What is clear about cap and trade is that it is a tax on all of us. If you use energy, you will be taxed.

RailRoad Commissioner Michael Williams has written a multi-part series on the cap and trade legislation that passed the House recently and goes on to the Senate. See the whole series here.

It's not just taxes either. Williams sums it pretty well with this:

Entities as varied as the National Black Chamber of Commerce, The Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation agree cap and trade will reduce national GDP, eliminate jobs and lighten family wallets.

How much will it lighten Texas familie's wallets? 

And Texas Comptroller Susan Combs estimates the typical Texas family (3.4 members) could expect to spend up to an additional $1,136 on medicine, food, clothes and other household goods and services over the next year if cap and trade passes. The price of everything from cell phones, diapers, aspirin and lipstick will rise because of increased production costs. As a regressive tax, this will disproportionately affect single moms, the poor and minorities.

 With Texas being the energy capital of the country, you can bet we will have more than our share of suffering.  

Williams gives another example- argriculture:

Take for instance agriculture. Texas is the number three agricultural exporting state in the nation providing jobs to $1.7 million. In 2007 cash receipts from the Texas agriculture industry totaled $19.9 billion creating an impact of $100 billion for the state’s economy.

As proposed, cap and trade could impact more than 3,800 Texas farms, 28,000 beef cattle operations, and 640 dairies. For Texas cotton gins alone, the estimated cost of permitting is pegged at more than $8.5 million for 248 relatively small facilities. CO2 regulations will also increase outlays for all Texas farms, producers and processors for things like equipment installations, irrigation, fertilizer and electricity. The regulations will also have a negative impact on the rural communities in which many of these businesses operate.

How will cap and trade affect your family? Find out here with The Househould Cap-and-Trad Burden Calculator. 

 As Texans, we need to be especially aware of how deeply cap and trade will hurt our state. Let the Senate know you do NOT want this to pass.