For list of sources and downloadable transcript: https://clearenergyalliance.com/proje…
Script: Of all the horrendously bad ideas on energy, this one takes the cake. It’s called a carbon tax, a combination of everything big and bad—big government, big corporate influence, big deception, big job losses, and big taxes on all of us. The newest organization pushing this dopey and dangerous idea is called “Americans for Carbon Dividends.” Right away you know you are being scammed when the promoters of an idea destroy the meaning of words. It’s a tax, the definition of which is just about the opposite of a “dividend”. The basic scheme they are promoting is a tax on carbon producers such as refineries, mines, oil and gas production, and shipping. These taxes flow to the government and then the feds give the money to you. Tra-la-la, what could possibly go wrong? In a word… everything. When the carbon producers are taxed, those costs will simply be passed on to consumers. And since energy is part of everything we do it means everything will get more expensive. Are you liking this idea yet? Wait a minute, the promoters of a carbon tax assure us that the government will return that money to us in a rebate check—that’s the dividend part. But that begs the question: Why make everything more expensive just so the government can give some of what we spend back to us? Well, they say, this is what we must do to fight climate change. The idea is if fossil energy costs more people will use less of it. But, that’s not entirely true. People who can afford to pay more for energy will mostly keep using it as they always have, but the poorest among us—those who spend the highest percentage of their income on energy—will get hammered. It’s the poor who will forego that road trip to grandma’s and keep the house hotter in summer and colder in winter among other sacrifices. But, carbon taxers say the poor will get more money back than the middle and upper classes. Ok, so what we’ve got here is another wealth redistribution scheme. Of course anyone who has ever witnessed government in action knows that there is a giant cost to any program bureaucrats administer. Just think about all the waste, fraud and abuse in our income tax system. A carbon tax will work much the same way, except the government won’t be directly taking money out of your paycheck. Sneaky, isn’t it? And what would American manufacturers do if it suddenly got much more expensive to build things in the U.S.? That’s right, some of them would simply relocate to other countries, or go out of business because they can’t compete with companies outside the U.S. that have less-stringent environmental regulations. A study commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers found that a carbon tax would destroy between four and twenty million American jobs. A carbon tax is one of those things that the more you look at it, the dumber it gets. But carbon-taxers say if that’s the case, why are big corporations like Exxon-Mobil and Shell getting on board? Why do you think? Several large U.S. cities and the state of Rhode Island have filed lawsuits against U.S. oil companies using climate change as a pretext to extort money. Think Tobacco Settlement. These companies are being promised they won’t be sued if a carbon tax is enacted, so it’s a low-cost insurance policy. Other rich people and corporations are supporting the tax because it’s a no-cost way to virtue signal. The big money behind Americans for Carbon Dividends knows it’s going to be a tough sell. The organization expects to spend $10 million in the first year alone and won’t even try to get the plan introduced in Congress until 2021. That’s quite a commitment, but they know large-scale public deceptions take time. Prepare yourselves for loads of carbon tax BS in the months and years to come. For the Clear Energy Alliance, I’m Mark Mathis. Power On.
