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.

Shame on you mean-spirited Democrats for not caring about this man losing his and others’ livelihoods. Apparently you won’t be happy until the government is the only employer left in the U.S. Small businesses are the soul of our country and just about the only ones not getting subsidies and bailouts left. Gone will be your corner groceries, coffee hauses, and restaurants as well as bakeries and bread shops. Will you be happy then?
And I thought Democrats were so “compassionate.” Well, apparently not. This isn’t just about his utility costs, but also about the costs of his ingredients which will also increase.

NOTE TO CLAIRE: The majority of people in the great state of Missouri voted for John McCain last November and not Mr. Obama. Are you going to remember that when it’s your turn to vote for the crap and treason bill that Missourians are your constituents and not Mr. Obama and the DNC?

Wake up St. Louis and start thinking of our children’s future rather then back pedaling and supporting tired, old, non-sustainable industries that feel they are entitled to their dirty, cheap, brown fossil fuel energy production. We are living in a generation of selfishness and continued greed, where we are crushing the future of our children and the world they will live in. This ecosystem is being disrupted by the direction this generation has chosen of disrespect and trashing of our Environment. Ameren can play commercials all day long about your energy bills cheaper then California, but guess what, we are the worst polluters of CO2 (COAL) in the entire US and that my friends is not sustainable. Mr. McArthur, bless you for trying to make a cheaper donut and making a profit, but how about starting to think beyond a Corporate Profit and start thinking about shifting your tired business model to one of contributing back to the community and thinking ahead to a better tomorrow for our children? Maybe paying the equivilent of a Postage Stamp a day in increased utility costs to have more Clean Power in our energy mix is not a bad thing and may in face put us on a path to a cleaner planet for our children. The Waxman-Markey Bill is our best hope to correct our current broken path before its too late and I salute Russ Carnahan for his strong stance and leadership on supporting this Bill and the future of our planet. St. Louis needs to wake up and move beyond the entitlement of burning dirty Coal to produce a cheaper donut.

ThinkForward…do you really think cap and trade is about cleaning up the environment? Sure…the concept flows from the “green” movement but they sure look Red to me. This is about money. Huge inflows of dollars into the govt coffers. Anyone who thinks this money will be used to fund alternative energy research is very naiive. Maybe a token amount will be directed there but if you want to see what will really happen to the money then take a look at social security. The greedy politicians will take it to use in any fashion that they feel will get them reelected. Sad thing about it is…it really wont do diddly squat to lower global co2 levels. What it will do is take money from our hands and send jobs to India and China. You say…” the cost of a stamp a day”…maybe…but all totaled, this administration’s policies will end up costing us a book of stamps a day. My prediction….Obamas policies will end up destroying public education because people will not support school district levy increases and bond issues because they will feel so overburdened with taxes and the coming tsunami of inflation.