St. Louis baker protests climate-change bill
The scrolling sign at McArthur’s Bakery in St. Louis County usually advertises something sweet, but one recent message was downright bitter. According to Fox News, the sign read:
“Russ Carnahan voted to … close us and other … small business.”
The reference is to Rep. Carnahan’s vote in favor of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, which bakery vice president David McArthur clearly doesn’t like:
McArthur told FOXNews.com that every aspect of his business relies on the forms of energy targeted by the American Clean Energy and Security Act, and that his congressman, Carnahan, was supporting “a direct tax increase on small business” by voting for it.
“We make (our product) with electricity, we bake it with gas, we refrigerate and freeze it with electricity and we distribute it with gas and oil,” said McArthur, who said he worries that high prices could cost his company up to $15,000 a year in an industry with a very tight margin for profit.
Don’t look for the political message today; McArthur took it down after being contacted by Carnahan’s office. But he says that, during a severe recession, the threat to the bakery’s existence is real. Here’s the quote that’s especially unsettling for any St. Louisan with a sweet tooth:
We have not had the ability to make money for the last three years. Another year and a 50-year icon in St. Louis is gone.
(6 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)
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David Nicklaus has covered St. Louis business for more than 25 years. His column appears three days a week on the Post-Dispatch business page. 
So why did Mr. McArthur take down his sign? He has a right to voice his opinion; it was accurate and was not offensive on the basis of race, religion, age, etc. His concerns are very valid and anyone who actually read the bill that was passed by the House. (Few, if any, of those who actaully voted on it, sadly, seemed to have actually read it).
I’ve heard Mr. Carnahan on the radio. He is a lightweight. Good luck 3rd distict.
The problem with the sign and his statement is that it is misleading and wrong. The numbers are completely made up and characterized wrong. Things such as utility costs (and even taxes) are called “market conditions”. If he can’t adjust, then he goes out of business. Gosh, it seems that all the Right Wing Whiners were championing market selection when it came to letting GM and Chrysler fail. It’s only unfair if it’s targeted, otherwise it raises EVERYONE’s costs and puts pressure on everyone’s margins. To suggest that increasing utility company costs is somehow a targeted tax is just bizarre. If energy costs go up as a result of limiting carbon emissions, then those costs reflect the ACTUAL cost to create that energy, instead of subsidizing the margins of the utility company by letting them trash the atmosphere. It’s like saying we should let people piss in the streets at Mardi Gras because the vendors don’t want to pay for porta-johns. It’s also the same moronic argument that people make against minimum wage.
The misinformation in those statements is laughable. Drama queens abound.
He should definitely voice his political opinion if he wishes, but let’s not pretend a call from Carnahan’s office had anything to do with this. If his business hasn’t made a profit the last three years, he likely has larger issues than the fear and doubt he’s baking.
Hopefully the Senate will be smart and vote against the bill. Then we won’t have to worry about it.
Russ’ brother Tom is the President of Wind Capital Group. Maybe Russ convinced Mr McArthur he could power his business less expensively with hot air provided by our elected officials.
The Carnahan’s are tiresome and stereotypical politicians. I hope for the day when there are no Carnahan’s and McCaskill’s in Missouri office.
Hey, we’ve been the energy pigs of the world for years. It’s about time we started paying for it. Ever heard of the word CONSERVATION?? If we don’t clean up our filth now, what kind a world will we be leaving for our children??
Mr. MacArthur is barking up the wrong tree. If this climate change bill is going to raise taxes enough to put him out of business, his business was already untenable. I hate to be blunt, but the long term health of the only life-sustaining planet in the universe is more important than the preservation of a business whose profit margins are so tight that it hasn’t made money in three years and will be destroyed by a minor tax increase.
Man, you people are laughable. The global warming/climate change wool has been pulled over your eyes. This ideal has been debunked, and debunked again. Nothing shows that our CO2 output has any impact on the environment. In fact the Polar Bear population has been INCREASING, as opposed to Mr. Gore’s idea that they were on the decline.
Cap and Trade has much farther reaching into your pocket than a “minor” tax increase. In fact even the GAO has sited a $700+ increase per year for the average family. Lets not forget that 85% of energy produced in Missouri is from coal firing plants. It is funny that people over at lager heads are condescending of non AB drinkers because they switched to schlafly, and not supporting the American brewers at AB after the sell out, and now we want to kill jobs in the energy sector of Missouri. Do you know the champion company of this bill was GE, millions of dollars for lobbying. Do you know who benefits most from selling their wind and water turbines they have a monopoly on? That’s right, GE.
Step aside from the asinine economics of it as well, now we are a nanny state? The US are energy hogs no doubt, but much less polluting than India and China, that we are for some reason now sucking up to.
David McArthur employs 88 St. Louis residence, most of which have full health care. With great benefits comes smaller margins for profits, and considering his whole local business is based on energy (BTUs for baking, electricity for refrigeration, gasoline for transportation) that adds up very quickly. DO I believe he is embellishing on the idea of not making a profit in 3 years? sure. But he has a point that many local business will be brutalized by this. Kaldi’s coffee is a local roaster, uses a ton of BTU’s for roasting our local fair trade coffee, I really don’t think they can take a big hit as well…. or is their business practice wrong as well.
I don’t understand how someone can so adamantly accept the infringement of the 10th amendment, and upon the pursuit of happiness. Letting government infringe upon your life, giving up taxes and liberty at will. A nanny state, here we come.
Funny how Ron Paul was the only worthwhile one, and the people who follow him are considered the extremists.