Search Results for: "Carbon Tax"

First, a question: is the discovery of climate change mankind’s greatest achievement? But how should we respond to those measurements? Ross McKitrick, a global warming skeptic, suggests (pdf) a climate policy compromise: [T]he best way to proceed would be to put a small tax on CO2 emissions, and tie its subsequent evolution to a suitable … Continue reading Why Not Tie A Carbon Tax To Temperature?

Jodi Beggs criticizes recent efforts by Virginia and North Carolina lawmakers to levy a tax on hybrid cars to make up for their reduced contribution to gas taxes: Economically speaking, both Virginia and North Carolina are saying that they want at least some of their residents to switch back from purchasing hybrid cars to purchasing … Continue reading The Reverse Of A Carbon Tax

Last month, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “We would never propose a carbon tax, and have no intention of proposing one.” Elizabeth Kolbert hopes Obama will reconsider:

This was taken by some to mean that Obama was opposed to the tax and by others to mean just that he was not going to be the one to suggest it.

In either case, the White House is making a big mistake. Pigovian taxes are rarely politically popular—something they have in common with virtually all taxes. But, as Obama embarks on his second term, it’s time for him to take some risks. Several countries, including Australia and Sweden, already have a carbon tax. Were the United States to impose one, it would have global significance. It would show that Americans are ready to acknowledge, finally, that we are part of the problem. There is a price to be paid for living as we do, and everyone is going to get stuck with the bill.

Frum is onboard:

Matt Yglesias has a plan to finesse the Democratic position:

Plumer takes aim at fossil-fuel subsidies: A report from Harvard's Kennedy Center last year found that the world could cut global CO2 emissions by about 6 percent simply by scrapping price supports for fossil energy. (And yes, removing subsidies might, in the short term, have a regressive impact in the form of higher energy prices, … Continue reading The Opposite Of A Carbon Tax

Steinglass wants to know why a carbon tax can't replace a payroll tax: The payroll tax is a tax on human labour; it discourages companies from employing people. A carbon tax is a tax on fuel; it discourages people from using carbon-based fuels. If we shifted our tax structure to tax carbon more and human … Continue reading Why Would A Carbon Tax Be Crippling?

Free Exchange looks at the British example: The latest target is a 34% cut [in emissions], compared to 1990 levels, by 2020. When the good folk at Cambridge Econometrics fed this requirement into their model, it began spitting out prices of many hundreds of pounds per ton, far beyond anything that could be seen as … Continue reading Carbon Taxing – And Its Limits

Frum criticizes the administration's energy policy: Here’s the crazy thing about energy policy: If you want off oil, the only way to preserve free markets is by raising energy taxes. If you seek to quit oil without raising taxes, you plunge into a welter of subsidies and special favors. And that, sorry to say, is … Continue reading Yes, A Carbon Tax Would Be Better

Frum attacks Cap and Trade:

As the cap-and-trade bill has progressed through committee — a draft is expected any day now — more and more pollution rights have been allotted in advance to favored interests, free of charge. The final committee bill will probably give away at least 50 percent of all allotments, maybe even 75 percent. The freebies blow a huge hole in the budget plans of the White House, which has been counting on cap-and-trade payments from industry to help cover the enormous deficits the administration will run in coming years…