Re:Universal Basic Income is Capitalism 2.0
by Alupis on Thursday July 30, 2020 @02:41AM
(#23995325)
So, what happens if this carbon tax works like I suspect we want it to?
Doesn't that mean there will be less carbon tax revenue, because we've compelled companies to be more green?
Who pays for the UBI then?
Re:Universal Basic Income is Capitalism 2.0
by millstone on Thursday July 30, 2020 @03:41AM
(#23995633)
Agree with this. From a political perspective, tying a carbon tax to any other progressive or conservative policy makes it less likely to succeed.
Ideally the carbon tax should fund...nothing! A pure dividend, all monies repaid to everyone. Climate change requires long term thinking, which means it requires an enduring institution, like Social Security. It must not be entangled with the vagaries of the political moment.
Re:Universal Basic Income is Capitalism 2.0
by rattray on Thursday July 30, 2020 @11:00AM
(#23998956)
> A pure dividend, all monies repaid to everyone.
You mean... UBI?
Re:Universal Basic Income is Capitalism 2.0
by sleepychu on Thursday July 30, 2020 @03:00AM
(#23995419)
The change will be incremental, policy makers will have time to see that the funding is evaporating and identify alternative sources. For example, increased GDP from an economy no longer plagued by pollution and the devastating weather events caused by climate change.
Right, so you’ve just admitted your argument is flawed, it won’t work in the long run, and “it’s complicated”.
But yeah, sounds absolutely perfect, carbon tax plus ubi. Problem is that’s it, it sounds great.
If we are going to have an academic argument – and we really should, if we aren't to just be blabbering off here – we need to see some numbers. We need to know how they are calculated. What's the carbon footprint of these Mexican laborers getting to work 3 to a small-cab truck, or on bicycle, or on BART in the wee morning? And have that compared to the guy in Hamptons with his giant 22-room house here, and other houses elsewhere.
Maybe the Mexican guy's taxes will be close to mine. More than is comfortable. That is fine. Carbon taxes don't have to be the only source of income for the government. But until we can see the actual curves, and the total output per segment, etc., we can't actually crunch out what an effective policy is, and we're writing off what's arguably necessary if we're to fix the problem, because we're probably going to have a hard time cutting back emissions until we associate an economic cost to them.