AIKEN JOURNAL
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Viva La France
Interesting Story from the AFP (Agence France Presse)on Cap and Trade. Hope our congress and the courts are watching!Go here to read more.
PARIS—French President Nicolas Sarkozy faced an embarrassing setback Wednesday after the high court struck down a planned carbon tax to fight global warming, just days before it was to kick in.
The constitutional court ruled that too many exemptions to the tax on carbon dioxide emissions created inequalities and unfairly placed the burden of cutting down wasteful energy use on a minority of consumers.
Sarkozy had fiercely defended the measure in the face of strong public opposition, calling it a “revolutionary” approach in the fight against climate change and making it a pillar of his 2010 budget.
The court ruling was seen as a severe blow for the French president, coming less than two weeks after world leaders failed to reach a binding deal on climate change at the Copenhagen summit.
The right-wing government was forced to quickly go back to the drawing board and Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced that a new bill on the carbon tax would be submitted to cabinet next month.
“France has shown that it is a leader in the fight against climate change and it will remain at the forefront by presenting new legislation on Jan. 20,” said government spokesman Luc Chatel.
In its ruling Tuesday, the Constitutional Council said the “large number of exemptions from the carbon tax runs counter to the goal of fighting climate change and violates the equality enjoyed by all in terms of public charges.”
The Council said more than 1,000 of France’s top polluters would have been able to dodge the tax and that the legislation did not apply to 93 percent of emissions from industrial sources.
The new levy on oil, gas, and coal consumption set at 17 euros ($25) per ton of carbon dioxide emissions was aimed at encouraging French consumers to adopt good green behaviour and stop wasting energy.
The legislation did not apply to electricity, which in France is produced mostly from nuclear reactors that are not a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.
France would have been the biggest economy to have applied a direct carbon tax when it was to come into effect on Jan. 1, mirroring measures that exist in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
Socialist opposition leader Martine Aubry called the court decision a “major setback” for Sarkozy and said the government must now “draw the necessary consequences from this fiasco” before presenting a new bill.
The Socialists, who had asked the court to rule on the legality of the carbon tax, had argued that the flat levy on fuel unjustly penalized low-income families, especially those in rural areas who have no choice but to use cars.
The Greens, who had argued from the outset that the measure did not go far enough, applauded the court decision, saying it had confirmed that the entire scheme was a “fraud.”
Consumer groups had complained that the new tax would have hit rural households harder along with cash-strapped families who are unable to afford the energy-saving home renovations that could make a difference.
In practice, the tax would have raised household heating bills by up to 174 euros a year and pushed up the cost of petrol at the pump by about 4 euro cents per liter.
Polls showed two-thirds of French citizens opposed the carbon tax.
The government had anticipated revenues of 4.1 billion euros from the tax next year, but the funds were earmarked for redistribution in the form of tax breaks and “green checks” to families that cut down consumption.
“France poorly prepared the carbon tax,” acknowledged Jean Arthius, a centrist lawmaker and president of the Senate finance committee.
“Before the Copenhagen summit, we tried to be pioneers ... but this is an issue that must be dealt on a supra-national level. We should have held talks with neighboring countries,” he said.
Labels:
economic,
global warming,
POLITICAL PRES OBAMA,
politics
Ten New Reasons Why Obamacare Can Still be Killed
Phyllis Schlafly has shed light on some important provisions that are in the Obamacare package. To read her column which appears on Townhall.com go here. We must spread this information far and wide. Please send the link to your friends.
UPDATE- Human Events has an interesting article on the constitutionality of Obama's actions. To read go here
UPDATE- Human Events has an interesting article on the constitutionality of Obama's actions. To read go here
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Vote out All in Congress
Victor Fricke has an excellent letter in the Aiken Standard today. I have posted the first two paragraphs below:
Vote out all in Congress
12/29/2009 4:00 PM
By Victor Fricke
The Democrats in Washington are exulting in their historic moment when they gave us all coal in our stockings as a Christmas present. It was historic, all right, like Pearl Harbor day, Hurricane Katrina, and the day Bernie Madoff came up with his Ponzi scheme were historic. In that they were telling the truth; in all the rest they were lying to us and perhaps to themselves.
The liars claimed the health care bill would save us money - only true if you live in Nebraska. The prevaricators said it would improve care; tell me how this can be true when millions more will show up for treatment in a system that already has a shortage of doctors and nurses.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
We the People with Ray Stevens
I like it!!
Labels:
COMEDY,
healthcare,
POLITICAL PRES OBAMA,
politics
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Healthcare Message from John McCain
Early this morning at 1am, the Senate voted 60 to 40 in favor of moving the Democrats' health care bill forward. The final vote to pass the bill is scheduled for Christmas Eve, and I pledge to you that I will not only continue to cast my vote against this bill, but will actively fight it every step along the way. Democrats have used Bernie Madoff-style accounting to assess the cost of health care reform. And when this bill becomes law, the reality of higher taxes and Medicare cuts for seniors will settle in on the American public. President Obama made a promise when he campaigned for president to sit down and negotiate health care reform with Republicans and Democrats. He also promised C-SPAN cameras would be in the room. But, that was all campaign rhetoric. This disastrous health care bill was negotiated behind closed doors and Republicans were never brought into the negotiations. The result is a health care bill supported by 60 Democratic Senators, but opposed by 60% of the American public. My friend, we must resolve today to do everything in our power to continue fighting against the government takeover of our health care system. My fellow Republican Senators and I have done everything in our power to stop this legislation, but the reality is that Democrats have 60 seats in the Senate and we have 40 seats. I'm turning to you, as a voter and constituent, to exercise your power today. Every vote in the Senate is critical to stopping legislation like this health care bill and that is why Country First PAC is dedicated to supporting and electing candidates to office who share our values. Your support for Country First is crucial to our efforts on these candidates' behalf, so I ask you follow this link to make a contribution to Country First today. I will always honor every promise I make to you. And today, I promise that I will continue my fight against this health care reform bill until the very end. I thank you for your support along the way and look forward to continuing our work towards real government reform. Sincerely, John McCain Chairman, Country First PAC P.S. We have just begun to fight, my friend. I will continue to stand up for the American people who do not support the Democrats' health care reform bill. And I need your help to support candidates who join me in opposition to these policies. Please follow this link today to make a generous donation that will help Country First PAC financially support candidates across the country who will work towards real government reform. Thank you. |
Paid for by Country First PAC Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee www.CountryFirstPAC.com |
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thanks to Xerox for this Great Idea
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Businesses pay too much in taxes
The following fair and balanced letter from clear thinking Jet Beckum appears in the Aiken Standard today.The answer to his question" when will these politicians wake up" is clear. Not until you the voters send them a very clear message. Term limits would be good but probably not achievable. So the only thing to do is find better candidates and throw out most of the incumbents.Support the Tea Party Express. It is making a difference!
There are a few more thoughtful letters in the Aiken Standard today. One is about the current problems at SRS by Bob Garvin and the other is from Pete Seaha in answer to a Liam McGinley letter. Both are worth reading. Go here to read all the letters and comments.
There are a few more thoughtful letters in the Aiken Standard today. One is about the current problems at SRS by Bob Garvin and the other is from Pete Seaha in answer to a Liam McGinley letter. Both are worth reading. Go here to read all the letters and comments.
In Thursday morning's Aiken Standard our local politicians seemed surprised by more budget cuts. Roland Smith, I quote, "There's not a thing we can do about it."Bill Clyburn: "I'm disappointed because I thought the budget would be on an upswing."
Shane Massey: "Five percent (cut) is more than needed."
When will these politicians wake up and get in the real world? This country has been in a serious recession since the fall of 2006 when we turned over the federal government to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. I'm not excusing many of the other party who surely contributed to this downfall, but the facts are since 2006 businesses have been promised nothing but more taxes, more interference and harassment. This has not only happened at the federal level but also at the state and local levels.
Ask any building contractor, any Realtor, or any small-business owner if they think the government has aided them in the past three years and I don't mean a handout. Let's take one at a time - our Aiken County School Board, Chairman Christine Harkins was quoted as saying, it's a good time to spend $150 million for our schools."
Guess who pays the highest rate of school taxes? Not parents, but your local businesses. The City Council and mayor instead of reducing taxes on businesses, continue to spend more tax money on questionable projects and more government controlled groups such as the Aiken Corporation. Our County Council instead of making this county attractive to all businesses (existing ones) are secretly giving away tax money to The X- Project. While the same thing goes on at the state level - read Sen. Ryberg's column in Thursday's Aiken Standard.
Why anybody would be surprised to learn that businesses can not supply government's insatiable appetite for more taxpayers' money is beyond my comprehension.
If our business community does not prosper, then we had better accept the fact that we will not build more schools, and cuts in government programs are just beginning.
Jet Beckum
Aiken
Labels:
Better times,
economic,
elections,
POLITICAL PRES OBAMA
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