Once Again, the Consumer Gets Screwed

WASHINGTON--As lawmakers in Congress continue to debate the Waxman-Markey energy tax, Institute for Energy Research (IER) President Thomas J. Pyle today issued the following statement:

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"We know that this legislation will increase electricity bills, increase the price of gasoline, and raise heating bills. We know this because the bill's proponents told us it will. "What we don't know is how they're going to justify gouging consumers. There is a lot of ink dedicated to consumer protection in this cap-and-tax plan, but it is still unclear how it actually protects consumers from policies that endeavor to raise the price of energy. As OMB Director Peter Orszag said, "price increases would occur regardless of whether the government sold emission allowances or gave them away." "Our government has decided to ignore heavy unemployment, increasing lay-offs and a recession so deep analysts have compared it to the Great Depression. They've decided that the American people must endure yet another tax on our way of life. Even worse, the architects of this policy who claim that funneling some of the money through allocations, allowances, or auctions will somehow get it back into consumers' pockets are simply not telling the truth. Make no mistake: consumers will not be protected and their energy bills will absolutely go up." NOTE: A recent poll found that nearly six out of 10 Americans would not support any policy that increased their electricity bill by a single penny. Eight of 10 respondents described a $50 utility bill increase as a "hardship." More from IER about energy tax policies:

Study: Cap and Trade Primer
Press Release: Finger-Wagging Lawmakers Should Look in the Mirror
Blog: Understanding Renewable Electricity Mandates