Frankly, as much as it’s already being reported as if it’s a done deal, I’ll hold off on believing that President Trump will pull out of the Paris climate accord until we actually see it happen later today. That sentence is also a reminder that we’re supposed to say “Paris Climate Accord” or “Paris Climate Agreement” or “Paris Climate Whatsamajiggee” because everyone is required to perform all sorts of verbal gymnastics to avoid calling it a “treaty” like the rest of the world has. We can’t do that, you see, because that would highlight the fact that the previous president signed us on to a treaty with multiple foreign nations without the approval of two thirds of the Senate as mandated in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.

But let’s just say for a minute that he does pull out, saving God only knows how many jobs and how much money over the next decade. What then? Well, if you live in the Big Apple, you’re probably still going to wind up paying through the teeth because Mayor Bill de Blasio insists that New York City will still be bound by the illegal treaty no matter what the White House does. (Free Beacon)

“We’ll take matters into our own hands,” de Blasio continued. “I plan to sign an executive order maintaining New York City’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.”

De Blasio at a press conference promised to sign the executive order within the week.

“If cities and towns and counties and states all over the country step up and agree to abide by the Paris agreement, we can forestall the worst,” he said. “We can stop what President Trump may be about to do from having a devastating effect on our own people.”

In some areas, an executive order from the mayor is going to have very little practical effect. There’s only so much you can do at the municipal level when dealing with a subject such as this. But at the granular level, de Blasio could certainly make life more painful and more expensive for New York City businesses and residents. If they have to comply with some pointless emissions standards which nobody else is held to it will simply drive up costs across the board, making the city even less competitive than it already is. And any costs incurred in that fashion inevitably get passed on to the consumer or the resident.

But hey, New York… you just keep on electing these same weasels over and over and over again. The rest of us will sit back, break out the popcorn and watch the show.

The Free Beacon article also goes on to rudely and inconveniently point out that New York City and the surrounding areas have already cut their emissions by nearly 12% in the past decade. (More than the Paris treaty would have dictated anyway.) This wasn’t because of any international agreement or government mandate, but simply because energy producers have largely switched from coal to cheaper and cleaner burning natural gas. And just by coincidence, we only have all of that cheap, clean natural gas because of fracking, which is banned in New York.

It’s a mad, mad, mad world indeed.