2009-10-12 19:19:48 - The current cap-and trade bill is bad news for Americans. Not only does it fail to solve climate change, but it's a thinly-disguised tax on young Americans that will squelch our vaunted tech-savvy entrepreneurial initiative, says Matt Harrison, author and founder of the Prometheus Institute.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The cap-and-trade bill passed by the U.S. House and now before the Senate not only will straddle future generations with a greater tax burden but also will effectively rob them of the opportunity to seek innovative solutions to climate change.

Matt Harrison, author and founder of the Prometheus Institute, stresses that passage of the cap-and-trade bill would prevent the rise of new entrepreneurs and business models, thereby choking out innovation and growth.

“Not only does the current cap-and-trade bill fail to solve climate change but it’s a thinly-disguised tax on young Americans that will squelch our vaunted tech-savvy entrepreneurial initiative stresses Harrison, author of The American Evolution: How America Can Adapt to the Political, Economic and Social Challenges

of the 21st Century (ISBN 13:978-0-615-28204-6, Copyright 2009, Prometheus Institute Press, Los Angeles, CA, $14, www.theprometheusinstitute.org ).

Cap-and-trade calls for government to determine the total cost of pollution annually, spread that cost evenly amongst all business and industry in the form of credits or allowances, and those who pollute more will buy (trade) credits from firms that pollute less and don’t need their full allowance.

“Despite its foreboding thousand-page girth and inscrutable complexity the author adds, “the cap-and-trade bill turns out to be nothing more than a very creative way to keep America in the technological dark ages. It cripples growth, slows innovation, and stifles our progress

Like any technology, Harrison argues, clean energy can only develop by a trial-and-error process of evolution. “No one knows the next magic bullet technology to usher in the zero-carbon future points out Harrison, “and the only way we’ll get there is by allowing entrepreneurs the freedom to experiment

Harrison says the current proposed cap-and-trade bill will fail to achieve its goals because:
• The costs will cripple the economic growth needed to create a clean energy future.
• The bureaucratic nightmare created by the bill will drain the resources of existing businesses and be a barrier of entry for new entrepreneurs.

• The calculations on climate change are bound to be incorrect but if the earth only warms by one percent in the next 100 years what’s the point in spending $200 billion right now?

America should be concentrating on adaptation instead because the most cost-effective way to face climate change is simply to adapt as it happens.

“As Time magazine points out, climate change may be the defining issue of my millennial generation concludes Harrison, “but that doesn’t mean we need our elders to solve it. We are the most entrepreneurial generation in history. We’ll solve it ourselves, and it will be much easier without a needless $6,000 tax dragging us down

The approach Harrison takes to cap-and-trade policy is similar to other innovative solutions he proposes in The American Evolution such as dealing better with Social Security, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, international trade, economic growth, social progress, and achieving true health reform, among others. View the book trailer at: www.americanevolutionbook.com/samples.html

As a 19-year-old college sophomore Harrison organized the Prometheus Institute (www.ThePrometheusInstitute.org) to discover independent policy solutions to reduce the burden of government on the people and to creatively market these ideas to citizens in order to create the political demand for positive change.

Harrison’s book is a guide to help citizens understand and work through the challenges that face those who are helping transition onto the path of being a fulfilled American and to step up to a greater vision of their future.

About Matt Harrison
The author of The American Evolution, Matt Harrison is the founder and executive director of The Prometheus Institute, Los Angeles, CA, a nonprofit public policy institute. He has authored more than 200 articles, many of which can be found on www.ThePrometheusInstitute.org, has been a guest on several talk radio shows, and a guest blogger for CNN. Harrison earned a BBA in political science from University of Miami and has completed requirements on his law degree and master of public policy degree from the University of Southern California.

The Prometheus Institute is a public policy organization dedicated to discovering independent policy solutions to reduce the burden of government on the people, and creatively marketing these ideas to the lay public of the United States, in order to create the political demand for positive change. View the book trailer at: www.americanevolutionbook.com/samples.html

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Words of Praise for The American Evolution:

“Harrison has cracked the genetic code of innovation and progress in America
Krisztina “Z” Holly, Vice Provost for Innovation, University of Southern California, and Executive Director, USC Stevens Institute for Innovation

"Very stimulating book...I am enjoying it and learning as I read"
William J. Baumol, Professor of Economics, New York University, Director, Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, and author of numerous books including Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism, and the Economics of Growth and Prosperity.

.innovative... a provocative initiative for troubled times"
Robert A. Levy, Chairman, Cato Institute

“The American Evolution is a powerful guide... to current crises... and social progress in the 21st century
Barbara Marx Hubbard, Founder, The Foundation for Conscious Evolution, and
former Vice Presidential Candidate for the Democratic Party

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