Small biz owners and employees will feel the heat from emissions regulations, NFIB/Alabama State Director says.
President Obama’s new climate initiative includes many different guidelines and regulations to cut into factory emissions. But in the process he’s also putting small businesses in a position where they will have to cut jobs to survive and placing the cost of climate change on to the backs of everyday families.
The Clean Power Plan would shrink the U.S. economy by $150 billion and cost the typical family up to $1,700 over the course of a decade, according to a Heritage Foundation analysis of the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) data.
“Of course, it isn’t just families that would feel the pinch,” writes Rosemary Elebash, Alabama NFIB director and author of the report. “Small businesses, the engine that drives our economy, would have to spend more on energy, and that, in turn, would push up prices on absolutely everything.”
The policies will put so much pressure on small business owners that the EIA expects they will lead to nearly half a million job losses by the late 2020s, according to the report published on AL.com.
“Put simply, the rules amount to a massive tax on the price of electricity,” Elebash said.
The EPA guidelines allow for states to come up with their own guidelines, but the administration is applying pressure to go along with federal rules. As the only alternative to rising costs, many states will have no choice but to sue the federal government for the overreach, Elebash predicts.
Although Alabama only gets roughly 31 percent of its power from coal-fired power plants, the rules will drive up costs for natural gas and petroleum as well.
NFIB is working to take down these new regulations. Members of Congress should be doing the same. The House already passed legislation that allows states to opt out if they find the new rates too severe.
