In January 2008 Barack Obama told the San Francisco Chronicle:
“Under my plan of a cap and trade system electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Businesses would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that cost onto consumers.”
He promised that his plan would cause electricity rates to skyrocket.
He wasn’t kidding.
Despite this the United Mine Workers supported Barack Obama in 2008.
Today, United Mine Worker members are going to picket bankrupt Patriot Coal in St. Louis.
KSDK reported:
About 175 West Virginia coal mining families are picketing bankrupt Patriot Coal in St. Louis in the continuing battle to protect health care benefits for retirees and widows.
United Mine Workers of America spokesman Phil Smith says miners from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio are also participating in Tuesday’s protest at the federal building, where a hearing is being held.
Patriot’s bankruptcy affects more than 10,000 retirees and 10,000 dependents in those states.
Patriot calls its pension and health care programs unsustainable legacies.
A judge moved Patriot’s case from New York City to St. Louis in November. An $802 million financing package is allowing Patriot to continue operating while it restructures.
Last week the Obama Administration successfully killed off another 3,900 jobs at a Texas Power Plant.