Is Obama's EPA deliberately destroying America's economy?

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

"This administration seems to be taking steps that appear to be methodically and deliberately sabotaging certain parts of our nation's economy."

Who would accuse President Obama's top bureaucrats of intentionally damaging the industrial strength of America? Quite a few people, if one can judge by the angry citizen grumbles roiling through today's blogs and social media. But the quote above came from none other than Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, on the Senate floor last week.

The senator was concerned by the thousands of pages of new rules that the Environmental Protection Agency has dumped on economic sectors that Obama simply doesn't like -- coal, for example. Worse, proposed blanket rules would expand federal authority over the largest possible area, such as storm water disposal rules for existing buildings, and Clean Water Act permits for ditches on family farms.

Barrasso said, "This administration has finalized 1,330 rules that have been deemed what's called 'economically significant' " -- those with an annual impact on the economy of $100 million or more -- "and they've proposed over 1,300 additional economically significant rules."

We've seen thousands of American jobs lost already, and others are on the chopping block now, just because of these rules. The intent appears to have been to destroy the coal industry. Barrasso said, "Fifty-seven coal-fired power plants have already announced their closure because of the 'cumulative effect' of these rules on just this one industry."

The Obama administration has a history of understating the costs of its rules and overstating the benefits. The horrifying costs can be verified in real dollars, but the invented benefits are either guesses or unknown. How can the administration get away with that?

[clearvision]

Green is all that matters. Who cares how much it costs or who it hurts.