Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels
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Re: Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels
#2A phased-in revenue-neutral carbon tax of $30/ton would increase electricity rates in (most of) the US by < 10%. And could lower income taxes (or if not revenue neutral) reduce the debt. What's not to like?
Re: Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels
#3A phased-in revenue-neutral carbon tax of $30/ton would increase electricity rates in (most of) the US by < 10%. And could lower income taxes (or if not revenue neutral) reduce the debt. What's not to like?
If it's revenue neutral and lowering income taxes, where would the big `victims' be?
Re: Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels
#4Not that I disagree (in fact I strongly agree), but is Musk really the person we should be taking this from? It's a bit like taking investment advice from your bank, meseems. Not necessarily a bad idea, but you might want to hear with people who don't have an active interest in the placement of your money first.
Re: Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels
#5A phased-in revenue-neutral carbon tax of $30/ton would increase electricity rates in (most of) the US by < 10%. And could lower income taxes (or if not revenue neutral) reduce the debt. What's not to like?
If it's revenue neutral and lowering income taxes, where would the big `victims' be?
Electricity producing plants that burn cheap fossil fuels such as coal :)
Re: Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels
#6A phased-in revenue-neutral carbon tax of $30/ton would increase electricity rates in (most of) the US by < 10%. And could lower income taxes (or if not revenue neutral) reduce the debt. What's not to like?
If it's revenue neutral and lowering income taxes, where would the big `victims' be?
People/companies that use more fossil fuels.
Re: Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels
#7A phased-in revenue-neutral carbon tax of $30/ton would increase electricity rates in (most of) the US by < 10%. And could lower income taxes (or if not revenue neutral) reduce the debt. What's not to like?
If it's revenue neutral and lowering income taxes, where would the big `victims' be?
As usual, probably the poor & lower middle class unless the income tax reduction were explicitly directed to the lowest tax brackets to limit impact on working poor.
Those below the poverty line would see an increase in their energy costs at the pump and and home electric bills as energy producers raise rates to compensate (and the impoverished are the least able to convert their use, so will be the longest affected by the transition).
Re: Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels
#8A phased-in revenue-neutral carbon tax of $30/ton would increase electricity rates in (most of) the US by < 10%. And could lower income taxes (or if not revenue neutral) reduce the debt. What's not to like?
If it's revenue neutral and lowering income taxes, where would the big `victims' be?
The big victims are the owners of fossil fuel deposits and infrastructure. Have a guess who is funding all the FUD about global warming.
Personally I think we should just buy the fossil fuel owners out at current market prices and shut them down as soon as possible. FUD in this area is just too effective to counter with logic or science so lets pay them off. If we wanted to be really clever we could do a 1 for 1 swap - Exxon we are buying your oil field and here is a wind farm in return.
Re: Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels
#9A phased-in revenue-neutral carbon tax of $30/ton would increase electricity rates in (most of) the US by < 10%. And could lower income taxes (or if not revenue neutral) reduce the debt. What's not to like?
If it's revenue neutral and lowering income taxes, where would the big `victims' be?
Fossil fuel producers and power plant operators.
A few states, and therefore a motivated group of Senators, would be hit disproportionately hard. Places like Wyoming and West Virginia drive a considerable part of their economy from coal, and fracking has led to natural gas windfalls in states like North Dakota.
You would imagine that some large carbon-intensive companies, like Koch or ExxonMobil, would also be impacted significantly.
EDIT: The counterpoint is that a gas tax in particular is quite regressive. The poor pay a larger portion of their income toward necessities like fuel to drive to work. They also are less likely to be able to afford that Tesla. Entry-level service workers can't work from home. They might be commuting large distances from cheaper outlying areas. There are many reasons why (if not managed properly) a carbon tax could hurt the wrong people.
It still seems like the right idea to me, though! We need to avoid calling it a 'tax' though, to avoid the Grover Norquist influence...
Re: Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels
#10Not that I disagree (in fact I strongly agree), but is Musk really the person we should be taking this from? It's a bit like taking investment advice from your bank, meseems. Not necessarily a bad idea, but you might want to hear with people who don't have an active interest in the placement of your money first.
>>Not necessarily a bad idea, but you might want to hear with people who don't have an active interest in the placement of your money first.
Those people do in fact agree with Musk. Here's James Henson, one of the world's foremost climate scientists:
http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/11/prominent-climate-sci...
"The only way to meaningfully address carbon emissions is to put a tax on carbon-based fuels, and to refund the entire amount as a dividend to consumers."