Now here's a great letter to the editor.

'Cap and trade' will force companies to leave U.S.

June 26, the U.S. House of Representatives (with the help of our Rep. Zack Space) passed what may be the single most destructive bill in the history of our country. It is labeled "cap and trade" and also is known by the name of the co-sponsors Waxman-Markey or as the American Clean Energy and Security Act. I will refer to it as ACES.

In the midst of a very deep recession, many believe ACES will bring the single largest tax increase in the history of the United States. Many also believe it is totally unnecessary.

Our president recently deliberately lied when he said ACES will "cost the average American about the price of a postage stamp per day." Watch and hear the video of him being honest before last year's election and saying, "Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket" at www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNSZ62xiD4M.

ACES also, once again, makes a liar of Obama, who said there would be absolutely no tax increase on any American who makes less than $250,000 per year (later $200,000). He, of course, also promised a "middle-class tax cut." ACES will be a tax increase on every single American. And, it is not just energy, it's everything it takes energy to produce.

This is a regressive tax that hurts the middle class and poor more than the wealthy! A provision in the ACES bill recognizes this and provides direct cash deposits into accounts of people who are within 150 percent of the federal poverty level to help offset the increasing cost of everything. Great, the middle class not only has much higher costs to pay, but the government will be taking even more of our money to support the poor!

Under another provision, when Americans want to sell their homes, energy Nazis will come in and do an "energy audit." Now your home will be subjected to a new energy rating assessment and energy labeling program that will penalize you for older windows, not enough insulation, not having super-efficient furnaces and air conditioning and owning dated appliances. So ACES would bring down the value of most homes!

OK, that's older homes, but what about new homes? All new homes in the United States will have to conform to California's extensive and very expensive building codes. Great, let's have a bankrupt state show us the way! Now we all can be bankrupt!

How did these and other horrible provisions get in ACES? Well, for one, no person who voted on the bill ever has read it. The original bill had some 1,300 pages and was not available to be read. Thursday night, before the Friday vote, 354 more pages of amendments were slipped in. Even co-sponsor Rep. Waxman admitted he had not read the bill, but said there were "good people writing it."

Why cap and trade? The two main reasons are to limit carbon dioxide emissions and to drastically raise our conventional energy prices enough to make currently non-competitive energy sources such as wind, sun and geothermal more attractive. This is completely unnecessary.

The theory of man-made global warming is a huge scam. More and more competent scientists are saying that. You don't believe me? Just Google "scientists against global warming" and start reading some of the hits you get.

ACES will force even more companies to move out of the United States and go overseas where the business climate is friendlier. You can be certain many countries will not raise their cost of doing business and sign on to this insanity.

We already are getting fed up with many of our politicians. If ACES passes, the American people eventually will wake up to the huge cost and remember who voted for and who voted against this legislation in the House. Rep. Space, I and many others will be actively campaigning against you. Please wake up and learn about this sort of thing. If you value the future of the country, contact your senators and demand they completely stop ACES before it is too late.

Jerry Phillips, CFP

Network Financial Services Inc.

Chillicothe