Dems Want to Fight Global Warming With Higher Taxes

This proposal will be dead on arrival if it gets as far as the White House:

WASHINGTON -- Dealing with global warming will be painful, says one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress. To back up his claim he is proposing a recipe many people won't like _ a 50-cent gasoline tax, a carbon tax and scaling back tax breaks for some home owners.

"I'm trying to have everybody understand that this is going to cost and that it's going to have a measure of pain that you're not going to like," Rep. John Dingell, who is marking his 52nd year in Congress, said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press.

Dingell will offer a "discussion draft" outlining his tax proposals on Thursday, the same day that President Bush holds a two-day conference to discuss voluntary efforts to combat climate change.

But Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that will craft climate legislation, is making it clear that he believes tackling global warming will require a lot more if it is to be taken seriously.

"This is going to cause pain," he said, adding that he wants to make certain "the pain is shared in a way that is fair, proper, acceptable and accomplishes the basic purpose" of reducing greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels.

We've already demonstrated that raising gas prices by $.50 a gallon won't curb consumption one bit. Not long ago gas where I live was more than $.50 a gallon higher and it didn't slow anybody down at all.

All it will do is take more money out of the pockets of taxpayers and put it in the pockets of legislators in Washington, which is in fact the unstated goal of the bill. It will do nothing to cut gasoline usage or reduce greenhouse gases. It's a completely useless proposal.