Tom Fahey reported in this Sunday’s Union Leader, that Linda Hodgdon, the State’s Administrative Services commissar had floated a trial balloon on the status of the estimated 18 million the PUC could net from its upcoming regional carbon credits auction this year.  Lynch’s team is looking for money and RGGI might just be sitting there like a shiny penny on the side walk.  Hodgdon, being a good bureaucrat–one who can always find ways to spend money she doesn’t have yet–wants to pick it up and put it in her pocket.

 

If you are unfamiliar, RGGI is a cap and trade scam that charges energy companies for carbon credits that state law will now requires them to buy. The entire expense is ultimately passed on to the utility customers.  So the electric bill comes like a thug collecting the ‘protection money’ which the utility passes on to the big bosses in Concord.  The state gets millions of dollars by milking everyone who uses energy in the state, to be administered by the State for State purposes.  The Big lie, right after “it’s not a broad based tax,” is that it would be used for grants for energy efficiency projects–only the statute, according to Tom Getz the PUC chairman, is not definitive on the matter. 

 

Anyone wonder why the statute was originally written so that it was not definitive?  Hmmmmmmm?

 

My guess is that the Lynch Mob will be announcing that –in good conscience–they must divert the RGGI extortion money to help prevent the implementation of some kind of other fee or tax. (How about RGGI?) They will then promise to use it for energy efficiency grants next year, or maybe the year after,  or maybe, well, we’ll see.  And everyone in the bubble will agree that this is wise, including the media, all the while forgetting that RGGI already is a tax, and a broad one at that. 

 

But I’m predicting it will get even better. (That’s sarcasm)

 

Given the state of the budget, all the result of its planned mismanagement, don’t be surprised if the cost of carbon credits at the next auction are raised quietly from the roughly $3.00/ton from last years auction, to at least $5.00 or $6.00, maybe more.  Not because of Global warming–there isn’t any.  But we are sharing this arrangement with the entire North East liberal tax and spend machine, including parts of the People’s Republic of Canada, and Toke-a-chusetts.  You think the rates will ever go down?  Lite up another one.

 

Or, even better, maybe there will be lengthy discussions, where hard choices were made about how they felt there was a need to raise the carbon credit rates, but they couldn’t do it, all because of its potential impact on rate-payers in “this economy.”  Isn’t that sweet?   They’ll rob us of our cash, but they’ll let us keep the wedding rings.

 

They will of course still be taking the 18 million this year, or whatever it ends up being–they are not very good at estimating much of anything in concord these days–and will continue to rob you every month, and every year, in every utility bill, from now unto eternity.  And they will eventually raise the rates. Then raise them more.  This will take more money from you and give it to the state.  And the state will spend it.   There will be no new legislation to request this extra funding.   There will be no opportunity for you to testify about its impact on you, your business, or your life.  You will not be consulted on its use.  It will happen quietly, against your constitutional rights, and we will be forced to pay.

 

So don’t believe anything else they try to sell you.  You’ve already been scammed.  Your only hope is to petition for its repeal, and I’d suggest you start now, before the other State commissars start asking questions about how much they can pilfer from the States latest broad-based shadow tax.