The government of the State of New York seems to have caught some sort of insanity virus. Didn’t know that was a transmittable disease but…

Their governor has signed into law a bill “fining” oil and gas and coal companies $75 BILLION dollars for “damaging the environment.”

It would seem, at a minimum, that this would be an ex post de facto type of law: now criminalizing (or at least levying a civil penalty for a – what – misdemeanor?) actions that were not prohibited in the past.

And it would also seem that there is a wee little matter of due process – it appears that the New York legislature is some sort of jury with the governor as judge which has not just made a decision that what dozens or perhaps hundreds or thousands of companies and individuals did (mostly in good faith) for more than a century is now a crime or at least a malevolent action which can be punished.

Again, time after time since the State gained its independence from the Crown back in 1783 or so, the legislatures and other elected officials and their minions have demonstrated a very simple failing: greed. This seems to be a case: $75 billion is almost a third of the insanely-high New York State budget of $237 billion.

Yes, the Empire State has a lot of people: 20.20 million (half in New York City). That budget is “just” $11,850 per person (man, woman, child) in the State. In addition to what the local governments – particularly NYC – gobble up. But this $75B seems to be likely to be squandered in various kinds of transfer payments to parasites: government employees, corporate welfare recipients, border jumpers, and the usual welfare “needy.”

Of course, this is taking that $75 billion as fact. But we all know how bad at math politicians and their staffers and the goons that work for the governors are. This is an estimate, and may be (as is so often the estimates of revenue from income taxes) way, way off. But at a minimum, we know a bunch of lawyers are going to make a nice living off this crazy law.

And we also know who will get taken in the pocketbook: anyone who drives a car or truck, burns natural gas or fuel oil, or get electricity from gas or coal. Or who buys a product hauled by or produced using those awful evil “fossil fuels.” Yup! John Q Public, of course. Oh, but the State can offset the added cost to poor people – and to companies who lust after and get public contracts – by transfer payments, of course.

Without having read the law, we here at TPOL cannot be sure of the details of which specific group of evil, scummy businesses (Big Oil, Big Coal, Big Gas, distributors, retailers, etc.) is going to pay. Maybe Albany is going to take a page out of the Reparations Book. After all, if reparations for slavery can pay a bunch of money to someone who had a great-great-grandfather who was a slave by stealing it from other people who also may have had a great-great-grandfather (or -mother) who was a slave but has a lighter skin color? Why not go as far back as possible. Not just ConocoPhillips (which has a pedigree going all the way to one of the oldest American oil producers. Not just ExxonMobil and other descendants of the huge and predatory Rockefeller-organized and owned Standard Oil.

Why not go after as many as possible: how about that old guy Rudolf Diesel, who invented the Diesel engine that required fossil fuels (unless you can find soy-Diesel). Or old Henry Ford, who was the big pusher of gasoline-engine and -burning automobiles. And since we are talking about ALL fossil fuels, let us go back to Fulton. He was a New Yorker, right? Who invented the steamboat. Burning wood and coal and later fuel oil. And don’t forget the Wright Brothers and all their competition: wasn’t Glenn Curtis a New Yorker?

Of course, all those guys (and gals) are dead, but most of them have descendants who are alive today, and many of those fourth, fifth, and more generation types are heirs to at least some of the profits created by “destroying the climate.” So come on, New York State Revenue – don’t just go after the current shareholders in these big producers (and transporters and sellers and users) of this evil stuff that should have stayed in the ground. Go after the old shareholders, the old managers, the old employees who got paid well and saved and left their children and grandchildren money. Money that is just evil profit from these actions that now are deserving of billions and billions of dollars.

Oh, those people didn’t know the consequences? Too bad! Ignorance is no excuse.

So maybe if NYS acts quickly, they can go ahead and round up the Rockefellers and Carnagies and all the great-great-great grandchildren of coal miners, and oil and gas riggers, and all the other scumbags that did things 100 and 200 years ago that are making New York City and Long Island uninhabitable. Well, not right this minute, but soon enough. Of course, Mother Nature (well, God the Creator) doesn’t follow Al Gore’s timeline, do they? But AOC and other Regressives will and are doing better.

How long, oh Lord?

And those who are going to have to pay $75 billion? What do they do? Perhaps not just a general strike – ala many libertarian fantasies. Don’t sell anything to the government goons, right? How about just doing what hundreds of businesses in cesspools like San Francisco and East Bay have already done? Close up shop completely. Move out. Out of State, out of the area. Close up and board up all the convenience stores and natural gas (and propane) service companies and go somewhere else? (I know you’ll like it better, unless you are really crazy.) And in States like PA, NJ, CT, MA, and VT, refuse to sell to anyone who has a NY plated-car or drivers license. And don’t pay a dime in fines for idiocy like this – or even pay the attorneys to fight it: just say NO!