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Carbon taxes do seem regressive and problematic. On the other hand if we wait for an ideal world, it will only be ideal for plants, insects, rodents, and pathog
by toufiqbarhamov 8y ago
Carbon taxes do seem regressive and problematic. On the other hand if we wait for an ideal world, it will only be ideal for plants, insects, rodents, and pathogens. Truthfully though, taxing consumers seems half-asses in the extreme. Of course what we need is something the average person is terrified of, which is to say we need nuclear power en masse, and we needed it yesterday. That can give us some breathing room to push hard on solar as wind, as well as using nuclear power to produce hydrogen through electrolysis.
It’s not perfect, it’s expensive, it produces waste we need to deal with, but the alternative is going to be waiting for too-slow progress on the renewable end, only to realize it’s too late. That’s when the desperate geoengineering attempts will be made, likely kicking off some very unintended consequences.
- yholio 8y agoWell, carbon taxes are the way to get there by letting the market decide what is preferable technology as opposed to some rando on an internet forum decreeing that we need nukes (not that I disagree). Poor people are actually the most price sensitive and lowest consumers of services and manufactured goods, they would end up paying a smaller portion of the tax. There is nothing stopping the government from reducing other taxes in compensation or using the revenue to provide, say, a minimum level of free health insurance for all.
- Wowfunhappy 8y agoJust to be clear, I am 100% in favor of carbon taxes. We can use subsidies, largely from the revenue generated, to soften the more regressive properties of the tax. I'm just not going to complain when countries implement alternative measures. At least it's something.