NO 'LIGHT SWITCH TAX.' Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) adopted a Republican talking point in a Washington Post column (4/1) when he argued that President Obama's budget includes a new "light switch tax" on electricity bills. The new catch phrase started popping up after the House Republican Conference said in a press release that the administration supports "a light switch tax that would cost every American household $3,128 a year." Brian Beutler explained at TalkingPointsMemo.com (4/1), "There is, of course, no such tax in the president's proposal or the budget resolution, and nor could there be. Obama's proposal contemplates revenue from a cap-and-trade bill, and there *is* a deficit neutral reserve fund for future climate change legislation in the resolution, but even that section was amended last night to provide that any increased energy costs would be offset by cap-and-trade revenue."
PolitiFact.com, a project of the St. Petersburg, Fla., *Times*, also scrutinized the Republican claim and described it as a "pants-on-fire" kind of lie. John Reilly, an energy, environmental and agricultural economist at MIT and one of the authors of the report cited by congressional Republicans, said "It's wrong in so many ways it's hard to begin," but there was an estimated net cost to individuals of the cap-and-trade program, called the "welfare" cost, of $30.89 per person in 2015, or $79 per family with 2.56 people. The cost would grow over time, but the average annual cost over time in today's dollars—that is, the "average annual net present value cost"—is still just $85 per person, Reilly said. That would be $215.05 per household. A far cry from $3,128. And that isn't the only inaccuracy in the claim..." The Republican claim isn't just an error or a mistake, and it's not a subjective question open to interpretation. The GOP talking point is an obvious and transparent lie. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WebTV Dawgs/Dittos" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/WebTV-Pals -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
