The Left hand and the Very Left hand

Democrats are bailing out the United Auto Workers, or rather the auto industry. They decry the loss of jobs if something isn't done, and they've got the added enjoyment of admonishing the evil, greedy, corrupt and stupid CEOs who are solely responsible for driving the American automotive industry into the ground. With reasonable success, they've managed to avoid allowing any blame to accrue to the unions, the dealership networks and to the CAFE standards. What a wonderful win-win situation for them. The unions have been saved and the Democrat votes have been secured for another decade, assuming the government well doesn't dry up on the bailout money should another crisis hit or this one go on further than anticipated.


But the Left hand doesn't seem to be aware of what the Very Left hand is doing at the same time.

Oops. According to the Detroit News, Obama's push for Cap and Trade to combat global warming (don't call it 'climate change'), will sink Michigan.

President Barack Obama's proposed cap-and-trade system on greenhouse gas emissions is a giant economic dagger aimed at the nation's heartland -- particularly Michigan. It is a multi billion-dollar tax hike on everything that Michigan does, including making things, driving cars and burning coal.

The president is asking for a system of government limits on carbon emissions. The
right to emit carbon would be auctioned off to generate revenue for more government spending programs.

The president's budget projects receipts totaling $646 billion through 2019 from the sale of these greenhouse gas permits.

Whoop there it is - government revenues. It's not about a greener earth at all. But it looks good to the far left. It's very progressive you know.

The goal, according to the president's budget outline, is to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions such as carbon dioxide to 14 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

Supposedly. In any case,

Michigan will lose as carbon tax money is shifted to states with a greater presence of high-tech and service businesses.

The proposed tax would take effect in 2012 and has the very real potential to throw the nation back into recession, if indeed the expected recovery has arrived by then.

It's impossible to raise costs for such basics as manufacturing and energy production by more than half a trillion dollars over a decade and not have the effects felt across
the economy.

The article doesn't even go into what effect it might have on the Big 3 automakers, but expect it to be burdensome on them too. And there's the latest example of the administration working at cross purposes with itself. The cap and trade system will burden the Big 3 as consumers of electricity and cost jobs. It will therefore reduce the market for automobiles and reduce carbon emissions, though not how it was intended to do so. On the other hand, the regular left hand, less auto worker jobs mean smaller unions, and less secured Democrat votes.

To every blue cloud, there's a red lining.