Cap & Tax bill -- a real killer

• QuakerOats

  Further proof that ........... we have elected the enemy.
  
  Read the provisions of the Cap and Trade Bill that has passed the House of Representatives and being considered by the Senate. Time for another march on Washington ! This Congress and whoever on their staffs that write this junk are truly out to destroy the middle class of the USA ....
  
  A License required for your house...no longer just for cars and mobile homes...
  
  Thinking about selling your house - A look at H.R. 2454 (Cap and trade bill) This is unbelievable!
  
  Only the beginning from this administration! Home owners take note & tell your friends and relatives who are home owners!
  
  Beginning 1 year after enactment of the Cap and Trade Act, you won't be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to comply with the energy and water efficiency standards of this Act. H.R. 2454, the "Cap & Trade" bill passed by the House of Representatives, if also passed by the Senate, will be the largest tax increase any of us has ever experienced. The Congressional Budget Office (supposedly non-partisan) estimates that in just a few years the average cost to every family of four will be $6,800 per year. No one is excluded. However, once the lower classes feel the pinch in their wallets, you can be sure these voters get a tax refund (even if they pay no taxes at all) to offset this new cost. Thus, you Mr. and Mrs. Middle Class America will have to pay even more since additional tax dollars will be needed to bail out everyone else.
  
  But wait. This awful bill (that no one in Congress has actually read) has many more surprises in it. Probably the worst one is this: A year from now you won't be able to sell your house. Yes, you read that right. The caveat is (there always is a caveat) that if you have enough money to make required major upgrades to your home, then you can sell it. But, if not, then forget it. Even pre-fabricated homes ("mobile homes") are included. In effect, this bill prevents you from selling your home without the permission of the EPA administrator.. To get this permission, you will have to have the energy efficiency of your home measured. Then the government will tell you what your new energy efficiency requirement is and you will be forced to make modifications to your home under the retrofit provisions of this Act to comply with the new energy and water efficiency requirements. Then you will have to get your home measured again and get a license (called a "label" in the Act) that must be posted on your property to show what your efficiency rating is; sort of like the Energy Star efficiency rating label on your refrigerator or air conditioner. If you don't get a high enough rating, you can't sell. And, the EPA administrator is authorized to raise the standards every year, even above the automatic energy efficiency increases built into the Act. The EPA administrator, appointed by the President, will run the Cap & Trade program (AKA the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009") and is authorized to make any future changes to the regulations and standards he alone determines to be in the government's best interest. Requirements are set low initially so the bill will pass Congress; then the Administrator can set much tougher new standards every year.
  
  The Act itself contains annual required increases in energy efficiency for private and commercial residences and buildings. However, the EPA administrator can set higher standards at any time. Sect. 202 Building Retrofit Program mandates a national retrofit program to increase the energy efficiency of all existing homes across America . Beginning 1 year after enactment of the Act, you won't be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to comply with the energy and water efficiency standards of this Act. You had better sell soon, because the standards will be raised each year and will be really hard (i.e., ex$pen$ive) to meet in a few years. Oh, goody! The Act allows the government to give you a grant of several thousand dollars to comply with the retrofit program requirements IF you meet certain energy efficiency levels. But, wait, the State can set additional requirements on who qualifies to receive the grants. You should expect requirements such as "can't have an income of more than $50K per year", "home selling price can't be more than $125K", or anything else to target the upper middle class (and that's YOU) and prevent them from qualifying for the grants. Most of us won't get a dime and will have to pay the entire cost of the retrofit out of our own pockets. More transfer of wealth, more "change you can believe in." Sect. 204 Building Energy Performance Labeling Program establishes a labeling program that for each individual residence will identify the achieved energy efficiency performance for "at least 90 percent of the residential market within 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act."
  
  This means that within 5 years 90% of all residential homes in the U.S. must be measured and labeled. The EPA administrator will get $50M each year to enforce the labeling program. The Secretary of the Department of Energy will get an additional $20M each year to help enforce the labeling program. Some of this money will, of course, be spent on coming up with tougher standards each year.
  
  Oh, the label will be like a license for your car. You will be required to post the label in a conspicuous location in your home and will not be allowed to sell your home without having this label. And, just like your car license, you will probably be required to get a new label every so often - maybe every year. But, the government estimates the cost of measuring the energy efficiency of your home should only cost about $200 each time. Remember what they said about the auto smog inspections when they first started: that in California it would only cost $15. That was when the program started. Now the cost is about $50 for the inspection and certificate; a 333% increase. Expect the same from the home labeling program. Sect. 304 Greater Energy Efficiency in Building Codes establishes new energy efficiency guidelines for the National Building Code and mandates at 304(d) that 1 year after enactment of this Act, all state and local jurisdictions must adopt the National Building Code energy efficiency provisions or must obtain a certification from the federal government that their state and/or local codes have been brought into full compliance with the National Building Code energy efficiency standards.
  
  http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=A+License+required+for+your+home-+Cap+and+Trade&btnG=Google+Search <http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=A+License+required+for+your+home-+Cap+and+Trade&btnG=Google+Search>
• BCSbunk

  The US elected the "enemy" a long long time ago. No one owns their home in the USA you merely rent it from the US government. Stop paying your taxes and you will see in a real hurry who controls and owns the property in this country.
• jmog

  No, they wouldn't possibly raise taxes on the middle class, this administration PROMISED that taxes would ONLY go up on the super rich (>$250k/yr).
  
  There is no way a single extra dime will come out of the pockets of the middle class.
• majorspark

  

  BCSbunk wrote: The US elected the "enemy" a long long time ago. No one owns their home in the USA you merely rent it from the US government. Stop paying your taxes and you will see in a real hurry who controls and owns the property in this country.

  Although I understand and agree with the point you are making concerning a tax on property, I was not aware the federal government collects any property taxes from individual homeowners.
• IggyPride00

  

  Why people get wound up about this when it has zero chance of ever becoming law is beyond me.
  
  Nancy Pelosi could pass single payer health care tomorrow and instead of focusing on the fact it would never become law we would get a plethora of posts about how it is coming tomorrow.
  
  Cap n tax passed the house, but that is meaningless, much like alot of the bills Queen Nancy passes.
• QuakerOats

  IggyPride00 wrote: Why people get wound up about this when it has zero chance of ever becoming law is beyond me.
  
  Nancy Pelosi could pass single payer health care tomorrow and instead of focusing on the fact it would never become law we would get a plethora of posts about how it is coming tomorrow.
  
  Cap n tax passed the house, but that is meaningless, much like alot of the bills Queen Nancy passes.

  We get 'wound up' about it because it is so incredible to think that we have elected people to office who actually think in these radical terms to such an extent that they have actually reduced to writing a bill that encapsulates their leftist agenda --- anti-capitalism, anti-free enterprise, anti-American --- and truly believe that is should become law. That is stunning, and obviously worth being "wound up" about, unless you are in their radical, left-wing, socialist/Marxist camp.
• BCSbunk

  majorspark wrote:

  BCSbunk wrote: The US elected the "enemy" a long long time ago. No one owns their home in the USA you merely rent it from the US government. Stop paying your taxes and you will see in a real hurry who controls and owns the property in this country.

  Although I understand and agree with the point you are making concerning a tax on property, I was not aware the federal government collects any property taxes from individual homeowners.

  Does it make you feel better that the check goes to something that says local government? When the local and state government is under the power of the federal government it really is semantics IMO.
• BCSbunk

  QuakerOats wrote:

  IggyPride00 wrote: Why people get wound up about this when it has zero chance of ever becoming law is beyond me.
  
  Nancy Pelosi could pass single payer health care tomorrow and instead of focusing on the fact it would never become law we would get a plethora of posts about how it is coming tomorrow.
  
  Cap n tax passed the house, but that is meaningless, much like alot of the bills Queen Nancy passes.

  We get 'wound up' about it because it is so incredible to think that we have elected people to office who actually think in these radical terms to such an extent that they have actually reduced to writing a bill that encapsulates their leftist agenda --- anti-capitalism, anti-free enterprise, anti-American --- and truly believe that is should become law. That is stunning, and obviously worth being "wound up" about, unless you are in their radical, left-wing, socialist/Marxist camp.

  We are not going towards socialism which is ownership by the people. The people all get a fair share. That is not what he are heading towards at all.
  We are interventionist and corporist along with a strong dose of nationalism. That is not socialism or marxism.
• majorspark

  

  BCSbunk wrote:

  majorspark wrote:

  BCSbunk wrote: The US elected the "enemy" a long long time ago. No one owns their home in the USA you merely rent it from the US government. Stop paying your taxes and you will see in a real hurry who controls and owns the property in this country.

  Although I understand and agree with the point you are making concerning a tax on property, I was not aware the federal government collects any property taxes from individual homeowners.

  Does it make you feel better that the check goes to something that says local government? When the local and state government is under the power of the federal government it really is semantics IMO.

  I despise property taxes. Yes I am thankful that the federal government is not directly involved. We have a much better chance of making change at the state or local level.
• BCSbunk

  majorspark wrote:

  BCSbunk wrote:

  majorspark wrote:

  BCSbunk wrote: The US elected the "enemy" a long long time ago. No one owns their home in the USA you merely rent it from the US government. Stop paying your taxes and you will see in a real hurry who controls and owns the property in this country.

  Although I understand and agree with the point you are making concerning a tax on property, I was not aware the federal government collects any property taxes from individual homeowners.

  Does it make you feel better that the check goes to something that says local government? When the local and state government is under the power of the federal government it really is semantics IMO.

  I despise property taxes. Yes I am thankful that the federal government is not directly involved. We have a much better chance of making change at the state or local level.

  Well you are more optimistic than I. I despise property tax myself. When it comes to most politics I admit to being a bit cynical.
• believer

  

  majorspark wrote:I despise property taxes. Yes I am thankful that the federal government is not directly involved. We have a much better chance of making change at the state or local level.

  Shhhhhhhhhhh....You're talking about less-centralized federal government and stronger states rights. If you're not careful, you could start a civil war with that kind of talk.
• bman618

  America is a soft fascist state today. And that doesn't mean concentration camps or the other horrors of Nazism or imperial fascism - Japan and Italy.
• Gobuckeyes1

  "Paranoia strikes deep
  In to your life it will creep
  It starts when you're always afraid..."
  
  It's never as bad as you think it is and it's never as good as you think it is. I don't understand how people can throw extremes around constantly and expect to maintain any credibility.
• ladynaive07

  Why should we be surprised that this hideous Cap & Trade bill will increase its tax? This bill is not intended to be understood or effective, it is intentionally damaging, feel-good legislation with the added benefit of raping the taxpayer. It means, if you meet the standards for energy efficiency, you will get a tax credit.
  
  
  
  ________________________
  Tax Attorney
• CenterBHSFan

  

  I agree, Ladyn. It's all about making business owners bow down to the government one minute and fist over money to the government the next minute.
  
  We have now allowed the government to RULE us instead of the other way around!
  The government is now our Tyrannical Monarch. What this country was started for to get away from.
  Long live King Government!