The Obama administration is actively lining up corporate America to champion his controversial climate agenda that he hopes to push through a United Nations summit in the coming weeks, and businesses are jumping aboard by the dozens, either out of profit motive or to avoid punitive action from the White House.
Back in June, a Daily Caller article reported that Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was using both sticks and carrots to woo big businesses onto the climate change bandwagon.
In a column for Conservative Review, energy expert and crony capitalism watchdog Dr. Tom Borelli says corporate leaders are only too eager to join forces with Obama.
“Eighty-one companies have signed onto a White House climate change pledge, where each company volunteers to take certain actions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” said Borelli.
Some firms signing onto the Obama climate plan are focused on renewable energy and see a major windfall in profits headed their way if carbon dioxide standards are slashed in the U.S. Others have different incentives.
“There’s a group of food companies that have also signed on. I believe some of these companies, specifically Coca-Cola and Pepsi, are really just trying to align themselves with the administration because they fear at any one moment the progressives will start talking about a tax on sodas,” said Borelli, who says this is the latest episode of Obama taking aggressive steps to get what he wants.
“He wants a worldwide global treaty and then he’s going to try to enforce that on companies, if not directly through law then through intimidation and through public pressure,” added Borelli.
The bad news for corporations, according to Borelli, is that their obedience will only get them so far.
“You think government will be your friend but eventually you’ll end up turning on the company as well. The bell will toll for them,” said Borelli.
Even if that didn’t happen, Borelli says Obama and big business have gone a long way down a dangerous road.
“Probably the most dangerous legacy he’s going to leave us is this corporatist state, where big business and big government align themselves temporarily for a policy goal,” said Borelli.
He says Obamacare is a “prime example.”
“Initially, pharmaceutical companies were against HillaryCare back in the ’90’s and lobbied against it. With Obama, they lobbied for it because they got specific breaks they wanted,” said Borelli, who is confident the health care industry is already regretting its support for Obamacare.
“Now there’s talk of Obama reversing some of the promises he made and there are no promises far out into the future. Companies should be aware when they align themselves with big government, big government can and always will turn on them,” said Borelli.
Obama is planning to treat any UN deal as an executive agreement and bypass Senate scrutiny. much as it did with the Iran nuclear deal.
Borelli says no one should expect Congress to take major steps to stop Obama’s unilateral action. He says real change is up to the American people at the ballot box.
“It’s going to be up to everyday Americans looking forward to the next elections to try to get really true conservatives in that will rein in government, that will rein in this corporatist state that we’re involved in these days and, more urgently, rein in this global cooperation, where we’re starting to sell our sovereignty down the road,” said Borelli.
However, Borelli says Obama’s strategy for imposing his climate agenda makes it much easier to reverse, if the right people get elected.
“We can start to roll back some of these regulations, especially that the EPA has been issuing against the coal industry and every other manufacturer. It’s going to take a little time but a lot of what Obama’s doing through his pen and his phone and through his executive branch can be rolled back,” said Borelli.
