OFA Picks Climate Over the Middle Class

OFA Picks Climate Over the Middle Class

on Tue, 13 Aug 2013

President Obama touts "the middle class" in virtually every speech. Every policy he proposes is spun as something that will help middle class Americans. It seems his advocacy arm, OFA, didn't get the memo. On Tuesday, OFA activists are spreading out across the country to warn about climate change and advocate for reductions in energy emissions. OFA's proposals would cripple the economy and further impoverish the middle class. 

Climate change activists are convinced that the planet is rapidly warming due to carbon emissions generated by the modern economy. Hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion. New data, however, suggests there has been almost no warming in the Earth's atmosphere since 1998. In the US, emissions are down more than 7% since 2007. 

Some of this decline is due, no doubt, to the economic slowdown. But, a large part of it is due clearly to greater efficiency in energy use. On a per capita basis, carbon emissions are downalmost 20% since 1990, the totemic year used by environmentalists. On the basis of per$ of GDP, emissions are down almost 40%. In other words, it takes almost 40% less energy to produce $1 than it did in 1990. 

All this happened without the draconian policies and higher taxes and regulations promoted by OFA. Its how the market works. Businesses, trying to maximize profit, and individuals, trying to stretch their dollar, find ways to do things cheaper. 

OFA, however, would like to radically increase the cost of energy to a level that would slow or possibly contract the economy. Obama on the campaign trail even said that his policies would "necessarily" cause a dramatic spike in electricity rates. (Hello electric car owners.) This increase is a feature, not a bug, of OFA policies. 

But with global warming stalled and emissions already falling, what is the rush for action on climate change? I'm sure the average voter could think of about 25 issues more pressing than global warming, the first 5 being the economy. 

It seems even OFA activists don't see the urgent need. ZERO people showed up at an OFA rally in Washington, DC on Tuesday. #Fail