Cap & Trade equals carbon tax

The fair and straight forward way to encourage fuel conservation (aka reduced carbon emissions) is a fuel tax. Why the mysterious "cap & trade" in place of something straight forward? Simple. Cap & trade lays the fuel tax on industry, where as a fuel tax (a carbon tax) hits everyone, and the voters have made it clear they are dead set against fuel taxes. Cap & Trade is a concealed tax, only industry had to pay it, and industry doesn't have the vote. So industry cannot squawk, it has to shut up and pay up.
Cap & Trade, has industries purchase emission permits for so much per ton of carbon dioxide emitted. Oh by the way, carbon emitted cannot be measured, it has to be estimated. Needless to say the guys doing the estimates have quite a bit of leeway and for suitable encouragement (campaign contributions or bribes) can reduce the estimate (and the need for expensive emission permits) by 50% or more. Or these same guys can punish the industry by raising the estimates by a lot, should they feel mean that day. Failure to receive a payout will bring out the blue meanies in most guys.
Then there is the "trade" part. Markets and brokers and futures for emission permits will spring up, giving employment to laid off wall streeters. Should an industry stupidly buy more emissions permits than it needs, it can sell them to others. Or perhaps worthy third world planters of trees and reforestation projects can print and sell emissions permits. Plant a thousand trees and print an emission permit for 1000 tons of CO2 per year. Sell it for what ever the market will bear. And maybe they can get away with just printing the certificates, and hope no one comes out and actually counts the trees. Coal smoke emitted in the first world is compensated by new trees planted in the third world. I can't wait. Extra air pollution in the first world (where I happen to live) is all OK just so long trees get planted in the third world.
Obama is budgeting for a couple hundred billion extra federal income from "Cap & Trade". I need to budget for more expensive electricity, gasoline and furnace oil.
Global warming is such a threat that more snow is forecast tonight.