down to two things: Bad science, worse economics.
He Blinded Us with (Bad) Science
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal introduced us to a legislator named Ste...
By Charles M Cooper · June 26 2009
small business, taxes, cap and trade, climate bill
Government, Politics and the Economy
Sentate Mystery: Who Killed Small Business Credit-Card Protection?
When the amendment offered by Senator Mary Landrieu (D – LA) to get new consumer credit-card protections extended to small businesses was killed last month, the perpetrators left no fingerprints. In fact, no one knows precisely what happened, or why. NYTimes.com
The Small Business Owners' Wish List for Obama
Small business owners don't ask for much, but an end to the credit crunch, less talk of tax increases, and healthcare reform without coverage mandates do top t...
By Charles M Cooper · June 24 2009
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
Government and Economy
Is Obama Anti-Business?
The weekly assault on business by President Obama is becoming a fixture of this administration, or is it, as some Democrats say, merely an assault on business-as-usual? Yahoo.com/USNews & World
Climate Bill: It's On Its Way
There is a compromise in the works on carbon caps and while it may not garner Republican votes, it could bring skeptical Midwestern and Southern Democrats on board. BusinessWeek.com
By Charles M Cooper · May 13 2009
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
Government and Economy
Obama's Budget: The Picture of Austerity?
President Obama defended the $17 billion in cuts he’s making in his record-breaking $3.55 trillion budget, deflecting criticism and trying to make the case that his budget in an exercise in restraint. Politico.com
Climate Czar Talks Cap-and-Trade With CEOs
White House climate “czar,” Carol Browner, is set to meet with executives from companies seeking more business-friendly rules to the President's proposed cap-and-trade legislation. Bloomberg.com
Management and Financial Issues
By Charles M Cooper · May 08 2009
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
Government and Economy
Velazquez: Give Small Business a Break on Cap and Trade
Small businesses need rebates to ease the higher energy costs that may result from capping carbon dioxide emissions, the chairwoman of House Small Business Committee wrote today to the Democratic sponsors of the cap and trade legislation. Bloomberg.com
Small Business Credit Continues to Tighten—Just Not by as Much
According to the Fed’s quarterly survey of senior bank loan officers, banks are still—for the tenth quarter in a row—tightening credit standards for small businesses, but not to the d...
By Charles M Cooper · May 05 2009
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
“Those price increases are essential to the success of a cap-and-trade program.” Those were the words of Peter Orszag the new White House budget director. He spoke them at a congressional hearing last year, answering a question about how the costs imposed by such a program would eventually hit consumers.
Here is how a system like that works. The government creates a scarce new commodity, carbon credits, in this case, and then makes a law that businesses buy it. There is then a competition for these credits among corporations large and small and their cost rises as high as the market will allow. Now you will be hit by these costs. Your energy bill will increase, or you will have to pay the government for the carbon you produce. However, as with sales taxes, you won’t pay this money yourself. No, the costs would inevitably be passed on to your customers in the form of higher prices.
Now, if we were discussing a fixed amount, a given percentage, then we would...
By Charles M Cooper · March 09 2009
taxes, energy, obama, cap and trade
