A federal carbon tax would hurt families and businesses across America. Raising taxes on the essential goods and services we all rely on, like electricity for our homes and fuel for our cars, would create more barriers to job creation and weaken our economy. That’s exactly what America doesn’t need.
Too many industries are already suffering due to misguided regulations. One example is Colorado's coal industry, which has been struggling for years now and was victim to even more coal layoffs last week. IWF's Jillian Melchior reports:
Colorado’s last fully operational mine announced 80 layoffs last week, the latest in a series of tough measures as Arch Coal struggles through bankruptcy reorganization.
Such job loss is no stranger to Colorado’s Delta County, which has seen more than a thousand mining jobs cut in the past three years.
Sadly, it's clear that the most severe consequences were felt by the workers themselves and their families. From Grand Junction's Daily Sentinel:
Paonia town administrator Jane Berry said everyone was talking about the new layoffs Thursday because the West Elk is the “last big holdout” in the valley, the last mine to have avoided ceasing operating.
“The community feels the impact of all layoffs of each of the mines in a dramatic fashion because of how it affects our families and our communities and our schools,” she said.
… The West Elk Mine sits in Gunnison County, where the tax-revenue impacts of falling production primarily will be felt.
However, “The majority of the (workers’) families live in Delta County,” LeValley said. “They send their kids to school in Delta County so the primary impact for Delta County is in the (affected) families.”
Berry said that Paonia used to get up to about $125,000 a year from severance tax and mineral leasing revenues, and the latest projection is that it will be lucky to get about $40,000. The difference could pay for two full-time police officers, she said.
Enough is enough. That's why IWV signed onto an anti-carbon tax coalition letter back in February supporting House Concurrent Resolution 89, which expresses the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the people of the United States and our economy. You can read the full letter here, then click on the social media icons below to share this important story with your friends and family.
