Waxman-Markey: A Budget Buster For Your Family And The Nation
Conn Carroll /
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the federal deficit grew by another $181 billion in July, bringing the tab to a record $1.3 trillion total. One might think that for all of its other evils, the Waxman-Markey energy tax legislation would at least manage to help cut the deficit. Not so according to the latest Center for Data Analysis study of Waxman-Markey’s impacts:
Because the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade tax reduces income, it reduces the revenues collected from other taxes, such as personal and corporate income taxes. And because the revenue collected from Waxman-Markey is spent, the net effect is to increase the national debt. By 2035, Waxman-Markey will have added 9.1 trillion nominal dollars to the national debt, which amounts to an increased tax liability of $12,803 for every American, or a $51,216 liability for a family of four in today’s (2009) dollars.
Other findings from the report:
- A family of four can expect its per-year energy costs to rise by $1,241;
- Including taxes, a family of four will pay an additional $4,609 per year;
- Aggregate GDP losses will be $9.4 trillion;
- Aggregate cap-and-trade energy taxes will be $5.7 trillion; and
- Job losses will be nearly 2.5 million;