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I'm increasingly convinced that carbon taxes, as well as cap-and-trade schemes, would end up being gamed like any other tax systems. They would create substanti

I'm increasingly convinced that carbon taxes, as well as cap-and-trade schemes, would end up being gamed like any other tax systems. They would create substantial complexity and harm the economy without reducing emissions by as much as expected. There are some examples in this article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gaming-carbon-must-end-to-solve-global-warming/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gaming-carbon-mus...

yequalsx 9y ago
Cap-and-trade worked well with acid rain. As with any policy if it is not written well, is poorly enforced, or poorly implemented it will likely fail. It can be implemented well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_Rain_Program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_Rain_Program
- twblalock 9y ago
  The article I cited has addressed this and dismissed it. Do you think the article was wrong?
  - yequalsx 9y ago
    The U.S. Acid Rain Program begun in 1995—the best example yet of how the cap-and-trade idea can work—saw allowance prices drop from more than $1,500 to less than $1 based on changes first proposed by the Bush administration. And acid rain may be less but it has not gone away. The article indicates a reduction in acid rain. It furthermore indicates that much of problems with cap and trade stem from poor execution. Anything will fail if it is poorly executed, written to allow loopholes, or is poorly regulated. I think the problem is poor governance and a populace that allows such to happen. It can work.
SubiculumCode 9y ago
If the tax was placed as a fixed cost per pound of cattle product, regardless if its prime steak or pink goo, it would be a hard tax to game: In the end all meat products are packaged and a weight placed on it.
- hackeraccount 9y ago
  That might create odd effects. Consider. What if, right now, cows are raised using feed that's a inedible cast off of food grown for human consumption. If you tax all meat equally the incentive to do that would be reduced. You might as well raise cows on food that is fit for human consumption if it marginally improves the quality of the cow because you're paying the same tax either way.
OscarCunningham 9y ago
But would they be better or worse than other ways to reduce carbon emissions?

yequalsx 9y ago

Cap-and-trade worked well with acid rain. As with any policy if it is not written well, is poorly enforced, or poorly implemented it will likely fail. It can be implemented well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_Rain_Program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_Rain_Program

twblalock 9y ago
The article I cited has addressed this and dismissed it. Do you think the article was wrong?
- yequalsx 9y ago
  The U.S. Acid Rain Program begun in 1995—the best example yet of how the cap-and-trade idea can work—saw allowance prices drop from more than $1,500 to less than $1 based on changes first proposed by the Bush administration. And acid rain may be less but it has not gone away. The article indicates a reduction in acid rain. It furthermore indicates that much of problems with cap and trade stem from poor execution. Anything will fail if it is poorly executed, written to allow loopholes, or is poorly regulated. I think the problem is poor governance and a populace that allows such to happen. It can work.

SubiculumCode 9y ago

If the tax was placed as a fixed cost per pound of cattle product, regardless if its prime steak or pink goo, it would be a hard tax to game: In the end all meat products are packaged and a weight placed on it.

hackeraccount 9y ago
That might create odd effects. Consider. What if, right now, cows are raised using feed that's a inedible cast off of food grown for human consumption. If you tax all meat equally the incentive to do that would be reduced. You might as well raise cows on food that is fit for human consumption if it marginally improves the quality of the cow because you're paying the same tax either way.

OscarCunningham 9y ago

But would they be better or worse than other ways to reduce carbon emissions?