Bad Libertarian -- Cap and Trade

Try as I might, I just can't get worked up about the Cap and Trade bill.

Yes, it's a massive tax on the poor. But, like Barack Obama, I share the Roman Senate's attitude toward the poor:



Yes, global warming is a hoax. But reducing energy consumption has other benefits, including protecting the environment and slowing the flow of dollars to terrorist nations.

Yes, it's a huge new tax. But I'd rather discourage consumption with consumption taxes than income or investment with income or investment taxes.

Yes, cap and trade is bad policy. But after trillion dollar Wall Street bailouts, perpetual trillion-dollar deficits, and the nationalization of the financial, auto, and soon health-care industries, cap and trade is having a hard time finding room in my outrage budget.

UPDATE: I could be wrong. Another libertarian's view. While politicians worry about voters' "bailout fatigue," I'm suffering a related but somewhat opposite syndrome: I've seen so much horror recently that I can't react appropriately to new horrors. Call it Post-Socialist Stress Disorder.