Cap-and-trade a 'threat' to U.S. economy: Palin

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who ran for Vice President with Republican candidate John McCain in the 2008 Presidential Elections, called the American Clean Energy and Security Act a threat to the U.S. economy in an op-ed piece published in the Washington Post paper on Tuesday.

Palin said she is deeply concerned about President Barack Obama's cap-and-trade energy plan included in the bill - which she refers to as a cap-and tax plan- because she says it will increase the cost of doing business and will cause job losses in the energy sector and in many other sectors such as farming, manufacturing , warehousing, and transportation.

I believe it is an enormous threat to our economy. It would undermine our recovery over the short term and would inflict permanent damage, the governor, who will step down from office later this month, wrote in the article. The Americans hit hardest will be those already struggling to make ends meet, she said, citing President Obama who himself said electricity bills for low-income people will necessarily skyrocket.

Palin also makes references to investor Warren Buffett who said that despite his support for President Obama, he has admitted that under the cap-and-trade system poor people are going to pay a lot more for electricity.

The climate bill passed the U.S. House in June. It proposes more power generation from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. It includes a cap-and-trade system that will establish national limits on emissions of greenhouse gases from power plants, refineries and factories for the first time. Its supporters state the bill will slash emissions of gases linked to global warming.

The U.S. Senate began debating the bill last week and is expected to finish writing its version of it in September.

The Solution

Palin acknowledges the U.S. needs to reform its energy policy and reduce dependence on foreign energy sources, but in Palin's view, the country can't afford to kill responsible domestic energy production, which covers oil, gas, coal and potential development of nuclear energy.

We must move in a new direction. We are ripe for economic growth and energy independence if we responsibly tap the resources that God created right underfoot on American soil, she said.

Can America produce more of its own energy through strategic investments that protect the environment, revive our economy and secure our nation? Palin ends. Yes, we can. Just not with Barack Obama's energy cap-and-tax plan.