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Barnett says Cap and Trade a "job killer" for Midwest
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| By Ned Valentine, Dispatch editor |
October 30, 2009 |
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A Republican candidate for the First Congressional District says the so-called "cap and trade" legislation moving through Congress would be an economic disaster for the Midwest--but hopes it will be changed or eliminated in the Senate.
"It's a job killer," State Senator Jim Barnett told a small group of ag producers gathered in the office of Fourth and Pomeroy Thursday afternoon to discuss agricultural issues. "It is one of the most wrong-headed bills ever conceived. It is dangerous and needs to die."
The Republican state senator and physician from Emporia is seeking the First Congressional District post being vacated by Jerry Moran.
The cap and trade bill, which proponents say will force a reduction in CO2 emissions by industry, including farmers, amounts to nothing more than a tax that would be paid by everyone, Barnett said. Opponents claim the bill will boost costs of energy enormously, including an estimated $1.30 increase per gallon of gasoline with similar increases in the cost of electricity, diesel fuel, and fertilizer.
The bill would put the Midwest, which is highly dependent on coal, to transfer large sums of money to the east and west coast to purchase the large excess of "carbon credits" they have to sell.
"India and China will be jumping for joy if we pass that bill, because we'll be sending our jobs over to them," Barnett said.
Barnett said the cap and trade system worked for acid rain because the technology existed to make it work. No such technology exists for carbon emissions, he said, "so all this does is create a tax."
The bill has passed the House but, "thank God we've got a backstop in the Senate," Barnett said.
"It will come down to some Democrats in the U.S. Senate who are in Republican states who are at risk of losing re-election because they're going to kill jobs back home if cap and trade passes."
Local banker Keith Blake told Barnett he was frightened of the legislation.
"This makes the health care problem look like a Boy Scout function," Blake said. "It's terribly frightening. I was naive. I had no idea anything like this was being proposed. I don't think 90 percent of the people around here understand what they're proposing.
"It's not just agriculture, it's everybody," Blake said. "We don't hear about that. We hear about the insurance. That's the headline right now. But this is going to have a far bigger impact in the mid-section of the country."
Barnett described the Congress as "so polarized, nothing is getting done." But he indicated he could influence legislation by working together to find common ground with adversaries and compromising--something he said he was successful doing in the Kansas legislature.
Barnett said while he supports the concept of "pay-go," the now abandoned rule in Congress requiring that all spending is either paid for with new taxes or cuts in other spending, he nevertheless would not support any increases in taxes.
"I support pay-go but I can't support raising any more taxes to solve our problems," Barnett said. "We don't have a revenue problem in this country, we have a spending problem."
To fight deficit spending, Barnett said the Congress should not expand entitlements including health care. And he listed other areas to look for savings.
He said the government should "look at" spending by the Department of Education. "I believe education should be a state and local control with accountability at that level," he said.
He also said the country should examine the value of membership in the United Nations.
"I look at the value of what they've been doing (the UN) and I think the value for our country is very limited," he said.
He said he opposes the public option in health care, would support reform of the earmarks process, as well as reform of Medicare and Social Security.
He said he also believes in "self-imposed term limits" but didn't indicate how long he would serve in the position.
Barnett is accompanied on a tour of the district by fellow State Sen. Mark Taddiken who is supporting Barnett for the position.
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©Clay Center Dispatch 2009
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