Cap and Trade
NFIB has partnered with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) to launch a multi-state media campaign opposing the Waxman-Markey bill. If passed, the bill will have devastating consequences for small businesses. Watch our ads that urge senators to vote NO on legislation that will raise energy costs and lead to job loss.
Get the inside details about what the power hungry environmentalists and government bureaucrats don't want you to know about cap-and-trade.
How does a cap-and-trade system work?
Cap-and-trade is a government-created market for greenhouse gas emissions credits. In some cases, there is a cost associated with each credit. First, the federal government sets a total limit on the amount of GHGs that entities are allowed to emit (the ‘cap’). The cap on emissions falls over time, meaning fewer and fewer emissions are permitted in the following years.
Eventually, some entities will reduce their emissions and will be left with extra credits. At the same time, there will be entities that will continue to emit the same amount and others may even increase emissions. These entities will eventually have to buy credits, either from those who have reduced their emissions and have left over credits or from the government through an auction (the ‘trade’).
How would this cap-and-trade affect small business?
The projected costs of the government’s cap and trade program are overwhelming. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation, the proposal costs about $821 billion, while imposing $846 billion in new energy taxes over the next 10 years.
Independent analysis conducted by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimates that job loss could be close to 1 million jobs per year. The average family is expected to see an increase of about $1,100 in their energy-related bills (gas for the car, electricity for the house, etc.), meaning the average cost increase for a small business will be even greater.
Learn more about current cap-and-trade legislation being debated in Congress.
Write your lawmakers to tell them that small business opposes a Cap and Trade national energy tax.
Learn about the pro-active steps NFIB members are taking to lower their utility costs to make their businesses more energy efficient.