Some Dingell Berries For Your Breakfast

I’m not sure where Gaia is going to spend the money

WASHINGTON — Dealing with global warming will be painful, says one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress. To back up his claim he is proposing a recipe many people won’t like _ a 50-cent gasoline tax, a carbon tax and scaling back tax breaks for some home owners.
“I’m trying to have everybody understand that this is going to cost and that it’s going to have a measure of pain that you’re not going to like,” Rep. John Dingell, who is marking his 52nd year in Congress, said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press.
…”This is going to cause pain,” he said, adding that he wants to make certain “the pain is shared in a way that is fair, proper, acceptable and accomplishes the basic purpose” of reducing greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels.
…He will propose for discussion:
_A 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline and jet fuel, phased in over five years, on top of existing taxes.
_A tax on carbon, at $50 a ton, released from burning coal, petroleum or natural gas.
_Phaseout of the interest tax deduction on home mortgages for homes over 3,000 square feet. Owners would keep most of the deduction for homes at the lower end of the scale, but it would be eliminated entirely for homes of 4,200 feet or more.
He estimates that would affect 10 percent of homeowners. He says “it’s only fair” to tax those who buy large suburban houses and create urban sprawl. Historic and farm houses would be exempted.

It’s a great One/Two Punch the Democrats are offering: Clinton feels our pain, and Dingell causes it.

6 Responses to “Some Dingell Berries For Your Breakfast”

1. The_Real_JeffS says:

   September 27, 2007 at 9:41 am

   And, of course, all that extra tax money will go only to environmentally friendly programd, hmmmmmmmm?
   Of course it will. [sniggers loudly]

2. Kate P says:

   September 27, 2007 at 11:12 am

   Redistributing “pain”? Is that even ethical?

3. memomachine says:

   September 27, 2007 at 11:32 am

   Hmmmm.
   Yeah that $0.5 tax per gallon is going to go over really big with the voters.

4. Andrea Harris says:

   September 27, 2007 at 11:51 am

   52nd year in Congress? “I’ll be dead soon, so none of this will hurt me.”

5. tree hugging sister says:

   September 27, 2007 at 11:56 am

   “My Dingell-ing, my Dingell-ing,
   Won’t you pay with my Dingell-ing!
   My Dingell-ing, my Dingell-ing,
   Pain is gain with my Dingell-ing!”

6. Gunslinger says:

   September 27, 2007 at 5:22 pm

   Listening to Dingleberry’s moronic drivel is painful enough. Put a tax on “public stupidity” like his and we’ll balance the budget almost overnight.