Last week our blog focused on the politics of why carbon credits make sense for conservatives.

This week we’re going to focus on the economics of carbon credits. As a small businessman, I would only support carbon legislation if it made sense economically. I’ve checked into it. And carbon credits do make plenty of economic sense.

We’ll be talking about that each day this week. So check back in each day!

A few days ago, President Obama returned from the climate control conference in Copenhagen. The media described his trip as a failure. I disagree:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/copenhagen-climate-change-confe/6839650/Copenhagen-climate-summit-Barack-Obama-says-world-running-out-of-time.html

Leadership isn’t always about getting results right away; it’s about asking the right questions and looking down the road. President Obama should be commended for raising the important issue of global warming. Many conservatives say that we shouldn’t pursue climate control because scientists are still debating it. I disagree. As a conservative, I think we should take ere on the side of caution and take steps to clean up our environment.

I’m proud to be a conservative who stands with the president on this important issue.

We close out the week with one final event to expect in 2010: Republican wins in the 2010 elections.

Since 1934, the president’s party has lost seats in midterm elections every time except for 1998 and 2002. Why is that? Buyer’s remorse. People usually decide the guy they put in the White House needs a reality check. And so they almost invariably vote for the other party. I think that’s likely to happy again in 2010.

But here is my question: are Republicans ready to govern again? I need to see some more evidence that they have learned from their past mistakes and are ready to push for lower taxes and less spending.

What can we expect this year in the world of business? Continued growth in the stock market.

After surpassing 13,000 in 2007, the Dow collapsed in 2008 and is only now making its comeback. But comeback it will continue to do. Yet we should not equate the resurgence of the stock market with successful policies in Washington. We can’t tax our way and spend our way to growth.

Instead, the stock market’s comeback shows that American capitalism is alive and well and can endure any policies from Washington.

Just think how much more the markets would be growing if we would cut taxes and spending.

Here is something else to expect in 2010: higher health care premiums.

One of the rules of Washington is the law of unintended consequences. By passing more mandates on private insurers, the federal government has guaranteed the cost of health care will go up. Why? Because health insurance companies will pass on the costs to consumers.

So the great irony about Obama “bending the cost curve” is that he has bent it…only it’s going to go up, not down.

Today our series on what to expect in 2010 begins. And the first thing to expect is more spending from the federal government.  More spending in 2010…and in 2011…and in 2012….

Did you realize that President Obama spent more money in his first year in office than President Clinton spent in all of his eight years in office?

We have a government that believes in out-of-control spending. The last Bush budget was 3 trillion dollars. The First Obama budget was 3.5 trillion. That’s a 20% increase in one year. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of money to me.

And here’s something else to expect, if not this year, the next year: inflation. When the government throws around that kind of money, it’s only a matter of time before we start to see inflation rear its ugly head.

This week we’ve been blogging about Washington’s ideas that don’t make sense and don’t work. Today, we look at the impact these policies are having on how the American people view the Democratic Party:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126100346902694549.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

Support for the Democratic Party has fallen dramatically.  As the article notes:

“In December’s survey, for the first time, less than half of Americans approved of the job Barack Obama is doing, marking a steeper first-year fall for this president than his recent predecessors. Also for the first time this year, the electorate is split when asked which party they would like to see in charge after the 2010 elections. For months, a clear plurality favored Democratic control.”

Duh! The Democrats pursue policies that don’t make any sense and the public turns on them. Maybe they should try something else.

Here is all you need to know about the Democrats’ health care plan:

Earlier this year, a group of House Republicans tried to pass an amendment that would make anyone who voted for the government-run health insurance option have to sign up for the government-run health insurance option. The idea was to make Democrats practice what they preach.

Not surprisingly, the Democrats wanted no part of that.

But if a government-run health care plan is such a good idea, then why don’t Democrats want to try it out for themselves?

Actually, we already have a government-run health care plan and we know how well it works. It’s called Medicare and it’s going broke in about seven years.

Sounds like government-run health care is a bad prescription.