Cap and Trade: The Lobbyist Full Employment Act

If we want to reduce carbon emissions - something I find dubious to begin with - the best way to accomplish that goal is a direct tax. So why do President Obama and Henry Waxman want to implement a cap and trade program instead? From the NYT:

Cap and trade, by contrast, is almost perfectly designed for the buying and selling of political support through the granting of valuable emissions permits to favor specific industries and even specific Congressional districts. That is precisely what is taking place now in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has used such concessions to patch together a Democratic majority to pass a far-reaching bill to regulate carbon emissions through a cap-and-trade plan.

Cap and trade allows the politicians to reward friends and punish enemies. They've successfully disguised the carbon tax under cap and trade. Most Americans have no idea what it is and that's exactly the way the politicians want it to stay. Will it reduce carbon emissions? Doubtful, but that isn't the goal.