TT Note: Seems to me like the only color objection the majority of Americans have to Obama is his overuse of "green." By the way, that would be wanting my "green" to belong to the federal government and not to me.
/PRNewswire/ -- This statement was issued today by Deneen Borelli of the national black leadership network Project 21:
"There they go again. Now Jimmy Carter has joined House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel, Texas Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, New York Governor David Paterson, MSNBC's Chris Matthews, the New York Times' Maureen Dowd and others on the left in claiming racism is behind criticism of President Obama's big-spending policies.
The public is outraged about the president's policies -- the spending, the budget, the deficit -- not his skin color.
President Obama was not elected only with black votes. Are those who cry 'racism' saying the American people suddenly woke up and said, 'oh, he's black so I don't like him anymore?' That makes no sense. The criticism of Obama's policies is about the policies -- the stimulus, the growth of government, cap-and-trade, the health care bills, the overspending.
It's easier for the left to play the race card than address the public's legitimate concerns, but what the left and the media are doing is damaging and dangerous.
It's damaging because when everything is racist, then nothing is. Those who cry racism without evidence will cause people to tune out in cases in which there is evidence.
It's dangerous also to send a message that racism is behind everything. What does that tell young black men and women? It tells them they will never get a fair shake and that white people who have never met them dislike them. With a message like that, its no surprise we're seeing apparently racial incidents like the widely-circulated video of a young white student being beaten up on a school bus by black students while other black students cheer. What message have those black students internalized from liberal leaders like Rangel, Johnson, Paterson, Matthews and Dowd and now former President Carter? That white people are their enemy.
If this continues -- if not already -- the left will literally have blood on its hands, and all because it was too dishonest and too cowardly to have a fair debate with the American people on policy."
Project 21, established in 1992, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research (http://www.nationalcenter.org/).
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Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Congress' ACES Bill Will Trump Housing Affordability
/PRNewswire/ -- Housing affordability is a key reason why eight of every 10 jobs created in the U.S. last year were in Texas.
"Given this statistic, it's shocking that Congress' American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) very well threatens to undermine this advantage for a housing sector that constitutes more than 12 percent of the state's economy," says Phil Crone, director of government affairs and green building programs for the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas (HBA).
"Narrowly passed by the House last week, ACES is intended to place most of the American economy on a carbon-cap-and-trade system," says Crone. "The legislation also enables the U.S. to sign a follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Treaty when the United Nations Climate Change Conference meets in December in Copenhagen, Denmark."
Buried within the 1200-plus pages of ACES are provisions imposing federal mandates requiring each state to make its energy code for new buildings 30 percent more efficient than current levels, perhaps as soon as next year. By 2014, each new building must be 50 percent more efficient than current code.
"On its face these requirements probably sound good to many people, but some prospective is needed," says Crone. "While buildings often are estimated to account for as much as 40 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, new homes built in the last 10 years only account for 2.5 percent. Half of that electricity is lost in the grid and never makes it to the home."
He adds, "Clearly, our older inefficient housing stock is where wise environmental policy should focus. The only way to encourage upgrades on these homes is through market incentives such as tax credits."
Crone says Congress appears to favor a policy adding thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home with projected decades needed to offset the utility savings. "Even a modest estimate of a $4,000 cost increase would make a new home unobtainable for more than 100,000 Texas households, according to the Texas A&M Real Estate Center," he says.
Most builders believe ACES trumps years of environmental progression in the home building industry, Crone says. "The most recent EPA numbers show that Texas builders produce more Energy Star-certified homes than the next six leading states combined. In 2007 alone, these homes saved Texans more than $18 million on utility bills with emissions savings equal to taking 20,000 vehicles off the road."
"Certainly, green has been popular with consumers for several years, but when the rubber meets the road in the policy arena, we must be sensible, especially in a very weak economy," said HBA President and local home builder Tim Jackson. "Federal mandates crippling a vital part of the Texas economy with environmental gains measured in fractions of a percent are not the answer."
If ACES becomes law, HBA officials estimate a family of four will see a $24,000 increase in their direct energy costs between the years 2012 and 2035. "For someone my age, that number represents two years of college tuition I hoped I would have been able to save for my children," said Crone.
"As Congress deals out ACES, more than 500,000 Texans employed in the housing industry will brace themselves for the regulatory hand that will potentially push them into an uncertain abyss and trump any hopes for Texas's continued prosperity."
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"Given this statistic, it's shocking that Congress' American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) very well threatens to undermine this advantage for a housing sector that constitutes more than 12 percent of the state's economy," says Phil Crone, director of government affairs and green building programs for the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas (HBA).
"Narrowly passed by the House last week, ACES is intended to place most of the American economy on a carbon-cap-and-trade system," says Crone. "The legislation also enables the U.S. to sign a follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Treaty when the United Nations Climate Change Conference meets in December in Copenhagen, Denmark."
Buried within the 1200-plus pages of ACES are provisions imposing federal mandates requiring each state to make its energy code for new buildings 30 percent more efficient than current levels, perhaps as soon as next year. By 2014, each new building must be 50 percent more efficient than current code.
"On its face these requirements probably sound good to many people, but some prospective is needed," says Crone. "While buildings often are estimated to account for as much as 40 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, new homes built in the last 10 years only account for 2.5 percent. Half of that electricity is lost in the grid and never makes it to the home."
He adds, "Clearly, our older inefficient housing stock is where wise environmental policy should focus. The only way to encourage upgrades on these homes is through market incentives such as tax credits."
Crone says Congress appears to favor a policy adding thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home with projected decades needed to offset the utility savings. "Even a modest estimate of a $4,000 cost increase would make a new home unobtainable for more than 100,000 Texas households, according to the Texas A&M Real Estate Center," he says.
Most builders believe ACES trumps years of environmental progression in the home building industry, Crone says. "The most recent EPA numbers show that Texas builders produce more Energy Star-certified homes than the next six leading states combined. In 2007 alone, these homes saved Texans more than $18 million on utility bills with emissions savings equal to taking 20,000 vehicles off the road."
"Certainly, green has been popular with consumers for several years, but when the rubber meets the road in the policy arena, we must be sensible, especially in a very weak economy," said HBA President and local home builder Tim Jackson. "Federal mandates crippling a vital part of the Texas economy with environmental gains measured in fractions of a percent are not the answer."
If ACES becomes law, HBA officials estimate a family of four will see a $24,000 increase in their direct energy costs between the years 2012 and 2035. "For someone my age, that number represents two years of college tuition I hoped I would have been able to save for my children," said Crone.
"As Congress deals out ACES, more than 500,000 Texans employed in the housing industry will brace themselves for the regulatory hand that will potentially push them into an uncertain abyss and trump any hopes for Texas's continued prosperity."
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