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Why can't we agree to just do what Musk says about carbon: tax goods which create negative externalities for society? You could even do it this way: write the

Why can't we agree to just do what Musk says about carbon: tax goods which create negative externalities for society? You could even do it this way: write the law such that an institution, whose job is to eliminate these externalities, is created, and then funded only with taxes on said products. There's two competing special interest groups to keep each in check so in theory it's even a institution which shouldn't have too much bureaucratic inertia. There are economists who endorse the idea, it's called a Pigouvian tax--the most notable economist is Mankiw.

thechao 8y ago
Carbon neutral atmospheric recapture of personal vehicle transportation carbon is probably about 600-700$ per ton of carbon. (Based off of practical experiments in the UK.) My read of the literature doesn’t show any hope of this number decreasing. A gallon of gasoline produces 20 lbs of carbon. This puts a carbon neutral tax on consumer gasoline at ~6-7$ per gallon. If you allow 20% “inefficiencies” (tax collection; frisson; profit margins), you’re at 7.2-8.4$/gallon. My fuel costs would go from 2.75$/gallon to ~10.50$/gallon. My yearly commute costs would go from ~1100$/yr to ~4000$/yr. I suppose it makes even a medium range electric vehicle look cheap—especially given the far cheaper costs of capturing carbon “at the stack” at the power plant would mean that central power wouldn’t be taxed as heavily.
- jdietrich 8y ago
  The price of gasoline in the UK is currently over $6 per US gallon; A few years ago, it exceeded $9 per gallon. Most of that price is tax. The American way of life might be significantly affected by a recapture tax, but it wouldn't make a huge amount of difference in most of Europe.
- Brakenshire 8y ago
  Recapture is a rather extravagant way of pricing carbon. We don’t need to eliminate carbon emissions entirely overnight, we need a certain percentage reduction each year for a few decades, and the carbon cost necessary to achieve that will be a lot lower.
- dTal 8y ago
  Well, yeah, that's kind of the point - to disincentivize harmful behaviour. The solution is to commute less, or get a vehicle that isn't so terrible for the environment. You're not really supposed to just keep wrecking the Earth, heave a big sigh, and pony up the tax...

thechao 8y ago

Carbon neutral atmospheric recapture of personal vehicle transportation carbon is probably about 600-700$ per ton of carbon. (Based off of practical experiments in the UK.) My read of the literature doesn’t show any hope of this number decreasing. A gallon of gasoline produces 20 lbs of carbon. This puts a carbon neutral tax on consumer gasoline at ~6-7$ per gallon. If you allow 20% “inefficiencies” (tax collection; frisson; profit margins), you’re at 7.2-8.4$/gallon. My fuel costs would go from 2.75$/gallon to ~10.50$/gallon. My yearly commute costs would go from ~1100$/yr to ~4000$/yr. I suppose it makes even a medium range electric vehicle look cheap—especially given the far cheaper costs of capturing carbon “at the stack” at the power plant would mean that central power wouldn’t be taxed as heavily.

jdietrich 8y ago
The price of gasoline in the UK is currently over $6 per US gallon; A few years ago, it exceeded $9 per gallon. Most of that price is tax. The American way of life might be significantly affected by a recapture tax, but it wouldn't make a huge amount of difference in most of Europe.
Brakenshire 8y ago
Recapture is a rather extravagant way of pricing carbon. We don’t need to eliminate carbon emissions entirely overnight, we need a certain percentage reduction each year for a few decades, and the carbon cost necessary to achieve that will be a lot lower.
dTal 8y ago
Well, yeah, that's kind of the point - to disincentivize harmful behaviour. The solution is to commute less, or get a vehicle that isn't so terrible for the environment. You're not really supposed to just keep wrecking the Earth, heave a big sigh, and pony up the tax...