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Now how high would that tax need to be to so that everyday goods would dump plastic? And what would that mean for other uses of petroleum? Let's say you want a
by mijamo 8y ago
Now how high would that tax need to be to so that everyday goods would dump plastic? And what would that mean for other uses of petroleum?
Let's say you want a plastic bottle to cost 0.1$ more, so that alternative options are considered, and you tax it on the original petroleum and gas processed, what does that represent for the fuel used in a plane?
The problem is that not every use is equal, some are more necessary than others and pricing things by a general tax is not a right solution.
Many countries are banning plastic plates and bags for instance, because their benefit is nearly 0 and their cost is super high because many people just throw them away randomly. On the other hand airplane fuel is not easily replacable right now, so it should probably be taxed less (but still taxed enough to encourage other alternatives to develop).
- Retric 8y agoYou don't need to pick and chose good vs bad uses. If their are no alternatives then a small price increase is not a big deal. The most effective policy is one applied evenly that let's the market adjust to externalities. So really oil should be taxed directly, then you tax plastics above and beyond that as needed. But, you never want to apply discounts for some specific use.
- lmm 8y ago> Now how high would that tax need to be to so that everyday goods would dump plastic? And what would that mean for other uses of petroleum? Charge what it costs to clean up, and spend the tax on cleaning it up. > The problem is that not every use is equal, some are more necessary than others That's exactly why the price mechanism works - the necessary uses will continue to happen even at a higher price, while the frivolous ones will stop.