Obama gets it right on EU airline tax
For those of you who say I never write anything complimentary about President Obama: He done good this time. From The Hill:
President Obama has signed into law a bill that requires U.S. airlines be excluded from European carbon emissions fees.
Environmentalists had framed the bill as the first test of the president’s commitment to fighting climate change in his second term and urged him to veto it. Obama quietly signed it Tuesday over their objections.
The European Union has been trying since I was living in Brussels to tax any airline, regardless of where it’s based, for the entirety of any flight that enters EU airspace, regardless of how little time the flight actually spends in EU airspace. So, a flight from Los Angeles to London would be taxed for the entire length of the trip, even though only a fraction of it was spent in EU skies.
I don’t think it diminishes what Obama did here to add: He really had no choice. Allowing another government to tax our businesses in this way would open the door to all kinds of mischief — such as taxing a U.S. manufacturer for all its carbon emissions anywhere, not just at its European operations. The U.S. simply can’t cede sovereignty to another government in that way. We fought a war over a similar concept, as you might recall.
As a side note, this issue brings to mind one of my favorite interviews I’ve ever done, with Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary back in 2007. Ryanair is Europe’s leading low-cost air carrier, and O’Leary is one of the most colorful personalities in business, anywhere. The entire interview was fun, but this is the section that’s relevant here:
Airlines have become an enormous target for global-warming doomsayers. Last month, campaigners staged a nine-day protest outside London’s Heathrow airport, hoping to discourage summer vacationers from flying. Mr. O’Leary points out that air transport accounts for only 2% of carbon dioxide emissions world-wide — “It’s less than marine transport, and yet I don’t see anyone [saying], you know, ‘Let’s tax the [bleep] out of the ferries.’”
(”Bleep” was one of the most-used words in my write-up of the interview, as there really was no other way to quote O’Leary at length in a family publication.)
As for Obama: Well done. But if he follows through with that idea of pushing for a global tax on all flights, I’ll be right back to criticizing him …
– By Kyle Wingfield
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199 comments Add your comment
jconservative
November 28th, 2012
3:18 pm
Re carbon dioxide
Following is the readings of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 1958. I only list it every decade to save space. The numbers are not as important as the trend. Unfortunately there is no science yet on “how much is to much”. Without carbon dioxide in the air the earth would be to cold for human life. With to much the earth will be to hot for human life. There is just to little data to form a scientific theory on “how much is to much”.
The figures are taken daily at Mauna Loa Observatory by NOAA. These are the numbers for June 30 of each year.
1958 – 315.86 parts per million
1960 – 319.59
1970 – 327.66
1980 – 341.26
1990 – 356.11
2000 – 371.51
2010 – 389.78
2012 – 395.82
Linda
November 28th, 2012
3:20 pm
The tax hikes from 33% to 36% & from 35% to 39.6% also include a Medicare tax hike from 2.9% to 3.8%, a new 3.8% tax on investment income & limits on itemized deductions, which means the highest rate will go from 35% to 44.7%! They will affect 900,000 business owners & 15% of small businesses.
Ernst & Young predicts that the unemployment rate will increase by .5% with 710,000 fewer jobs, output will fall by 1.3% or $200 B, capital stock will fall by 1.4%, investment will fall by 1.8%, reflecting a decline in workers’ living standards.
http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/ernst-young-report-tax-cuts-upper-income-boehner-obama-63323-1.html
Rep. Camp claims that this proves Obama does not understand the economy. (Rep. Camp proves that the Republicans in congress do not understand Obama.)
JDW
November 28th, 2012
3:20 pm
@Tiberius…”You cannot just dismiss out of hand the voters who enabled this clown, Sunny. THEY’RE the problem.”
And that ladies and gentlemen is, in a nutshell, what is wrong with Tiberius and the Republican Party. If you don’t agree with them YOU ARE THE PROBLEM..
Sieg Heil!
CC
November 28th, 2012
3:24 pm
jconservative@3:18 pm:
Interesting . . .
I just wonder if we should compare the increase in world population for the corresponding years?
CC
November 28th, 2012
3:26 pm
JDW:
What’s the matter? You didn’t get enough hot air blown off on Bookie-man’s blog today?
JDW
November 28th, 2012
3:28 pm
@CC…”I just wonder if we should compare the increase in world population for the corresponding years?”
You reckon? Of course in your alternate reality it makes no difference that all of those new people drive cars, use air conditioners, consume products and cut down trees…you know all the stuff that creates excess carbon dioxide.
Since we can’t run around, eliminating people maybe we should try to cut those emissions first and see if that helps.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 28th, 2012
3:29 pm
JDW, just because they’re less educated than the voters who came out and gave the GOP their majorities in the House and State Houses in 2010, doesn’t mean I have to agree with their idiotic choices.
Ever since this re-election, you and the other libs on this blog have repeatedly told us to just shut up and go along with what ever Obama wants – just because he won.
There is no “bend over and take it” clause in the U.S. Constitution, and until you and your buddies learn that little impediment to your desired dictatorship goal, you’re going to get opposition.
Deal with it, Bubba.
CC
November 28th, 2012
3:29 pm
“(Rep. Camp proves that the Republicans in congress do not understand Obama.)”
They either do not understand him, or do not want to believe they understand him!
Romney 2016
November 28th, 2012
3:32 pm
“Ever since this re-election, you and the other libs on this blog have repeatedly told us to just shut up and go along with what ever Obama wants – just because he won.”
And you can show that with a post from a liberal?
Linda
November 28th, 2012
3:32 pm
Sunny@3:09, Let me tell you where you are since you don’t seem to know. You are on a conservative blog, & you are not telling us any news we don’t already know. You seem to be new here (unless you’ve changed you name) & are unaware that we know all about the phone stuff, when it started & who’s paying for it.
The “facts” remains that it was not Bush, the FCC nor Verizon who were handing out cell phones in Ohio. Perhaps you missed the clips of voters proclaiming that the phones came from Obama’s stash. “Facts” have nothing to do with perception.
Romney 2016
November 28th, 2012
3:33 pm
Romney lost
Republicans lost seats in both the Senate and the House
“Deal with it, Bubba.” You don’t seem to be doing so well with it, but give it a try.
Sunny
November 28th, 2012
3:35 pm
Linda
Go look up who started the program, how it is paid for and how the telecoms lobbied the government to pass on a cost they originally agreed to pay for after they gladly took benefits in a deal with the government.
All else is nothing more than your tears.
Sunny
November 28th, 2012
3:37 pm
Linda
As for the blog, you do not run it, but thanks for letting me know that Kyle is a right leaning Op Ed writer.
JDW
November 28th, 2012
3:38 pm
@Tiberius…”just because they’re less educated than the voters who came out and gave the GOP their majorities in the House and State Houses in 2010″
Guess you missed the newsflash…the more education one has the more likely they were to vote for Obama…Romney’s big demographic…white males with no college degree…hummmmm who do we know in that demographic?
http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/president/exit-polls
BW
November 28th, 2012
3:38 pm
Kyle
Been a busy day….how about Erick Erickson who is deep prayer about it? How about Tom Price or any of the sitting Republican US congressman? There’s the hot topic of Karen Handel. The cupboard isn’t completely bare on the topic.
How about the fact that all GOP congressmen must swear fealty to a tax pledge and when they step out of line with it then will supposedly be primaried? Is it really feasible to close the deficit on spending cuts only and if so how long is acceptable to close it?
I laid alot out there but I’m interested in the thought process going through the minds of Republican voters in the state regarding their US senators. I will note the Saxby hasn’t taken any action with regard to increasing rates or revenues yet but the howls are palatable in the blogs here. What’s more important to the voter the tone of rhetoric or an actual conservative approach to solve a problem? Avik Roy’s blog on the conservative approach to healthcare raised a few good points.
CC
November 28th, 2012
3:40 pm
JDW@3:28 pm:
You forfeited the right to EVER use the term “alternate reality” when you said, “NOTHING about Obamacare places healthcare under government or group ownership or control.”
Have a nice day . . .
Linda
November 28th, 2012
3:40 pm
jconservative@3:18, What about 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000, etc. years ago? What about the levels in a submarine?
Do the higher CO2 levels precede or follow a warming trend?
Answers depend on whether the scientist does or does not work for the govt. or does or does not receive govt. funds. Global warming is political science.
CC
November 28th, 2012
3:45 pm
Sunny:
Did you choose your name as a reflection of your disposition?
Sunny
November 28th, 2012
3:47 pm
CC
I chose it for you. Does your name really mean “Crying Conservative”?
You seem to do that a lot on these blogs.
Just saying
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 28th, 2012
3:49 pm
JDW, I guess you missed the news flash.
The electorate that came out in 2012 was less educated than that which came out in 2010.
2010 – GOP gains in House and state houses.
2012 – Obama re-elected.
Even YOU can figure this one out.
Linda
November 28th, 2012
3:52 pm
JDW@8:28, “Maybe we should try to cut those emissions first and see if that helps.”
Yeah, let’s just let the EPA shut down the coal plants & turn off our electricity & gas. Let’s push the price of gas to $10 per gallon. Let’s spend another $10 T & let unemployment reach 15%. (Oh, yeah. It’s already 15%.)
Even if you believe that the globe is warming AND that human beings are causing it, surely you don’t believe that politicians in Washington, DC can FIX the temperature of the entire planet!
Obama said 4 years ago that he was going to stop the rise of the oceans. Hurricane Sandy proved it was just another broken campaign promise. Liberals might think he’s Moses without the tablets, but I wouldn’t follow him thru an abandoned down car wash.
CC
November 28th, 2012
3:53 pm
Sunny:
Thank you for doing that just for little ol’ me! I’m sorry that I can’t reveal what CC stands for because the release of that information would compromise your magic decoder ring’s integrity. Just looking out for you . . .
Sunny
November 28th, 2012
3:56 pm
CC
Thanks. You surely fit the name I mentioned. It fits you like a glove.
Have a super day.
Linda
November 28th, 2012
4:00 pm
Sunny@3:35, I’ll say what I’ve already said again. Nothing matters other than the voters’ perception. Voters in Ohio said they voted for Obama because they thought Obama gave them free cells phones from his personal stash.
JDW
November 28th, 2012
4:00 pm
@CC…3:40 Yet you are unable to factually dispute the statement…blathering incoherently about your personal beliefs doesn’t count you must actually name a part of the health care system the Government now controls.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 28th, 2012
4:03 pm
“you must actually name a part of the health care system the Government now controls.”
That would be the part where you are now REQUIRE BY LAW (i.e. controls) to purchase health insurance or pay a tax – even if you don’t need it.
Next time, JDW, before you make such an idiotic statement, you might wish to brush up on the meaning of the word “control”.
Sunny
November 28th, 2012
4:07 pm
“Voters” or one or two of the same people played over and over again………
Did only one or two people vote for Obama in OH?
If it was more, did he garner votes from across racial, economic and education lines or only those related to the phones you are mentioning and have been brainwashed to believe won the election for Obama?
carlosgvv
November 28th, 2012
4:08 pm
Centrist – 2:10
It is my duty to inform you that human activity which pours huge amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere is NOT Mother Nature.
JDW
November 28th, 2012
4:12 pm
@Tiberius…”Even YOU can figure this one out”
See thats where you lack of an education hurts you…one does not lead to the other.
55% of those with post graduate degrees voted for Obama…all 10 of the 10 most educated states voted for Obama….all 10 of the LEAST educated states voted for Romney.
JDW
November 28th, 2012
4:15 pm
@Tiberius…”That would be the part where you are now REQUIRE BY LAW (i.e. controls) to purchase health insurance or pay a tax – even if you don’t need it.”
That is no more CONTROL of an industry than requiring car insurance, hunting licenses or business licenses. The only thing the mandate does is require proof of insurance or payment of a tax it DOES NOTHING to exercise government control of healthcare. Your care is provided by the professional of your choice and your insurance program is provided by the company of your choice.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 28th, 2012
4:18 pm
“why do you think you (of all people) don’t (or won’t) need healthcare?”
Because I don’t. When I need health care (in very rare instances), I pay for it. I don’t run to the doctor when I sprain something or have a sniffle. If something catastrophic befalls me, I have standing instructions to not extend my life if it cannot be lead as I am today. I refuse to be a burden on society and on my family and friends, and I have taken legal and financial steps to insure that I am not.
It is called self-reliance, and you could learn something from it, John Q.
CC
November 28th, 2012
4:18 pm
JDW:
Would you call this “control”?
“ObamaCare supporters are now waging a high-profile public relations campaign to make medical rationing palatable to the general public. The latest front is the opinion pages of the New York Times, which recently published two Op-Eds openly advocating medical rationing. The first was by their economics columnist Eduardo Porter, “Rationing Health Care More Fairly” (8/21/2012).”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulhsieh/2012/10/03/get-ready-for-obamacares-medical-rationing/
JDW
November 28th, 2012
4:18 pm
@John Q….
I know, but isn’t it fun to watch them scramble to rationalize irrational positions.
Linda
November 28th, 2012
4:21 pm
John Q@4:03, You voted for a man that:
added $1.7 T to the deficit in the fiscal year that ended 9/10,
added $1.2 T to the deficit in the fiscal year that ended 9/11,
added $1.4 T to the deficit in the fiscal year that ended 9/12 & the very next day,
added $93.2 B to the deficit in ONE DAY, the highest in the history of the country, more than was added to the debt from 7/4/1776 to 10/31/1942,
added $5.7 T to the natl. debt in less than 4 years, more than Bush did in 8 yrs.,
added the same amt. to the natl debt than the 1st 42 presidents combined,
has an unemployment rate higher today than when he took office, which means he has not created
a single, net new job,
& he’s getting ready to raise taxes he specifically stated would hurt the economy, which will raise enough revenue to run the govt. for 8 1/2 days, &
you’re accusing me of living in a fantasy land?
JDW
November 28th, 2012
4:23 pm
@CC…you maroon…WE ALREADY RATION HEALTHCARE…every insurance plan in existence covers a very specific list of things in very specific quantities.
As for the NY Times and supporters trying to sell an idea…that would be the antithesis of control. If they had control THEY WOULD DO WHAT THEY WANT.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 28th, 2012
4:23 pm
“That is no more CONTROL of an industry than requiring car insurance, hunting licenses or business licenses.”
Light dawns on Marblehead, as we say up in Massachusetts, JDW.
ANYTHING that is required by law is CONTROL, bub.
But since your Messiah has made a career out of ignoring laws as they are written, and selectively enforcing others, I can see where you might not understand the concept of laws and control.
“Your care is provided by the professional of your choice and your insurance program is provided by the company of your choice.”
Except, of course, when your current insurance provider stops their program due to Obamacare rules, or your doctor no longer takes the insurance that Obamacare provides, but why quibble on the details, right?
JDW
November 28th, 2012
4:25 pm
@Tiberius…”ANYTHING that is required by law is CONTROL, bub.”
The only thing that is controlled by Obamacare is either you get insurance or you pay a tax…that is not control of an industry no matter how much you blather.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 28th, 2012
4:25 pm
“when you go to the emergency room so they can have a look-see at your sore throat, we are ALL paying for it. Frankly, I’m tired of paying for all you freeloaders.”
What part of “I don’t run to the doctor when I sprain something or have a sniffle.” do you NOT understand, John Q?
Are you being deliberately dense, or does this come naturally to you?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 28th, 2012
4:26 pm
“The only thing that is controlled by Obamacare is either you get insurance or you pay a tax”
I accept your apology, JDW, no matter how ridiculously it is worded.
Next time, try not to make such sweeping moronic statements, OK?
CC
November 28th, 2012
4:31 pm
Tiberius:
Trying to communicate an idea or concept to JDW is comparable to milking a bull, except that you get more milk from a bull.
A complete waste of time and effort.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 28th, 2012
4:38 pm
“Trying to communicate an idea or concept to JDW is comparable to milking a bull, except that you get more milk from a bull.
A complete waste of time and effort.”
I know, CC, but sometimes you just have to fight against the blatant ignorance
JDW
November 28th, 2012
4:38 pm
@Tiberius…”accept your apology”
What, you channeling Faux News again?
Black Label
November 28th, 2012
4:40 pm
JDW
Here comes the “I accept your surrender” shtick
CC
November 28th, 2012
4:41 pm
“sometimes you just have to fight against the blatant ignorance”
It is becoming difficult to distinguish between blatant ignorance and downright stupidity!
JDW
November 28th, 2012
4:41 pm
@CC…”Trying to communicate an idea or concept to JDW is comparable to milking a bull, except that you get more milk from a bull.”
That bull probably actually has a concept or idea worth communicating, which is more than I can say for you.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 28th, 2012
4:43 pm
Of course, Fox NEWS is the ONLY media outlet that has had the stones to uncover the Benghazi coverup and incompetence of this administration in the deaths of 4 Americans.
But reality doesn’t sit well with those who stick their heads in the sand when it comes to Obama.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 28th, 2012
4:49 pm
I’m beginning to think that John Q, Sunny and Black Label are one in the same poster.
They all write the same things, they all fixate on me, and they are all completely and totally dense when it comes to understanding the English language.
John Q, for instance, accuses me of going to the emergency room right after I write that I don’t use health care services by and large, and pay cash for them in the rare instance that I do.
Is there an apology for his false accusation? No. Is there any acknowledgement whatsoever of his mistake? No.
But all of a sudden, Black Label appears to comment on my replies to John Q and JDW (right after Sunny disappears.
We have some very lonely libs on this blog (or maybe just one or two).
MarkV
November 28th, 2012
4:49 pm
The science of global warming/climate change is hardly a subject for a discussion on a political blog, but it is still quite frightening to read such arguments as ” How can a gas that has always been necessary to sustain life on earth all of a sudden be a pollutant & is causing the globe to warm?” Can anybody with any ability think believe that the planet just cares about where the carbon dioxide comes from? That it makes any difference for it that we, the people here, breathe it out?
But perhaps the most astounding is that people write these childish pseudo-arguments with an apparent belief that they have come up with something the climatologists never considered before they arrived at the consensus that the earth is warming, that carbon dioxide plays a major role in the warming, and that the mankind activity is responsible for the warming trend.
JDW
November 28th, 2012
4:50 pm
@Tiberius…”Of course, Fox NEWS is the ONLY media outlet that has had the stones to uncover the Benghazi coverup and incompetence of this administration in the deaths of 4 Americans.”
Guess you missed the newsflash…EVERY bit of their drivel to-date has been debunked. There is no coverup. Just a bunch of Republicans running around playing Chicken Little. Why don’t you try another channel you might actually learn something.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/27/opinion/bergen-gop-benghazi/?hpt=po_c2
Black Label
November 28th, 2012
4:51 pm
Tiberius post more than anyone on the blog. Day in and day out.
No friends and no hobbies, yet he accuses others and has his black helicopter conspiracy theories.
hahahahahaha