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Re: [Phys-L] The Carbon Tax: Merely a Ploy for Wealth Redistribution?

Perhaps, I'm not sufficiently informed on this subject, but I fail to
understand this concept of "the real cost of fossil fuel use." If there
are health costs due to the use of fossil fuels, the current system
already includes them. The industry is already heavily regulated with
regard to pollution controls. Why do we need to have a system where
additional taxes are added and then distributed back to the population
based on income?

Energy prices greatly affect the economy because there can be no goods
produced or services offered without a sufficient flow of energy.
Increased energy prices increase the prices of everything in the economy.
With the continuing weak economy and extremely high unemployment, how can
one justify such further damage to the economy? There is no way in which
this can be viewed as stimulative to the economy. We've already witnessed
the huge failure of the so-called "economic stimulus" of $trillions over
the past five years.

In addition, one cannot argue that if the US institutes carbon taxes, the
world will follow. This only puts the US at a further disadvantage in
worldwide economic competition. We already have a disadvantage of having
the world's highest corporate tax rates.

The goal seems to be reduction of carbon emissions. A better system would
be one of tax incentives for demonstrated carbon emission reductions. A
better way is through quality education of the public on significant
things they can do both in their homes and in their workplace.

The United States is an energy intensive nation for several reasons. We
have a population around 330 million with a per capita energy rate of
consumption of 11 kW. Our country is vast, and goods and people must be
transported great distances to reach their destinations. Secondly, we
have very large needs for heating in the northern states in winter and
cooling most of the country in summer.

So far, the green energy industry is a major failure with numerous
businesses going bankrupt, even after huge federal grants and loan
guarantees. One cannot argue that a huge shift into green technologies is
going to work. It's a risky gamble that could very well hasten our
economic demise. For the US to advance technologically in sustainable
technologies, we must have a strong economy with sufficient flows of
energy to support that development.

Carbon taxes are not the answer. Rational and gradual incorporation of
sustainable and clean technologies is more likely to yield the desired
results.

Some subscribers to Phys-L might be interested in a recent post "The
Carbon Tax: Merely a Ploy for Wealth Redistribution?" [Hake (2013)].
The abstract reads:

**************************************
ABSTRACT: In response to my discussion-list post "Would a Carbon Tax
Save Life on Planet Earth?" [Hake (2013)] at
<http://yhoo.it/16ECfUn>, David Marx at <http://bit.ly/14fAjhl> wrote
"Now, we finally get to the real purpose of carbon caps and taxes . .
. . . . . IT'S ALL ABOUT WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION. . . . . " [My CAPS.]

James Hansen, in his article "The American Party" at
<http://huff.to/13gcjcR> had this to say about "wealth/income
redistribution" (paraphrasing): "Yes, the Carbon Tax is progressive:
some ambitious low-income people who pay special attention to their
carbon footprint will be able to save money for other purposes,
wealthy people will pay more in added costs than they receive in the
dividend. However, the added cost to them is small compared with
change of income tax rates -- and lower income tax rates would be
much more likely when the economy improves as the system moves toward
honest pricing of fossil fuels. . . . . . . . . After I spoke to a
group of conservative politicians, one of them said 'THAT'S INCOME
REDISTRIBUTION!' " [My CAPS.]

But not all conservatives are so disposed - see e.g., the WSJ piece
"Why We Support a Revenue-Neutral Carbon Tax" at
<http://bit.ly/11ZoaOr>, by George Shultz <http://bit.ly/ZOTqiJ> and
Gary Becker <http://bit.ly/ZtDT5I>, both senior fellows at the
conservative Hoover Institution <http://bit.ly/SPGxwb>.
**************************************

To access the complete 9 kB post please click on <http://yhoo.it/13FUcvQ>.

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
Links to Articles: <http://bit.ly/a6M5y0>
Links to Socratic Dialogue Inducing (SDI) Labs: <http://bit.ly/9nGd3M>
Academia: <http://bit.ly/a8ixxm>
Blog: <http://bit.ly/9yGsXh>
GooglePlus: <http://bit.ly/KwZ6mE>
Google Scholar: <http://bit.ly/Wz2FP3>
Twitter: <http://bit.ly/juvd52>
Facebook: <http://on.fb.me/XI7EKm>

REFERENCES [URL shortened by <http://bit.ly/> and accessed on 05 June
2013.]
Hake, R.R. 2013. "The Carbon Tax: Merely a Ploy for Wealth
Redistribution?" online on the OPEN! Net-Gold archives at
<http://yhoo.it/13FUcvQ>. Post of 05 Jun 2013 11:23:12-0700 to AERA-L
and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post are being
transmitted to various discussion lists and are also on my blog
"Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/17pLFCG>.


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