Trump Should Adopt a Carbon Tax

I was thinking what would be the most effective, job creating tax proposal out there. I think it would be a carbon tax.

Right now, America does not tax fossil fuels based on their carbon content. President Bill Clinton once proposed taxing carbon using a “BTU tax” but the idea never really got off the ground. But that was 25 years ago, and if anything the climate crisis has gotten more urgent. At the same time, the tax code has gotten more complicated, picking winners and losers without much of a sense of fairness.

I really like the idea of a national carbon tax. Individuals and most businesses would not pay the carbon tax — the only businesses who would pay a carbon tax would be those who extract or import carbon products into America. Certainly it would be an expense to owners of coal mines and oil and gas wells — but those are a small fraction of the American economy. While it would mean consumers would pay higher gas prices and more for heating fuel — it could be offset by growing the economy by eliminating taxes on investing and saving.

I suggest the carbon tax be used to cut taxes on businesses and investors. One of the taxes which has bothered me to no end is the tax on capital gains and on most interest-bearing investments. It just doesn’t seem right that after working hard, and paying taxes — and doing the right thing to invest money into growing the economy — I should be hit with another round of taxes. Imagine if all investments were tax free, like municipal and most government bonds are. It would encourage millions of Americans to invest their money rather then spending it on consumption. Tax the fossil fuel-burning car, not the growth of the economy.

Tax-free investments would provide billions in new capital funding, rather then being blown on frivolous things like new cars or disposable toys. If people didn’t ever have to pay on investments, they would be much more likely to save for retirement or just a better tomorrow. And because investments would be tax-free, investors wouldn’t have to report their gains to governments. It would make taxation much simpler, as your taxing much fewer people — just the carbon fuel producers, and not the general economy.

A carbon tax would allow the government to replace the Clean Power Plant program with just a tax on carbon-rich fuels. It would discourage the use of the most-carbon intensive fuels, especially dirty coal. And as many of the most carbon-intensive industries are the most polluting, it could allow government to reduce the level of regulation on many polluters, especially if there was a dramatic drop on overall emissions over time when people move away from burning large quanities of coal and oil to make energy.

This is why support replacing the Capital Gains tax and the tax on interest-gaining investments with a Carbon Tax.

April 22, 2020 Morning

Good morning! Happy Earth Day 🌎 on this Snowy morning! Snow flurries and 31 degrees in Delmar, NY. ❄ Breezy, ️20 mph breeze from the west-northwest 🌬 with gusts up to 34 mph πŸ’¨πŸ’¨πŸ’¨. The current wind chill is 19. There is a dusting of the white stuff on the ground and the cars on the ground.

I bet despite the cold on this Earth Day lots of folks will be working the earth. 🚜 Fields have to be prepped, manure spread, chisel plows and harrows run over thousands of acres across the country. We are almost a month away from the start of the Memorial Day Weekend and the first cutting of hay at most farms across Upstate NY. I 🌾Hopefully things will start to open up by then because otherwise things might be kind of crowded in the remaining wilderness areas. 🌲πŸ‘ͺπŸ‘¬πŸŒ²

Today will have scattered snow showers, mainly before 8am. Mostly sunny 🌞 late , with a high of 46 degrees at 4pm. 15 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 21st. Breezy, with a west wind 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. Not the coldest Earth Day ever but close. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 74 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 1985. 1 inches of snow fell back in 1928.❄

Definitely going to be a cold one today but sun β˜€ for a while. I might go to the library or Five Rivers this afternoon as the Wi-Fi is so much better. I guess if I do Five Rivers again there is always the option of a nature walk 🐦 on this Earth Day 🌎 if I bundle up with the cold. ❄ That wind is really whipping around for sure. It’s no joke.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 59.8Β° from the due south horizon (-11Β° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 7:07 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (282Β°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west-northwest (288Β°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:46 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 2 seconds with dusk around 8:15 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:52 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies πŸŒ„ and temperatures around 40 degrees. Breezy, 18 mph breeze β›… from the west-northwest with gusts up to 30mph. Today will have 13 hours and 43 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 39 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear πŸŒƒ, with a low of 24 degrees at 6am. 16 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 13th. West wind 11 to 16 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 50 degrees. The record low of 26 occurred back in 1975.

Saturday still looks like the best day for the weekend but still cold for late April. β›… Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 57. Sunday, showers likely, mainly after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 63 degrees.

While certainly not a banner forecast, 🌿 you have to make the best of it. I got away last weekend and this will probably be a stay in town weekend. I’m thinking I’ll probably do one of the big loops at Partridge Run on Saturday. 🚢 Probably from Gifford Hollow Road this time then head west on the dirt roads. The nice thing about road hiking is the lack of mud and ticks. 🐜 Plenty of summer left to still go camping β›Ί.

There are 2 months until Average High is 80 πŸ– when the sun will be setting at 8:37 pm with dusk at 9:11 pm. By then it will be almost time for the second cutting of hay 🌾 which seems all the more amazing on how cold the spring has been.

American Lung Association’s Air Quality Report Claims Climate Change Will Make it Harder to Protect Health – The Allegheny Front

American Lung Association’s Air Quality Report Claims Climate Change Will Make it Harder to Protect Health – The Allegheny Front

The American Lung Association’s annual report card on air quality found more U.S. cities and more people experienced unhealthy air than in the previous report. And it ranked the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas as among the most polluted in the country.

The association says its 2020 State of the Air report provides more evidence that climate change is making it harder to protect human health.