To the editor:

As families struggle to make ends meet, we need to stop the federal government from taking steps that are likely to unnecessarily raise prices for goods and services.

One of those potential missteps is the proposed Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill that aims to address climate change.

This proposal would essentially charge regulators with creating an artificial market, complete with volatility that could send prices soaring.

According to analysis provided by the global consulting firm CRA International, the cap-and-trade proposals in the Obama Administration’s plan, which is similar to the Waxman-Markey bill, would raise energy prices for businesses and consumers inevitably raising prices on all products and services.

Even worse, it would cost millions of jobs — almost 2 million by 2020 — sending more ripples through the economy.

We’re tired of market manipulation and backroom deals to give away billions in pork — this time through free emissions permits — in return for political favors.

I urge our federal lawmakers to look closely at the pitfalls of a cap-and-trade scheme, and then they will see why their constituents don’t support it.

Leslie Anderhub

Concord