BY KATIE GAISER
Lions’ Pride Layout Editor

After reading up on the latest Obama news concerning his proposed cap and trade program, it is becoming clear to me that there is no easy solution to any problem.

This cap and trade program is supposed to be beneficial to the United States. Under the program, the government will set an annual cap on carbon dioxide emissions and divide this amount into a certain amount of credits that will be auctioned off to companies. These companies will be required to buy enough credits at this auction to cover their carbon dioxide emissions for the year, and if need be, acquire more by trading with other companies.

One of the supposed benefits of this program is it will decrease the amount of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. If companies can’t pay for their credits, they won’t be able to produce anything. The program also forces states that rely heavily on carbon dioxide emissions to find alternative sources of energy in order to save money. Furthermore, the money spent on these carbon credits will become a direct source of revenue for the government.

However, there is a downside.

The companies that primarily use carbon dioxide emissions are the same ones that put electricity in our homes and gas in our tanks. If these companies are spending more money to produce these necessities, consumers will be forced to pay more too. According to The New York Times, average utility rates will rise by 7 percent for Americans and gas rates will increase 6 percent by 2012.

The problem will eventually spiral out of control. If companies can’t pay for their credits, they will produce less, lose customers, and go out of business. On the other hand, if companies charge outrageous amounts of money for electricity and gas, then people may be unable to pay for these things. This will not only cause problems for thousands of households and small businesses, but also put these energy producing companies out of business from lack of revenue.

So far, I only see the government benefiting.

I’m all for saving the environment, and I do believe that green house emissions and global warming are issues that need to be addressed at some point. However, I’m more concerned about being able to power my future home and drive to and from work thank you very much.

And, I’d say the biggest “benefit” of this program is the revenue it will generate for the government. Yet again, the government will benefit by taking more of our money. I guess it’s not all Obama’s fault. It’s not as though a republican in office would invest in any kind of program that didn’t increase their billfold somehow.

Obama is trying his best. I realize it is not an easy job to solve this nation’s extreme economic and environmental issues. However, it seems as though this cap and trade solution will only end up making things worse for the country. For God’s sake, why are we instilling any kind of program that is going to continue to raise prices on things we can hardly afford now?

All anyone is concerned about these days is how they are going to pay their bills. This cap and trade program will certainly not help the situation. Think how many jobs will be lost if companies can’t afford to stay in business. That’s just great; because what we really need right now is more unemployed people in America.

I guess all we can do is sit and wait to see how things pan out. My advice: start saving your pennies folks and the next time you come across a fountain, flick a penny in and make a wish for our slowly decaying future.