Using The Carbon Crisis

As Rahm Emmanuel said, never let a good crisis go to waste. There is no reason our side can't advance our goals in response to real or artificial crises, just as the left does. This is why I am adamant about the need to put forward a carbon tax with offsetting income tax reductions.

I also feel compelled to respond to commenter criticisms of my carbon tax proposal because I have failed to communicate effectively. The objections go like this:
1. Man made global warming doesn't exist.
2. Even if America does something, China, India et al will just keep polluting.
3. Destroying America's wealth will do us no good.
4. If a carbon tax is tied to an income tax reduction, it will get a sunset clause.

All reasonable objections, however, I believe that my readers are missing my point. A carbon tax is the ultimate tax on consumption. Many studies have shown that shifting taxes away from income to consumption increase the wealth of nations. From the Library of Economics and Liberty:

The case for a consumption tax is that the tax wedge created by taxing capital income does enormous long-term damage to the economy. Taxing interest, dividends, and capital gains penalizes thrift by taxing away part of the return to saving. The unavoidable result is less saving than society would choose in the absence of any taxes.

Further, there is evidence that long term economic growth is tied to the rate of savings.

Next, even if China and India do nothing, we will still be better off by taxing consumption and reducing income taxes. A carbon tax with offsetting income tax reductions has benefits, even if global warming is a total fantasy, even if there is no air pollution. The last objection is the trickiest and goes to the sausage making nature of legislation. This deserves to be a part of the Freedom Coalition Agenda, because ignoring the issue makes our side look bad. I also reiterate the ancillary benefits of a carbon tax: reduced air pollution and reduced world wide demand for oil and therefore less money for Saudi sheiks, Hugo Chavez and Ahmadenijad.