Obama Works Hard On Vacation

And you thought our President was playing hooky at Martha's Vineyard, shirking his executive duties and obligations. Au contraire, mon ami. In between shaking hands, cavorting in the surf with his daughters, and enjoying haute cuisine at the local eateries, he is hard at work. On his very first day of vacation, Obama ordered the EPA to reinterpret the rules on coal-fired power plants.

Certain regulations regarding carbon emissions from coal plants that have been on the books for years have been routinely ignored until "green" technology could advance far enough to economically replace coal power. Even the EPA itself issued a stay on implementation of the regulations as recently as January of this year. But Obama has decided that it's time to enforce those regulations. I guess he thinks green technology has suddenly reached that point. I guess he also thinks the best thing to do during a major recession and high unemployment is to regulate energy providers out of business and put more people out of work.

You probably remember this, but I'll reiterate for those who don't remember Obama's stance on coal plants. During the 2008 presidential campaign, the non-identical twins Obama and Joe Biden made it clear that they would not tolerate coal power. The plan was to make coal usage cost-prohibitive. During the campaign, Obama chose the ultraliberal San Francisco Chronicle to announce the following: "So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can. It's just that it will bankrupt them because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that is being emitted."

On his first day of vacation on Martha's Vineyard, Obama chose to make that promise a reality. In the midst of a recession which is about to get worse from the president's inaction on economic issues, Obama will now throw fuel on the fire (bad metaphor?). Energy producers will now have to find more expensive ways to replace the energy formerly produced at coal-fired plants. 20% reduction in coal usage is the immediate goal.

The Commerce Department has estimated that immediate implementation of the previously-ignored regulations will result in the loss of 60,000 jobs. The Coal Industry Council estimates that the rules will cost $129 billion. The cost to consumers will rise almost on the first day by 20% to 35%. The EPA's earlier request for a stay cited those facts along with the opinions of 21 state governors, 100 members of Congress, and 5,800 public comments that the study which resulted in the previously-unused regulations was fatally flawed.

At a time when the economic costs of enforcing government regulations nears $1.75 trillion, Obama chooses to add to the burden. That figure comes from the government's own Small Business Administration. But shoring up his "progressive" base and rewarding his rich "green industry" pals is more important to Obama than the effect of his actions on the economy and ordinary, hard-working Americans. If he continues to work this hard during his vacation, we'll be in bankruptcy even sooner than expected. Double-dip recession, anyone?