Ted Deutch’s “Climate” Handout to Farmers

Congressman Ted Deutch, a resident of West Boca Raton, is in the news today thanks to his bill that he claims will address climate change. What the mainstream media is not covering is how this bill would affect people and who benefits. A review of the bill text shows it’s designed to redistribute wealth and the biggest beneficiaries are farmers.

Deutch calls the bill “The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2018”. The general idea is to have a tax on greenhouse gas emissions (aka a carbon tax or fee) imposed “upstream” so the tax is not visible to consumers when they pay for things that are affected. Some of the money would be rebated to people – the so-called carbon dividend.

As always the devil is in the details and there’s a lot in this bill. The tax would start at $15 per metric ton of greenhouse gas emissions. A gallon of gas accounts for 0.009 metric tons. A 15-gallon tank is associated with 0.133 metric tons. So a 15-gallon tank of gas would cost an extra $2 for the consumer.

That’s where it starts. Every year the tax goes up $10 per ton, or another $1.33 per 15-gallon tank. In 3 years that means the cost of a 15-gallon tank is up by $5, not just $2.

It’s not just gasoline. It’s other fuels including coal and natural gas. But it’s also “carbon-intensive products” including:

iron, steel, steel mill products (including pipe and tube), aluminum, cement, glass (including flat, container, and specialty glass and fiberglass), pulp, paper, chemicals, or industrial ceramics.

So anything you buy that has steel, aluminum, glass, cement, and more in it will see price increases.

The most remarkable thing is the handout to farmers. They’re exempt from the tax. Technically they buy whatever fuel they buy at the same increased price as the rest of us, but they get the money back directly from the government. There’s an extra provision protecting farmers even more:

The carbon fee shall not be levied upon non-fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions which occur on a farm.

Agriculture is responsible for roughly 8% of US greenhouse gas emissions. It’s unclear why, as a policy matter, farmers should get a break from a tax the rest of us all pay. As a political matter it’s just one more example of farmers having outsize influence on politicians like Deutch.

Then we get to what happens with the money. This breaks down into two separate categories. Some of the money is collected from imports in the Carbon Border Fee. That money “may be used to supplement appropriations”. In other words, it goes straight to the government. Despite Deutch’s sales pitch that the money goes back to the people, the border tax part of the bill goes to the government, not us.

For the tax imposed on items within the US, that money goes into the “Carbon Dividend Trust Fund.” Up to 8% of that money will go to administrative expenses. After expenses the money goes to people as follows:

A carbon dividend payment is one pro-rata share for each adult and half a pro-rata share for each child under 19 years old, with a limit of 2 children per household, of amounts available for the month in the Carbon Dividend Trust Fund.

To qualify you have to be a

natural living person who has a valid Social Security number or taxpayer identification number and is a citizen or lawful resident of the United States

There are 73 million people receiving Medicaid or other low-income government healthcare benefits. Each will receive a “pro-rata” (equal) share. The wealthy and the middle class emit more greenhouse gases and will pay a much higher share of the taxes but the money will be distributed equally so it’s a scheme to take from the rich and middle class and give to the poor.

Deutch and friends ignore the science that says “progressive income redistribution in the United States could result in an increase in household carbon dioxide emissions” because “poorer households spend a bigger proportion of their income on carbon-intensive products and services.”

But the biggest steal of all is the farmers. They’re eligible for the dividend even though they’re exempt from the tax.

Deutch’s one-page summary of the bill is below. It is full of unsupported claims about job creation and reduced pollution. The full pdf is below that. We reached out to Deutch on both Twitter and Facebook to ask about these issues. As usual he did not respond. Deutch only deals with journalists who do not ask him tough questions. That’s not personal to him, but rather is typical for incumbents of either party who are in safely gerrymandered districts. He’s still a nice guy and by all accounts a good neighbor.

The bill pdf is below.
energy_innovation_and_carbon_dividend_act_-_deutch

Manjarres Mayhem and Deutch Deceit? Weird Congress Race


The congressional race in Florida’s 22nd district is getting weird. Incumbent Ted Deutch, a West Boca resident, recently sent a misleading e-mail to his supporters referencing prospective challenger Javier Manjarres. Manjarres is a Republican living in Fort Lauderdale.

Continue reading “Manjarres Mayhem and Deutch Deceit? Weird Congress Race”

West Boca Congressional District Lines: Deutch and Frankel

Congress members Ted Deutch and Lois Frankel
Congress members Ted Deutch and Lois Frankel

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled on challenges to congressional district lines. For statewide coverage you can read more in the Miami Herald. Meanwhile Sunshine State News reports that Ted Deutch and Lois Frankel will switch districts under the new plan.
As we read the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion, the district lines for West Boca (Districts 21 and 22) will follow the “CP-1 plan” (“Coalition Plaintiffs”):

The trial court found that CP-1 … was preferable with respect to Districts 21 and 22. … CP-1 creates a more tier-two compliant configuration of the two districts. … Compared to the Legislature’s proposal, Districts 21 and 22 in CP-1 are more visually compact. … CP-1 also keeps the cities of Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and Lantana whole within District 21, and keeps Deerfield Beach whole within District 22, whereas those municipalities are split in the Legislature’s proposal.

We were able to combine district maps with Google Maps to create a clearer view of the lines locally. Here’s how it looks for West Boca (extending a bit into East Boca):

District line overlay with underlying image and map data from Google Maps
District line overlay with underlying image and map data from Google Maps

The area in green, mostly west of the Turnpike and north of the Boca-Delray line, is in District 21. The area in pink, east of the Turnpike and south of Delray, is in District 22. There is a small area in zip code 33496 where the line gets weird, splitting up both the St. Andrews Country Club and the Polo Club communities.
33496 district line overlay on image and map data from Google Maps.
33496 district line overlay on image and map data from Google Maps.

Most of St. Andrews will be in District 21 with a small and oddly shaped sliver on Clint Moore going to District 22. For Polo Club the northwest section goes to District 21. The east section goes to 22 except for another oddly shaped section on the Delray line that goes to 21.
Congressman Deutch, who lives in Boca Falls at the far west end of Glades Road – District 21 – plans to run for the seat in District 22. Florida does not require its representatives in Congress to live within their district, but many politicians in this situation choose to move into the district. We would not be surprised to see him move somewhere east of the Turnpike.
Below are additional images and documents for the new district lines.
District lines for Palm Beach and Broward
PB-Broward-CP-1-lines
PDF of the CP-1 district lines for all of southeast Florida. We did not review the Supreme Court decision for anything other than Districts 21 and 22, so we’re not sure if the rest of these apply.
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/CoalitionCP1_Regional_Southeast_8x11.pdf”]

Foundation Scholarships to Local Students

All photos by Carlos Aristizabal
The Eda and Cliff Viner Community Scholars Foundation awarded 18 four-year scholarships to local students this week. This first Annual Award Ceremony took place at Boca West Country Club on Sunday, June 14th.

Floor: Maia Groman, Congressman Deutch, Nusrat Noor, Amanda Hirschman. Sitting: Adina Hoffman, Lauren Brito, Wenda Fils-Aime, Eda Viner, Natalia Leal, Fernanda Rodriguez, and Teagan Murphy.  Standing: Lucas de Carvalho, Maribel Dupont-Bedolla, Raquel Dunn, Megan Rahnama, Shaaz Feldman, Cliff Viner, Isaac Azoalos, Travis Young, Javier Gomez, and Brett Wolff.
Floor: Maia Groman, Congressman Deutch, Nusrat Noor, Amanda Hirschman. Sitting: Adina Hoffman, Lauren Brito, Wenda Fils-Aime, Eda Viner, Natalia Leal, Fernanda Rodriguez, and Teagan Murphy. Standing: Lucas de Carvalho, Maribel Dupont-Bedolla, Raquel Dunn, Megan Rahnama, Shaaz Feldman, Cliff Viner, Isaac Azoalos, Travis Young, Javier Gomez, and Brett Wolff.

“We are offering not only financial assistance,” says Foundation Co-Founder Cliff Viner. “But we are also providing a comprehensive mentor program to keep students on-track, so they can graduate and then go on to fulfill the promise they’ve all shown.”
The students awarded these scholarships came from: Atlantic Community High School, Boca Raton Community High School, Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Olympic Heights Community High School, Spanish River Community High School, Weinbaum Yeshiva, and West Boca Community High School.
Eda Viner, Congressman Deutch, Wenda Fils-Aime (scholarship recipient), Ruthe N. Francis, Assistant Principal Atlantic Community High School, and Cliff Viner
Eda Viner, Congressman Deutch, Wenda Fils-Aime (scholarship recipient), Ruthe N. Francis, Assistant Principal Atlantic Community High School, and Cliff Viner

The Award Ceremony featured U.S. Congressman Ted Deutch (a West Boca resident) as the speaker. Foundation Co-Founders, Eda and Cliff Viner, presented the awards.
“The purpose of this program is to work with the most dedicated and talented students, some of whom don’t have the financial means to fulfill their potential.” says Eda Viner, Foundation Co-Founder. “This will not only assist students and their families, but also greatly benefit our own community.”
The program accepts applications from students who achieved at least a 3.50 unweighted GPA, performed substantial community service, and were from families that required significant financial assistance. This scholarship will be a “last dollar” scholarship to cover tuition not already covered by financial aid, and will provide assistance with room and board as well as daily living expenses.
Cliff Viner, Fernanda Rodriguez (scholarship recipient), and Eda Viner
Cliff Viner, Fernanda Rodriguez (scholarship recipient), and Eda Viner

Eda Viner is a realtor with Sotheby’s. Her husband Cliff is a businessman, investor and hedge fund manager. He was the general partner of the Florida Panthers ownership group until they sold the franchise in 2013. He is a member of the B’nai Torah congregation in West Boca. He has a substantial history of philanthropy as well as bipartisan campaign contributions.

Candidate Forum at Temple Beth El: October 28th

Temple Beth El in East Boca will host a candidate forum that includes a number of races affecting West Boca. The event will include the leading candidates in a few “hot” races.
spain-frankel-sachs-bogdanoff
For Congress, Paul Spain faces off against Lois Frankel. Ellyn Bogdanoff and Maria Sach are contesting for State Senate. At the State House level, Bill Hager and David Silvers are on the ballot. And for County Commission Steven Abrams is being challenged by Andy O’Brien. All eight of these candidates are confirmed to answer questions at the forum.
The event starts at 7 pm on Tuesday, October 28th at Temple Beth El’s main campus at 333 SW 4th Avenue (between Palmetto Park Road and Camino Real), and is put on in partnership with the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. The sponsors are 501(c)(3) non-profits and neither support nor oppose any candidates.

Others expected to take the stage include Congressmen Alcee Hastings (opponent not confirmed) and Ted Deutch (unopposed); CFO candidate William Rankin (opponent not confirmed); State Rep. candidates Stuart Mears (opponent not confirmed), Dave Kerner (unopposed) and Lori Berman (unopposed).
Disclosure: The author of this article is a member of the committee setting up this forum.