4 ms·

Yes, the taxes are used in that way but they must be instituted by the government. However, even a tax doesn't necessarily helps with the conservation of non-r

by js8 8y ago

Yes, the taxes are used in that way but they must be instituted by the government. However, even a tax doesn't necessarily helps with the conservation of non-renewable resource. Since the tax is typically a percentage of the price, price going to 0 will still incentivize use of the resource despite tax being arbitrarily high. The same goes for cap-and-trade - which is how they actually failed - the emission quotas got very cheap and so everybody bought what they needed for business as usual. The only way the carbon tax can work in case of carbon is that it becomes high enough that it's no longer efficient to produce energy from carbon sources compared to energy from renewable sources. So the tax isn't really a punishment that would encourage conservation, it can just encourage substitute of different resource. If there isn't different resource.. you still won't conserve it even if you tax it a lot.

smallnamespace 8y ago
> If there isn't different resource.. There's always a different resource that you can substitute if you look widely enough at the big picture. E.g. for party balloons, sure, maybe only helium works, but it's only there as an entertainment option, of which there are many substitutes. Same for say, helium for scuba diving—sure, there might not be an alternative, but the purpose of most forms of scuba diving may be fulfilled by alternatives (submersibles / robots / snorkeling depending on whether for practical or enjoyment purposes). A tax would drive people to fulfilling the wider economic and societal need without using a product that requires helium. > which is how they actually failed Cap and trade did not 'fail', it succeeded in capping emissions at the number of credits + allowances. If you want to reduce emissions more, then reduce the total quantity. Price targeting and quantity targeting are just different ways of stating what your goal is.
- mcherm 8y ago
  > There's always a different resource that you can substitute if you look widely enough at the big picture. What is the different resource that can be used for studying low temperature physics?
da_chicken 8y ago
> Since the tax is typically a percentage of the price For a duty tax, sure, but not not an excise tax. Those are often fixed rates. An NFA stamp for the transfer of banned weapons is a fixed rate ($200). Cigarette taxes [0] are also fixed values. Gasoline taxes have a similar fixed value [1]. [0]: https://taxfoundation.org/state-cigarette-tax-rates-2018/ https://taxfoundation.org/state-cigarette-tax-rates-2018/ [1]: https://taxfoundation.org/state-gasoline-tax-rates-2017/ https://taxfoundation.org/state-gasoline-tax-rates-2017/

by js8 8y ago

smallnamespace 8y ago

> If there isn't different resource.. There's always a different resource that you can substitute if you look widely enough at the big picture. E.g. for party balloons, sure, maybe only helium works, but it's only there as an entertainment option, of which there are many substitutes. Same for say, helium for scuba diving—sure, there might not be an alternative, but the purpose of most forms of scuba diving may be fulfilled by alternatives (submersibles / robots / snorkeling depending on whether for practical or enjoyment purposes). A tax would drive people to fulfilling the wider economic and societal need without using a product that requires helium. > which is how they actually failed Cap and trade did not 'fail', it succeeded in capping emissions at the number of credits + allowances. If you want to reduce emissions more, then reduce the total quantity. Price targeting and quantity targeting are just different ways of stating what your goal is.

mcherm 8y ago
> There's always a different resource that you can substitute if you look widely enough at the big picture. What is the different resource that can be used for studying low temperature physics?

da_chicken 8y ago

> Since the tax is typically a percentage of the price For a duty tax, sure, but not not an excise tax. Those are often fixed rates. An NFA stamp for the transfer of banned weapons is a fixed rate ($200). Cigarette taxes [0] are also fixed values. Gasoline taxes have a similar fixed value [1]. [0]: https://taxfoundation.org/state-cigarette-tax-rates-2018/ https://taxfoundation.org/state-cigarette-tax-rates-2018/ [1]: https://taxfoundation.org/state-gasoline-tax-rates-2017/ https://taxfoundation.org/state-gasoline-tax-rates-2017/