Ok I said that I wasn’t going to directly discuss the environment – because it touches on so many things that it will be involved in several of the things I’m going to talk about anyway, but I will say that I strongly favor the carbon tax over cap and trade. Proponents of cap and trade say that it’s polluters and not consumers who should be taxed but everyone who pays any attention to industry knows that the costs will be passed along anyway – if we tax the polluters the cost of that tax will be passed onto us anyway but it will be invisible. It will simply be included in the cost of finished products without the consumer having any idea how much of the cost is due to environmental taxes.
With a carbon tax (done properly) the tax will be printed on the sticker. When you look at a product you will know how green it is based on the carbon tax. So consumers can make up their own mind about what it important. If they see a product that is cheeper than a competitive product because of the carbon tax then it’s win-win, they can save money and the environment. This is good for local business and agriculture.
On the other hand they may see a product that, even with the carbon tax, is less expensive than a greener product. The consumer can then make a decision about whether it is worth the extra money to reduce the environmental impact. People are beginning to see that the financial cost of a product isn’t the only cost. The long term environmental impact is also part what something costs. Most people though do not have time to spend hours researching everything they might want to buy. With a carbon tax the information they need will be printed on the price tag and then they can make whatever they feel is the best decision.
If they buy greener products it is better for the environment, if they don’t choose green products they pay more in taxes and the government has more money with which it can pursue other ways of taking care of the environment.
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