Column: Survey says N.C. Voters strongly oppose federal energy tax

Virtually every elected official from Raleigh to Washington, D.C., has expressed deep concern about the loss of jobs and the need to jumpstart our economy. After all, the U.S. unemployment  rate is about 10 percent (the highest in a quarter century). Here in North Carolina, it’s reached 11.2 percent.

As a result, Congress will be talking about ways to create jobs and fix the economy, and members of North Carolina’s Congressional delegation will have to decide which steps to take to meet the specific needs of workers and families here at home.

In doing so, they should oppose the energy-rationing cap-and-trade bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year (and will may soon come up in the Senate) and move on to more viable efforts that will help — not hurt — North Carolina small businesses, employers, workers and families.

Supporters of cap and trade claim that such a federally mandated program—which is built upon massive energy taxes and cumbersome rationing mechanisms—will effortlessly create jobs and reduce carbon emissions with little, if any, economic impact.

But from businesses to workers and their families, an overwhelming majority of North Carolina voters clearly disagrees. In fact, in late January, our organization, the National Federation of Independent Business, released a survey showing that North Carolina voters are greatly concerned about the impact that a cap-and-trade system would have on jobs, energy prices and economic growth.

Key findings of the North Carolina survey include:

-55 percent of voters oppose a federal cap-and-trade system while 37 percent are in favor of such a system. (8 percent don’t know/no answer)

-40 percent of voters believe a federal cap-and-trade system would lead to more job losses while 22 percent believe it would have no effect and 28 percent believe it would create jobs. (11 percent don’t know/no answer)

-58 percent of voters believe a federal cap-and-trade system would increase energy costs while 15 percent say it would have no effect and only 17 percent believe it would lower costs. (10 percent don’t know/no answer)

-46 percent of voters believe a federal cap-and-trade system will limit economic growth while 21 percent say it will have no effect and 24 percent believe it will increase growth. (10 percent don’t know/no answer)

This survey follows two national polls released in December gauging opinions of small businesses and voters across the United States.

Small business owners, our nation’s engine of job creation, expressed similar skepticism about employment claims, with 69 percent believing that a cap-and-trade system won’t create a single job (14 percent did not know and 17 percent believed jobs would be created). Furthermore, nearly 60 percent believe that energy prices will rise if cap and trade is passed into law.

Given that small businesses create between 60 and 80 percent of all new jobs, their perspective surely should have some weight. Accordingly, does anyone really believe that massive new energy taxes – taxes that will lead to fewer jobs and higher energy prices — should be at the top of Congress’ priority list?

In addition to NFIB, many other organizations whose members are responsible for creating jobs have come out against cap and trade. For example, the National Association of Manufacturers estimates that cap and trade legislation will destroy 2.4 million jobs and reduce gross domestic product by as much as $3.1 trillion. The American Farm Bureau, meanwhile, recently voted unanimously to oppose cap-and-trade legislation.

Their opposition is well founded since the evidence shows that cap and trade won’t work in any case.

In European countries operating under cap-and-trade systems, unemployment rates have gone up while the supposed reductions in carbon emissions have not materialized. That’s even with the decreased economic output that’s resulted from the ongoing global recession.

Major developing economies in China and India—whose energy use is increasing exponentially — have said no to similar cap-and-trade-like systems that would restrain their economies. And without these nations on board, even sweeping actions here in the U.S. would have literally no beneficial effect on the planet.

It’s what we in the small business community call a “high cost, low impact” scenario — the type of scenario we usually try to avoid.

Given cap and trade’s potential for destroying jobs and hurting the economy, it’s pretty clear that Congress needs to seriously rethink its legislative priorities. The people have spoken: Cap and trade is the last thing North Carolina needs right now.

Gregg Thompson is North Carolina state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. He can be reached at gregg.thompson@nfib.org. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Free Press.