Cap-and-trade passage is about raising taxes, divvying up the spoils

By Steven Greenhut
07/18/2017
Sacramento What were Gov. Jerry Brown, legislative Democrats and eight Republicans thinking Monday, as they voted to extend the state’s cap-and-trade system for another decade, something that will impose higher gas taxes on Californians who already face a recent gas-tax hike? Are officials ignoring public rumblings, or was Brown’s doomsday rhetoric about global warming really...

TAGS: cap and trade, Jerry Brown

Environmentalism Provides Moral Cover for New Taxes to Fund Pensions

By Edward Ring
01/17/2017
There are two intertwined themes that define unionized government in California. First, funding government retiree pensions will soak up every new source of tax revenue they will ever collect. Second, cloaking new taxes and fees – and new agencies – in the virtuous raiment of environmentalism will deflect criticism and demonize critics. Here’s why: Now...

TAGS: artificial scarcity, cap and trade, environmentalism

Government Created Energy Blackouts Coming to a City Near You

By Katy Grimes
06/13/2016
Most countries around the world think that it’s a good thing to have cheap energy. But in California, we have plenty of cheap energy available, just not the political will to access it. California depends on natural gas-driven turbines and hydroelectric generators to provide just 38 percent of its oil needs. The state imports 12 percent...

TAGS: California, California budget, California Legislature, cap and trade, debt, Democrats, economy, electricity, energy, Government, Jerry Brown, Katy Grimes, regulations, Sacramento

Let Them Drive Teslas

By Jon Coupal
09/08/2014
Once again, Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg has thumbed his nose at the working class and other Californians of modest means by blocking legislation that would have slightly delayed implementation of carbon emission fees charged to oil companies. The fees are part of the state’s “cap-and-trade” program, California’s one-of-a-kind effort to reduce wordwide carbon emissions. These...

TAGS: cap and trade, Darrell Steinberg

California High Speed Rail's Dubious Claims of Environmental Benefits

By Kevin Dayton
04/23/2014
Editor’s Note: There are dozens of major infrastructure investments that would yield positive economic returns to Californians. Spending over $100 billion on high-speed rail is definitely not one of them. But as Kevin Dayton explains in this article, even the environmental benefits of high speed rail are questionable, if not a complete fabrication. This isn’t...

TAGS: California high speed rail, California High-Speed Rail Authority, cap and trade

Cap and Trade Revenue to Fund High Speed Rail?

By Jon Coupal
04/16/2014
Liberals and good government advocates frequently decry citizens’ mistrust in government, especially in California. Over the last decade and a half, numerous surveys have confirmed that voters distrust government on several levels including waste, corruption and lack of responsiveness to legitimate public needs. The recent criminal exploits – both actual and alleged – of three...

TAGS: AB 32, California high speed rail, cap and trade