Cap and trade impact on Texas

Michael Williams:

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Entities as varied as the National Black Chamber of Commerce, The Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation agree cap and trade will reduce national GDP, eliminate jobs and lighten family wallets.

And Texas Comptroller Susan Combs estimates the typical Texas family (3.4 members) could expect to spend up to an additional $1,136 on medicine, food, clothes and other household goods and services over the next year if cap and trade passes. The price of everything from cell phones, diapers, aspirin and lipstick will rise because of increased production costs. As a regressive tax, this will disproportionately affect single moms, the poor and minorities.

As the second most populous state in the union and because of our high energy-intensity, as the energy capital of the country, the comptroller also concludes, “ the current plan to implement mandatory emissions caps will weigh far more on Texas than other regions of the country”.

Take for instance agriculture. Texas is the number three agricultural exporting state in the nation providing jobs to 1.7 million. In 2007 cash receipts from the Texas agriculture industry totaled $19.9 billion creating an impact of $100 billion for the state’s economy.

As proposed, cap and trade could impact more than 3,800 Texas farms, 28,000 beef cattle operations, and 640 dairies. For Texas cotton gins alone, the estimated cost of permitting is pegged at more than $8.5 million for 248 relatively small facilities. CO2 regulations will also increase outlays for all Texas farms, producers and processors for things like equipment installations, irrigation, fertilizer and electricity. The regulations will also have a negative impact on the rural communities in which many of these businesses operate.

And then there is the added cost to producing and selling energy, one of Texas's main products. This is a terrible price to pay to reduce the temperature less than a degree 50 years from now.

Williams is Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission and a candidate for the US Senate.