by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math
The populists are winning the battle against the elite "consensus" on carbon taxes. I put "consensus" in scare quotes because no elected Republican will say they support carbon taxes. Nor will any right-of-center economist who works for an elected Republican. Nor will any right-of-center economist who wants to work for an elected Republican. Only right-of-center economists who used to work for elected Republicans, plus permanent academic right-of-center economists, plus various right-wing pundits who cite carbon taxes as a "free market" solution to global warming instead of regulation, are willing to forthrightly state that carbon taxes are an idea worth considering.
Let us also recall the great BTU tax experiment of the 1993 Deficit Reduction Act, an idea so unpopular that it passed the House on a razor thin margin, died in the Senate, was left out of the final bill, and used in campaign ads against many a House Democrat who walked the plank for an idea that never became law. Incoming "Coal Belt" Democrats from Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky will probably not look too keenly on a Carbon tax, even as a tax swap. And no one wants to go back to their district to explain why they raised the price of gas by $1.20 a gallon, even if everyone gets a $5,000 pay raise as a result. So until prominent elected Republicans come out in favor of the Al Gore carbon-for-payroll tax swap, just say no.
See also EPI's Max Sawicky carbon tax skepticism. as well as Gar W. Lipow's arguments that they won't even help fight global warming.
