Discussion for article #223533
“Job-killing” arguments fail the smell test. If power plants are required to make modifications or new, less-polluting plants are to built, the money spent on that will not disappear from the economy. It will flow to those who design, build and operate those plants, who will in turn spend their income. We know that a massive credit contraction like in 2008 can certainly kill jobs, but there is not a shred of evidence that any money spent on preventing or mitigating pollution has ever killed a single job.
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The carbon tax argument is a sound one, though. I would love to hear Democrats support a revenue-neutral carbon tax offset by a cut in payroll taxes. This would protect low income workers, while letting the market decide how best to lower emissions. IMO that should be a clear political winner.
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What’s amazing is that this is even a story. It’s as if the republicans were complaining about NASA’s plans for studying the lunar surface on the grounds that everyone knows it’s made of green cheese.
Boehner lost me on the idea that spending money to improve the efficiency of power plants being a bad idea, but letting coastal cities get destroyed being a good idea.
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…climate change is real and there’s just nothing we should do about it…
If your house is on fire because it’s been struck by lightning, you shouldn’t try to put it out, eh? After all, it’s just a natural thing, a spot of bad luck.
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…some sort of unspecified solution that fixes everything without any disruption.
This is what’s often referred to as a Magic Pony Solution. Just assume the existence of a magic pony that will fix everything. We don’t know where the pony will come from, or what it looks like, but since it’s certainly on the way, we should do nothing until it arrives.
Cue the Big Fossil shills 3…2…1…
The carbon tax is not a sound argument against Obama’s new climate measures. It is something that should be pursued, but let’s be honest. No chance in hell of getting that past the Republicans.
Most of what the president’s opponents say about most of his proposals should be also be dispensed with and completely ignored. I’m no scientist and neither are most of the Rs
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I agree that a carbon tax is not a reason for the President not to do something now. But why shouldn’t the Dems push it? Run on cutting payroll taxes and dare the GOP to be against that. After all, payroll taxes tax something we all support, namely, jobs. Let’s see Boner defend that. And the Dems can promise that the moment a carbon tax is adopted, Obama’s order will be repealed (since it would be unnecessary). A twofer,
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I agree we shouldn’t keep arguing with deniers. We’re just spinning our wheels trying to convince them it’s real when no amount of evidence will convince them. Maybe try to convince those who accept it’s real but don’t believe it’s man-made, but really, the convincing realists have to do is that the problem is urgent. We need to move on to how to fix it and how to politically defeat deniers.