Genuine Energy Reform, Not Power Grabs And Special Interests

As the cap and trade boondoggle makes its way through Congress, it would be prudent to take a moment to consider the full ramifications of energy legislation that seeks to punish first and (only maybe) reward later.

The Club for Growth promoted a revealing exchange between Rep. Dana Rohrbacher (R) and Rep. Jim Moran (D) on the emissions-cap bill. Rep. Rohrbacher did well in articulating a conservative, free-market, results-oriented approach to energy reform and sustainability.

The most startling, and frustrating, moment in the interview is when host Chris Matthews breaks in and admits that he "wasn't interested" in having a real debate on the issues, but just want to "challenge" Rep. Rohrbacher's skepticism over a strategy for sustainability and the emissions-cap bill.

The untold story about the climate change/environmental sustainability/energy reform debate is that few in power in Washington are interested about reform on the citizen-action level, on change led by the average American.

"Cap and trade" emissions legislation is about politicians amassing power and control to themselves -- punishing producers while failing to promote real conversion to sustainable practices -- to replenish the empty coffers for broken entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, while at the same time consolidating power so that they can go on rewarding their political allies and punishing their enemies.

In short, cap and trade will punish 100 percent of American workers by increasing the cost of living enormously, disproportionately hurting those least able to afford increased costs -- the average worker, the disadvantaged and the poor.

And as if that weren't enough to reject this faux solution to our energy dilemma and quest for environmental sustainability, cap and trade and the mentality that says "tax first, create programs later" will do almost nothing of substance to incentivize the type of broad scale transformation of the American energy industry that we need to ensure a clean, green, environmentally friendly solution to foreign oil.

The American energy sector and agricultural industry are not going to be able to go green and become sustainable just because a bureaucrat in Washington mails a check (funded by the taxes of those least able to afford it) for new equipment they may or may not even really need.

No, genuine energy reform must meet the following, common sense criteria if we want to ensure equal opportunity and avoid punishing our fellow citizens with even more onerous, burdensome taxes:

• Incentivize geothermal energy technology and solar panels for homeowners with direct subsidy checks to make their homes renewable and better control their family's budgets.
• Allow domestic oil drilling in discrete off-shore locations as a transitional strategy to wean the nation off of foreign oil that replenishes the coffers of hostile regimes.
• Develop a comprehensive plan to increase nuclear power plants over the next decade to power the nation's electricity needs. If France can do it, proving its safety, so can we.
• Reduce energy taxes across the board as Americans convert to solar technology, hybrid vehicles or geothermal solutions as a way to reward sustainable practices for the long-term rather than focusing on punishing all Americans with cap-and-trade taxes for only short-term, political gain.