Duke of Al
So I wasn’t imagining things, Al Gore really did say a tax on carbon should replace the employment tax. Maybe he could get together with Pat Buchanan since the number one CO2 emitter is now China, and thus part of the carbon tax could be viewed as a tariff.
Here’s the story, “Al Gore’s Pollution Tax Proposal Makes Sense, Says Duke Expert”.
Sphere: Related ContentIn his proposal, Gore said the pollution tax should replace all payroll taxes, including social security and unemployment benefits. He also called for establishing a Carbon Neutral Mortgage Association to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient, among other actions.
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I doubt that Buchanan would be mollified. As tariffs go, a carbon tax will favor the less transparent Chinese manufacturers unless some serious regulatory muscle is put behind it (the alternative, a flat tariff on all Chinese products, won’t fly). IOW, China has to cooperate (which they may, as it would have some advantages for them too, and really, who *else* are we going to buy manufactured goods from now?). An ace-in-the hole might be the giant manufacturing plants that are operated as American subsidiaries (ex. iPod City), if you partially or wholly exempt their products because they can *prove* their carbon-footprint is smaller or neutral.
Regarding the ‘carbon-neutral mortgage association’, you may find this information interesting:
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/housing/energy_mort/energy-mortgage.htm