Desperate times call for desperate measures and when it comes to Climate Change these are the most desperate of times. So it should come as no surprise that a group of economists have put forth an idea for how we can realistically attack this catastrophic global problem.
As Futurism reports, “On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal published a letter penned by a group of 45 economic experts from both sides of the political aisle. In it, they detail an idea for how the U.S. should address global climate change: tax carbon emitters and give the money to American citizens.”
How much money are we talking about? If the carbon tax is something like $40 a ton that would equate to $2,000 per family. A decent amount of money, the middle class equivalent of receiving an extra pay check. Money that could be used for paying bills, going on vacations, or splurging on material items. Economic activities that could boost the economy across the board.
But that’s not the only reason to make the move.
“Giving the revenue from a carbon tax directly to citizens in equal lump-sum rebates could change those dynamics. The government wouldn’t give the impression that it’s trying to get more revenue for itself, and voters might be more inclined to support carbon tax legislation if they knew they’d benefit financially from its passage.”
This is a great approach to take considering the alternative: the Paris riots a few weeks ago when people construed a climate change measure as a tax on the poor. But there’s another reason why I love this idea so much and that’s the fact that it ties together with another one of my favorite ideas: Universal Basic Income.
In the future when robots have taken all of our jobs we may need to turn to UBI (government funded wages) as a way for society to stay afloat. However, doing so would be massively expensive. In fact, doing so in the United States at a rate of $12,000 per person would take up 70% of the federal budget. An obvious non-starter. Or at least it was until this carbon tax idea came along. Now everyone could get paid, UBI style, without effecting the regular budget. Talk about a win-win situation.
Is a Carbon Tax the Greatest Idea Ever?
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