There is no shortage of threats to our economy. America's unemployment rate
recently hit its highest mark in more than 25 years and is expected to
continue climbing. Worries are widespread that even when the economy finally
rebounds, the recovery won't bring jobs. Our nation's debt is unsustainable,
and the federal government's reach into the private sector is unprecedented.
Unfortunately, many in the national media would rather focus on the
personality-driven political gossip of the day than on the gravity of these
challenges. So, at risk of disappointing the chattering class, let me make
clear what is foremost on my mind and where my focus will be:
I am deeply concerned about President Obama's cap-and-trade energy plan,
and I believe it is an enormous threat to our economy. It would undermine
our recovery over the short term and would inflict permanent damage.
American prosperity has always been driven by the steady supply of
abundant, affordable energy. Particularly in Alaska, we understand the
inherent link between energy and prosperity, energy and opportunity, and
energy and security. Consequently, many of us in this huge, energy-rich
state recognize that the president's cap-and-trade energy tax would
adversely affect every aspect of the U.S. economy.
There is no denying that as the world becomes more industrialized, we
need to reform our energy policy and become less dependent on foreign energy
sources. But the answer doesn't lie in making energy scarcer and more
expensive! Those who understand the issue know we can meet our energy needs
and environmental challenges without destroying America's economy.
Job losses are so certain under this new cap-and-tax plan that it
includes a provision accommodating newly unemployed workers from the
resulting dried-up energy sector, to the tune of $4.2 billion over eight
years. So much for creating jobs.
In addition to immediately increasing unemployment in the energy sector,
even more American jobs will be threatened by the rising cost of doing
business under the cap-and-tax plan. For example, the cost of farming will
certainly increase, driving down farm incomes while driving up grocery
prices. The costs of manufacturing, warehousing and transportation will also
increase.
The ironic beauty in this plan? Soon, even the most ardent liberal will
understand supply-side economics.
The Americans hit hardest will be those already struggling to make ends
meet. As the president eloquently puts it, their electricity bills will
"necessarily skyrocket." So much for not raising taxes on anyone making less
than $250,000 a year.
Even Warren Buffett, an ardent Obama supporter, admitted that under the
cap-and-tax scheme, "poor people are going to pay a lot more for
electricity."
We must move in a new direction. We are ripe for economic growth and
energy independence if we responsibly tap the resources that God created
right underfoot on American soil. Just as important, we have more desire and
ability to protect the environment than any foreign nation from which we
purchase energy today.
In Alaska, we are progressing on the largest private-sector energy
project in history. Our 3,000-mile natural gas pipeline will transport
hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of our clean natural gas to hungry
markets across America. We can safely drill for U.S. oil offshore and in a
tiny, 2,000-acre corner of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge if ever given
the go-ahead by Washington bureaucrats.
Of course, Alaska is not the sole source of American energy. Many states
have abundant coal, whose technology is continuously making it into a
cleaner energy source. Westerners literally sit on mountains of oil and gas,
and every state can consider the possibility of nuclear energy.
We have an important choice to make. Do we want to control our energy
supply and its environmental impact? Or, do we want to outsource it to
China, Russia and Saudi Arabia? Make no mistake: President Obama's plan
will result in the latter.
For so many reasons, we can't afford to kill responsible domestic
energy production or clobber every American consumer with higher prices.
Can America produce more of its own energy through strategic
investments that protect the environment, revive our economy and secure
our nation?
Yes, we can. Just not with Barack Obama's energy cap-and-tax plan.
The writer, a Republican, is governor of Alaska.