RUSH: Malcolm in Columbia, South Carolina. Hi. Welcome to the program.
CALLER: Hi. Thank you for taking my call.
RUSH: You bet.
CALLER: I wanted to ask you, since the government report on the Keystone XL pipeline has come out, and it said that it would basically have no effect on climate change, do you think Obama will quit stalling and approve it or find some other way to have avoid dealing with it?
RUSH: Who said that approving the Keystone pipeline will have no impact on climate change?
CALLER: I can’t remember whether it was the EPA, but there was a report that he had been waiting on.
RUSH: But it was some government agency that said that?
CALLER: Yes, sir.
RUSH: They’re waiting for a review from a government agency on whether the Keystone pipeline, which is simply shipping oil underground (or maybe over-ground) in a pipe, would somehow affect climate change, and somebody came back and said there would be no impact? How big of them! Look, the answer to your question is that’s a joke and a faulty premise to begin with. There is no manmade climate change taking place out there, Malcolm.
CALLER: I agree.
RUSH: That’s the bottom line. On the Keystone pipeline and Obama, what I’ve heard is that he’s open to it in exchange for a carbon tax. He said that if Congress will agree — which means the Republicans in the House, if they will agree — to a brand-new carbon tax, then he might consider authorizing the Keystone pipeline.
CALLER: Humph. Well, a carbon tax is no good for the reasons you already stated.
RUSH: Well, a carbon tax is just gonna slow the economy down even more. It’s just gonna take more money out of people’s pockets. Big time. I mean, energy — the discovery of oil and its many uses — is what propelled massive economic advancement, technological invention and improvement. You know, somebody had a great question the other day. If taxes on carbon reduce energy use, by design… Obama wants us to reduce our use of carbon-based fuels because they cause climate change and global warming. So if taxes on carbon reduce the use of energy, what do income taxes do?
By definition, they reduce income.
The income tax reduces income. It makes people poorer. I think that the thing here with Obama and the Keystone pipeline is absurd. Here’s a chance for energy independence. Here is a chance for cheaper, domestic-refined energy. As I say, it means less dependence on imports. And he’s opposed to it on the grounds that it somehow is dangerous and is gonna add to climate change? This Keystone pipeline is a great example, by the way, of the whole idea that this administration is not devoted to improving things in this country. ‘Cause the Keystone pipeline’s a no-brainer. It’s a no-brainer in anybody’s world, but not in his.