CAP AND TRADE
By Chris Shaheen, Development Specialist for Saurage Commercial Real Estate.
Have you heard about the future impact of the widening of the Panama Canal? If you haven’t, you need to know. The impact of this on the industrial sector of commercial real estate could be as big as the impact of the housing boom to residential in the early 2000’s. Super cargo ships that would normally go to the west coast ports will now be able to bring their cargo to the ports of the Gulf Coast. Houston, Texas; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana; and Mobile, Alabama stand to benefit tremendously from this increase in traffic. However, none of this will come to pass if Cap and Trade is passed by congress. Cap and Trade, better known as “Cap and tax,” is a bill that would penalize businesses that emit certain amounts of CO2, you know, the stuff we humans exhale and plants survive on. Businesses will be forced to buy CO2 credits when they exceed the allowable limit. Limits, by the way, that will be impossible to meet; some to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. This cost will be passed on to the consumer and will also cause loss of jobs. The trickle down effect to the retail and office markets could be devastating. The most important part of this whole fiasco is it will do nothing to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and the owners of the carbon exchange banks will reap the benefits by raking in billions of dollars. If you are in the Commercial Real Estate Industry you need to know about the widening of the Panama Canal. More importantly, you need to become aware of Cap and Trade.
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Chris Shaheen is a graduate of Louisiana State University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. Shaheen obtained the Louisiana Real Estate Sales License in 1995 where he began work as a consultant with Saurage Company Inc. as a specialist in development, land valuation, and financing.
Saurage Company, Inc dba Saurage Commercial Real Estate was founded in Baton Rouge in 1991 with the purpose of providing exceptional real estate services with an emphasis on commercial property and property management. Saurage Commercial Real Estate offers to its clients a full range of real estate services including brokerage, investment advising, development consulting, REO disposition specialists, asset management, fee based consulting, tenant representation, and buyer representation. The staff of professionals includes combined experience of 50 years, as well as CCIM Designees and Candidates and recipients of Master of Business Administration.
