Politicians' Dirty Trick

Here's something that makes me mad. How is it that politicians, in the very process of defending big business, can talk up the ways big business is going to screw over the little guy?

Take, as an example, my congressman's approach to opposing Cap and Trade. At an event on Wednesday, he was trying to convince his constituents that it was a Bad Thing. His reasoning? That the companies would pass the costs on to consumers.

As I see it, the only, if imperfect, path to more sustainable energy requires paying the true costs of the energy we're using now, that is, paying for the pollution and destruction we're causing by burning fossil fuels or damming up rivers. And since the energy companies are making the money, it makes sense for them to pay the costs.

Which is how we end up with things like Cap and Trade. It seems to me, if Congress really wanted to move us toward responsible energy AND protect consumers, they could pass regulations that would restrain the energy industry from passing most of those costs on to consumers. They could include rules about rate hikes and things in the law itself.

That is, if they really cared about consumers and not just their energy industry buddies. Gosh, I wonder why they haven't?