- Thursday, April 21, 2022

Last Tuesday, in perhaps the most remarkable instance of political tone-deafness ever, the Business Roundtable, which describes itself as “an association of [CEOs] of America’s leading companies working to promote a thriving U.S. economy and expanded opportunity for all Americans through sound public policy,” decided that promoting a thriving economy included being in favor of a fat new energy tax on consumers.

For the record, the Business Roundtable called for establishing “a price on carbon,” which, as a practical matter, means that the federal government would institute a tax on energy, paid by consumers. Such an energy tax is a clever way to shift costs from businesses to consumers while giving propaganda points to businesses.

Not wanting to be too closely associated with a new energy tax on consumers during our current moment of high energy and food prices, the chieftains of business decided to leave the details like the exact mechanism or amount of taxation to the little people: “Business Roundtable supports a market-based emissions reduction strategy that includes a price on carbon … but it does not endorse any specific market-based mechanism.”

Let’s decode some of that. In the upside-down world of climate change, a “market-based mechanism” means an energy tax imposed by the government and collected at the gas pumps, electricity bills and home heating bills.

Not surprisingly, congressional Republicans were not fans.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who is blessed with probably the best energy staff in Congress, was joined by Reps. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Jeff Duncan of South Carolina in being quick and aggressive in slapping around the Business Roundtable and its terrible idea.

“At a time when skyrocketing inflation is hammering American families, it is shocking and tone-deaf that The Business Roundtable’s latest energy policy proposal calls for a new energy tax that would increase energy costs even higher while also pushing for crony tax credits that will only benefit special interests and Washington insiders.

“We strongly oppose the BRT’s proposed energy tax that will hit lower-income families, small businesses and those on fixed incomes the hardest while doing nothing to confront China, the world’s largest emitter of carbon.

“Their approach would do nothing to lower gas prices or tame inflation. … If the Business Roundtable really wanted to promote a forward-thinking energy strategy for America, they would stand up for their members and American workers by advocating for more American energy production to lower costs and carbon emissions, and they would abandon the idea of adding crushing new energy taxes that will hit hard-working families who are already struggling under the weight of President Biden’s runaway inflation and Washington spending.

“By pushing radical policy positions like a national energy tax, the Business Roundtable will quickly find itself alongside other fading organizations who lost their way.”

It was bad enough that Michael Steel, who used to work for former House Speaker John Boehner and now pimps for the BRT, felt compelled to engage in serial untruths: “Business Roundtable members support a balanced, responsible energy plan that … would lower energy prices for Americans, strengthen our economy, and allow the U.S. to better compete around the world, including with China.”

Raising taxes won’t lower anyone’s energy prices, nor will it help America compete with China.

The BRT knows that. It doesn’t care about raising your energy prices. It cares only about being on the politically correct side of climate change.

This is yet another moment in the long divorce between Republicans and the business community. Republicans are now, finally, more oriented towards American consumers and American workers than they are towards the multinational businesses that populate trade associations like the BRT. It is no accident that the misnamed American Petroleum Institute and the also misnamed U.S. Chamber of Commerce have also come out in favor of crushing new energy taxes.

To a greater or lesser extent, these trade associations are controlled by companies whose primary focus is no longer the United States. Business organizations such as API and BRT should be ashamed of promoting policies increasing the cost of energy for Americans, especially now. But they’re not because the concerns of Americans are only part of what they think about.

Republican members of Congress understand the distance between their voters and these trade associations. Most have reduced their expectations and reliance on businesses, especially those with foreign ownership or foreign nationals on their board of directors.

The trade associations have not reduced their reliance on Republicans, however. The tone-deaf BRT and their fellow travelers at places like API and the Chamber of Compromise, errr … Commerce, blithely assume that the Republicans will always be the pro-business party rather than the pro-consumer, pro-worker, pro-market party they have become.

It is a big risk for the business community, the magnitude of which they do not yet seem to understand.

• Michael McKenna, a columnist for The Washington Times, is the president of MWR Strategies. He was most recently a deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the White House. 

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