THE FOUNDATION
"There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." —James Madison, speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 1788TOP RIGHT HOOKS
EPA Causing This Summer's Rising Electricity Rates
Due to EPA regulations, you'll start to notice that your electricity bill is more expensive this summer. The Energy Information Administration predicted that Americans will spend 4.8% more on electricity this year than the last. Is global warming causing air conditioners to run more? Nah, it's just EPA regulations that are causing power plants to close because they are not deemed green enough. "Consumers are receiving the dim news as utilities take tens of thousands of megawatts of coal-generated power offline to comply with a host of EPA regulations and because of the sharp increase in cheap, domestic natural gas," The Washington Times reports. "Regulations such as the EPA's mercury and air toxic standards already are having an effect on the power sector, utilities and analysts say, and the impact will be greater after the agency releases further limits on carbon emissions from power plants this summer." The EPA argues the effects will be minuscule — people will hardly notice the bill. It's all part of a fight against the boogey man of "global warming," and old electricity plants must shutter to make way for politically correct plants — an expensive undertaking. But when has the EPA ever acted in the best interests of U.S. citizens?Comment | Share
Donald Trump Brings Levity to Presidential Race
Donald Trump would be a mere sideshow curiosity in the 2016 elections if it were not for his name recognition and entertainment factor. According to Real Clear Politics, Trump is polling higher than Rick Perry, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum, Lindsey Graham and Bobby Jindal. But even if he's fired in the end — and we hope he is — he will provide some much-needed humor. After Tuesday's announcement, Politico pulled Trump's 10 best lines. Notably, however, Politico missed the best one: "When did we beat Japan at anything?" Well, there was that whole WWII thing in the Pacific... But to put things in perspective, as absurd as the Trump vanity campaign is, he is far more qualified than Barack Obama was in 2009 — or today! For example, Obama put Joe Biden on his ticket. When Trump was asked who he wanted as a running mate, he replied, “I think Oprah would be great. I’d love to have Oprah." Frankly, presidential elections could use a little levity. It's been a long time since the last billionaire vanity campaign kept us amused, compliments of Ross Perot!Comment | Share
White Male Targets Blacks in Charleston
A young white male in his early 20s murdered nine blacks who were attending a Wednesday night prayer service in Charleston's Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. It's still a developing story, as the murderer has not yet been apprehended and the names of the victims have not yet been disclosed, but according to Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen, "We believe this is a hate crime; that is how we are investigating it." But already some anti-Second Amendment crusaders are exploiting the tragedy to advance their pet policy proposals. Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley was the first to do so, wasting no time advocating for greater gun control as a diversionary ploy. “I personally believe there are far too many guns out there, and access to guns, it’s far too easy," he said. "Our society has not been able to deal with that yet." Make no mistake: This story is newsworthy. But it's also worth noting that, on average, there are between 30 and 40 homicides every day in America, most of which are black-on-black. If "black lives matter" to the Leftmedia, why aren't these other victims covered in the news?Comment | Share
Don't Miss Alexander's Column
Read Fathers and Freedom: Irrevocably Linked, a treatise on fathering, children without fathers, and the Left's agenda to undermine marriage.If you'd like to receive Alexander's Column by email, update your subscription here.
Did You Know?
The Patriot Post's Digest — now offered five days a week — represents a collaborative effort of contributors, editors and technical staff who bring their passion and expertise from all walks of life. We work hard to ensure an accurate and penetrating analysis of the week's news, policy and opinion. Indeed, this is what you, our readers, have come to expect over the last 18 years. Many Patriots volunteer their time and effort to our mission, while others receive only a modest salary. Nonetheless, publishing costs are substantial. If you find today's Digest interesting, inspiring or informative, we humbly ask that you consider making a secure online donation to The Patriot Post’s 2015 Independence Day Campaign today.Thank you!
Nate Jackson
Managing Editor
Support Our 2015 Independence Day Campaign |
||||
|
||||
|
FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
EPA Thinks Regulation Leads to Economic Growth
|
At least, that's what EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy argues in a piece published this week on Medium, in which she claims the administration's Clean Power Plan (CPP) — a pleasant sounding name for sweeping additional government regulations of carbon emissions — is important to America's economic strength. Notwithstanding the fact this administration doesn't have the best track record on policies leading to economic robustness, McCarthy points to a study by the liberal Economic Policy Institute that found "the CPP is likely to lead to a net increase of roughly 360,000 jobs in 2020, but that the net job creation falls relatively rapidly thereafter, with net employment gains of roughly 15,000 jobs in 2030."
Those jobs are the new regulators who will be hired to enforce the new regulations, nothing more.
In other words, forget hoping a free market will drive economic growth; what's really needed is new regulations on carbon emissions! As McCarthy writes, "When we set ground rules to limit carbon pollution, we send a long-term market signal that propels innovation and investment in cleaner energy technologies, expanding new industries and creating good-paying jobs." She's right that the administration is sending a market signal, but it's not the one she claims.
Indeed, according to labor union leader Cecil Roberts, president of United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), "The proposed rule … will lead to long-term and irreversible job losses for thousands of coal miners, electrical workers, utility workers, boilermakers, railroad workers and others without achieving any significant reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions." The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers echoed this concern, cautioning against "focus[ing] solely on the environmental aspect of public policy at the expense of balancing our nation's economic and energy needs" and noting, "The jobs of thousands of working men and women and the well-being of their communities are also worthy of saving."
Furthermore, per a study commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, CPP's regulations "threaten to suppress average annual U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $51 billion and lead to an average of 224,000 fewer U.S. jobs every year through 2030, relative to baseline economic forecasts." And according to The Heritage Foundation, the economic impact would be even worse, with EPA regulations eliminating an average of $155 billion annually in GDP through 2030.
Of course, before the EPA rams regulations down the nation's throat, the administration wants to hear from Americans — sort of. When the public comment period opened regarding the then-proposed regulations on coal power plants last year, McCarthy wrote, "We expect great feedback at these sessions. And unfortunately, we also expect a healthy dose of the same tired, false and worn out criticism that commonsense EPA action is bad for the economy." Ah, yes, agree with us or else you're wrong.
But as Brooking Institution Fellow Phil Wallach wrote in Newsweek, by the time the comment period closed in December 2014 more than four million comments had been submitted. By comparison, Clean Air Act regulations usually garner a few dozen to a hundred. Instead of ceding that millions of Americans may have serious concerns with CPP, however, Wallach proposed that the "barriers to 'participating'" in commenting might be a "bit higher, thereby saving our public servants a great deal of unnecessary work." Yes, nothing like wasting the government's time addressing the people's tired, false and worn out petitions.
Public concern notwithstanding, the administration is plowing ahead with CPP, effectively claiming that by picking winners (solar and wind energy) and losers (fossil fuels, including petroleum, coal and natural gas) Washington regulators can create a strong economy. Because, you know, this approach has worked oh so well before.
Comment | Share
|
TODAY AT PATRIOTPOST.US
- ANALYSIS: Gauging America's Decapitation War Against Terrorism
- Govt. Shows Favoritism to Illegal Hiring
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
- Victor Davis Hanson: The New World Map
- Ed Feulner: Saluting a 'Great Charter' of Liberty
- Tony Perkins: Ration Roulette: House Debates Death Panel
- George Will: McDonald's, the 'Progressive Burger Company'
- Larry Elder: Father's Day: Being Raised Without a Father Is Not a Death Sentence
- Veronique de Rugy: Expecting the Export-Import Bank to Expire
OPINION IN BRIEF
Victor Davis Hanson: "In 1945, after some 60 million had perished in World War II, the Western democracies blamed themselves for having appeased and empowered fascist empires. That sadder but wiser generation taught us two lessons: Small sacrifices now can avoid catastrophic ones later on, and dictatorial regimes on a roll never voluntarily quit playing geostrategic poker. If the present trajectories continue, a reconfigured Middle East will be bookended by radical Islamic empires — the Islamic State caliphate and a new Persian empire. China will control most of the Pacific and adjudicate trade, commerce and politics west of Hawaii and to the south and east of India. The client states of a new Russian empire will border central Europe and be under constant pressure to leave the EU, NATO or both. How does all this end? One of two ways. America and its allies can reawaken, gradually restore deterrence and re-establish the old postwar order without a global war. Or the United States will not be bothered — at least until this new generation of dictators bothers us at home."Comment | Share
SHORT CUTS
Insight: "Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others." —American journalist William Allen White (1868-1944)Upright: "The Supreme Court of the United States is not the final authority nor is the culture itself." —Ronnie Floyd, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, on the church's resolution on same sex marriage: "Resolved, that Southern Baptists recognize that no governing institution has the authority to negate or usurp God's definition of marriage; and be it further resolved no matter how the Supreme Court rules, the Southern Baptist Convention reaffirms its unwavering commitment to its doctrinal and public beliefs concerning marriage."
Alpha Jackass: "As hard as it is to believe, [Republicans] continue to deny the reality of climate change. They also deny gravity. But they also deny there is such a thing as climate change. That's the problem. The point is the safety and security of the United States of America and every community across the country." —Joe Biden
Non Compos Mentis: "I finally had a chance to read Caitlyn Jenner's piece in the magazine. ... I cried. Because I resonated with some of the themes of isolation, of being misunderstood — to not know if you have a conversation with somebody, will that relationship then end because they have seen you as one way." —Rachel Doleful
Annals of the absurd: "[W]e're not fixated on Iran specifically accounting for what [it] did at one point in time or another. ... What we're concerned about is going forward. It's critical to us to know that going forward, those activities have been stopped and that we can account for that in a legitimate way." —John Kerry
Village Idiots: "I hope that at the end of my two terms as president, I will have overseen an even bigger peacetime expansion of the economy than my husband did." —Hillary Clinton
And last... "We're coming up with new things to be offended by at a much quicker rate than we're retiring old things. This is not sustainable." —Frank Fleming
Comment | Share
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis!
Managing Editor Nate Jackson
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm's way in defense of Liberty, and for their families.
No comments:
Post a Comment