Please send Congress a letter opposing the "cap and trade" tax increase.

You can copy or borrow from my letter to write your own . . .

I'm tired of being lied to by scheming, busybody politicians. President Obama and the Democrats promised there would be NO new taxes on the middle class. But everywhere I look I see middle class tax increases.

The healthcare bill is full of them, and the cap-and-trade bill is NOTHING BUT a middle class tax increase. It will raise my gasoline and electric bills to accomplish a supposed public purpose (as defined by you guys). That's a tax, by any definition (except a politician's).

I'm tired of you guys playing fraudulent word-games to avoid responsibility for your actions. For example, I'm offended by this ABC interview from September 20 between George Stephanopoulos and President Obama: 

STEPHANOPOULOS: "I don't think I'm making it up (that you're going to raise taxes). Merriam Webster's Dictionary: 'Tax: a charge, usually of money, imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes.'"

OBAMA: "George, the fact that you looked up Merriam's Dictionary, the definition of tax increase, indicates to me that you're stretching a little bit right now. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to the dictionary to check on the definition."

This is evidence that moral rot has taken hold with the President.

Does he believe that words should be defined to suit his personal needs, instead of by common usage as reflected in an authoritative dictionary?

• The "cap and trade" scheme is for a public purpose (as defined by you guys)
• It will cost me more money, therefore . . .
• It's a tax -- a tax INCREASE that the middle class will have to pay in violation of the promises we were made

I know you folks don't read your bills, and neither you nor I can be certain that your staffs are really telling you everything you ought to know about the legislation you pass, so maybe you should read this post by Declan McCullagh at CBS News.

The "cap and trade" scheme could cost American families $1,761 a year - equivalent to a 15% income tax increase! Your staffs should also brief you on the European experience with "cap and trade." It hasn't capped emissions -- they've grown instead. Cap-and-trade is both a failure and a tax increase.

Look, I have to be frugal during hard times. But I can't do that if you guys increase my taxes. Stop breaking my budget! Scrap the "cap and tax" bill!

END OF SAMPLE LETTER

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Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.