Guest essay by Eric Worrall
At least one Republican congressman believes the USA needs more taxes. Carlos Curbelo, U.S. representative for Florida’s 26th congressional district has introduced legislation to charge $24 / ton for CO2 starting in 2020.
Curbelo Receives Praise for Leadership on Market Choice Act to Address Climate Change
Washington, D.C., July 25, 2018 | Joanna Rodriguez (202-225-2778)
Representative Carlos Curbelo (FL-26), sponsor of H.R. 6463, “The Market Choice Act,” welcomed support of his efforts to move forward a market-based approach to valuing carbon from 34 diverse companies representing a wide cross section of the U.S. economy.
“I appreciate all the messages of encouragement in response to the Market Choice Act
filed earlier this week,” Curbelo said. “This new and innovative solution invests in American infrastructure, accelerates the transition to clean energy, repeals discriminatory taxes, and provides regulatory relief and stability that shows protecting our environment and strengthening the economy are not mutually exclusive. I look forward to the continued discussion around this proposal and thank all those offering support and adding to the constructive dialogue this bill has begun.”“We welcome your demonstrated commitment to finding common ground on federal policies that can mitigate the effects of climate change,” the business leaders wrote in a letter to Curbelo and original co-sponsor Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-8). “Your recently introduced legislation, the MARKET CHOICE Act (H.R. 6463), represents an opportunity for both parties to engage in substantive dialogue on the risks and opportunities posed by climate change, and to craft legislative solutions that benefit citizens in many different areas of the United States.”
The letter was signed by: Aspen Skiing Company, BP America, Burton Snowboards, Calpine Corporation, Campbell Soup Company, Clif Bar & Company, Danone North America, DSM North America, The Dow Chemical Company, DTE Energy, DuPont, EDP Renováveis, Equinor US Gap Inc., General Motors, IKEA North America Services, LLC, Ingersoll Rand, JLL Levi Strauss & Co., Lyft, Inc., Mars Incorporated, National Grid, New Belgium Brewing Company, Outdoor Industry Association, PG&E Corporation, Schneider Electric, Seventh Generation Shell, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Stonyfield Farm, Inc., Symantec Corporation Unilever, Vail Resorts, and Worthen Industries.
Environmental and energy groups across the political spectrum also praised Curbelo’s effort. Curbelo announced the introduction of H.R. 6463, the Modernizing America with Rebuilding to Kick-start the Economy of the Twenty-first Century with a Historic Infrastructure-Centered Expansion Market Choice Act at an event with Columbia University Center for Global Energy Policy on Monday. According to an analysis by Columbia University, Curbelo’s proposal would reduce carbon emissions by 27–32 percent in net greenhouse gas emissions levels by 2025 and 30–40 percent by 2030. The analysis also suggests the proposal would have little economic disruption, and that lowest-income households benefit from the proposal with 10% of revenues being used for transfers/dividends to offset higher energy prices.
A PDF of the legislation is available here and a legislative memo outlining the policies in the bill is available here.
A PDF of the letter is available here and the text of the letter is available below.
July 25, 2018
The Honorable Carlos Curbelo
The United States House of Representatives
1404 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Dear Representative Curbelo,
As businesses that understand the critical nexus between environmental and economic interests and strongly support a collaborative, non-partisan solution to address climate change, we write to thank you for your leadership in advancing a constructive dialogue. This issue impacts our employees, our customers and the communities that we serve regardless of political affiliation—and of course, it impacts our businesses in very direct ways.
We believe that an economy-wide, market-based approach to valuing or pricing carbon, when carefully crafted, can both strengthen our economy and reduce carbon emissions by encouraging technological innovation and stimulating new investments in infrastructure, products, and services. A market-based approach provides companies, such as ours, with much-needed certainty to aid us in making long-term investment decisions that can further mitigate climate-related risks for our companies, supply chains, and the communities in which we live and work.
We welcome your demonstrated commitment to finding common ground on federal policies that can mitigate the effects of climate change. Your recently introduced legislation, the MARKET CHOICE Act (H.R. 6463), represents an opportunity for both parties to engage in substantive dialogue on the risks and opportunities posed by climate change, and to craft legislative solutions that benefit citizens in many different areas of the United States.
While we are not endorsing H.R. 6463, we appreciate your thoughtfulness, as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, in introducing market-based legislation that will drive a robust, non-partisan dialogue on how valuing or pricing carbon and strengthening the economy are not mutually exclusive – something we, as businesses, have understood for many years.
Thank you again for your leadership and we look forward to constructive conversation with you and other Members of Congress on policy solutions to address climate change.
CC: The Honorable Brian Fitzpatrick
Source: https://curbelo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2103
This move does not appear to be representative of the Republican Party’s position as a whole. Reuters reports that Last week, the House voted 229-180 to approve a resolution expressing “the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy.”
Nevertheless in my opinion this unfortunate move demonstrates that even Republican politicians are not immune to the lure of toxic tax ideas.
Taxes aimed at encouraging renewables have no hope of improving people’s lives. Legislation which unnecessarily drives up the price of energy almost always ends with voters rejecting the politicians who caused the pain – as just happened in Ontario.
The only genuinely viable alternative to fossil fuels is nuclear power. The evidence that renewables are useless is incontrovertible – even über green Google Corporation’s top engineers could not find an economically viable roadmap for the world to transition to renewables.
In voting districts where green policy support is strong, support for a carbon tax might be good for a quick political victory, but once voters discover there is no hope of renewables bringing energy prices down they tend to turn against the politicians who made their lives more difficult.
And all the overheads at all levels of implementing this tax are what???
That price per carbon all of a sudden becomes a windfall to bigger, more expensive government as well as a huge cost to implement and track on the business side.
At all to support a religion. What happened to no government establishment of religion? Need to gut out the climate religion from government completely.
Carbon tax = all problems solved, planet saved.
Please, would you help my checklist ?
-We are told green energies are clean.
-We are told green energies are infinite.
-We are told green energies are dirt cheap.
-We are told to purchase expensive energy saving devices and junk all the rest.
-We are incited to energy poverty by all sorts of taxes.
-We have to spend more and more to save on something clean, of infinite supply and dirt cheap.
What kind of fuel are we supposed to smoke to make it happen ?
How do more taxes ‘benefit citizens in many different areas’ ?
OT: Japan’s wet summer continues.
Central and southern Japan are in for high rainfall again this weekend a Typhoon is headed towards southern Tokyo area:
https://www.windy.com/?clouds,2018-07-28-03,35.675,138.691,3,i:pressure
Track map, Cat 3 projected:
And this Isn’t going to help either, lots of hot water to tap for moisture, SST:
https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/overlay=sea_surface_temp_anomaly/orthographic=-222.01,36.63,603
The rain, mudslides, and floods in Western Japan have been devasting this year with over 200 lives lost.
I live on a beach in Central-East Japan (Kanto), which has had normal rainfall with exceptionally hot temps for many weeks.
From recent satellite data, it looks like my family and I will be hit by a medium-sized typhoon this weekend, so things are about to get interesting.
Surf’s up!
Yes, this is just what is needed! The US is far too competitive on the world markets due to your absurdly cheap energy. You need to shackle both legs and an arm in order that your European competitors- who have numerous green taxes- can compete on a level high cost playing field.
US gas at 12 Dollars a gallon should be the next step. The greens won’t mind.
‘The analysis also suggests the proposal would have little economic disruption, and that lowest-income ‘households benefit from the proposal with 10% of revenues being used for transfers/dividends to offset higher energy prices.’ Oh good, just what we need another hidden tax system with a 10% redistribution of wealth going to the “the Poor”. The rich can and will absorb their rise in energy prices. The hardest hit: The working poor, elderly on fixed income, and the middle class. But it wont stop with just an increase in energy prices, consumer goods and services. The government will use that tax to pick winner and loser.
My analysis suggests the representative from Florida needs a major podiatric disruption of his dorsal extremities.
(A kick in the arse.)
Why is **MORE TAXES** considered a market based approach?
Only in the Bizarro World of so-called progressives and their RINO fellow travelers.
Also, textbook Orwellian doublespeak.
Theoretically, it’s less disruptive than direct government regulations.
Another amazing piece of government doublespeak, where government mandated laws that force carbon value evaluation, is described falsely as “market based approach”
From the proposed legislation:
Many of the current buzz words in play since the Trump Administration initiated regulatory reduction and business support in America, most of Curbelo’s phrases are absurd in one context or another.
Besides mandating a carbon market that has been proven by earlier attempts, to foster carbon exchange fraud and moving direct fossil fuel usage taxes to a much larger tax burden upon every person in America; “Raise much-needed revenue to modernize our national infrastructure – a bipartisan priority that remains elusive without a new influx of revenue – by providing an additional $285 billion for the Highway Trust Fund and $18 billion for the Airways Trust Fund”
i.e. Tax every thing used by every person in America to fund alleged infrastructure projects. e.g. Road and bridge construction where copious amounts of concrete are used, emitting large quantities of CO₂ thus requiring higher taxes to fund the carbon exchange market…
Just the type of action designed to thrill greedy shallow politicians, labor unions and scammers.
2) i.e. tax all persons in America to fund infrastructure they do not use, or rarely use: e.g. “Airways Trust Fund”; a fund for airport infrastructure.
e.g. “Eliminate regressive, inefficient and discriminatory taxes like the gasoline tax and the aviation fuel tax to promote equitable treatment for Americans driving traditional cars and ensures all Americans are contributing their fair share to our country’s infrastructure needs”.
* “Their fair share”, words from politicians that frighten ever self aware person on Earth.
* “promote equitable treatment for Americans driving traditional cars”, again, politician words to frighten working folks. N.B. the Congressman’s allegedly eliminating gasoline taxes, but instead hides fuel taxes by immersing those taxes deep inside a massive fake carbon market tax burden on everything in America.
N.B. Use of the word “moratorium”, meaning temporary.
N.B. 2: “providing much needed certainty”, whatever that means, besides taxing everybody and everything.
N.B. 3: “limiting economic repercussions of additional regulations”, more politician words that should raise sentient’s hackles across America.
Introduces socialist “spread the wealth” falsehood while taxing everyone heavily.
Curbelo proposes:
· Massive taxes on everyone
· Larger government necessary to track, collect, evaluate, prosecute, allocate the new tax
· Socialist spread the wealth claim in line with EU plans
· Protects current EPA regulatory expansions through a temporary moratorium
· Disguises government mandate as “market based”
Curbelo is a RINO, i.e. Republican In Name Only.
He is a puppet like all progressives. A sound economy needs less government not more.
“Raise much-needed revenue to modernize our national infrastructure”
Yep, and guess what tax bracket will end up paying the bulk of this funding. The middle class.
What people don’t realize is that this proposed carbon tax gets the rich off the hook of paying for the majority of this funding. In other words, this tax helps preserve the wealth of the rich and screws the middle class.
We need to get this message out because its true and I believe it would be very effective in stopping a carbon tax.
Never thought I’d say this but its time we screw the rich with higher taxes. Many of them are leftists so it would bring me great joy and satisfaction to make them use their wealth for the things they want.
“…Eliminate regressive, inefficient and discriminatory taxes like the gasoline tax and the aviation fuel tax to promote equitable treatment for Americans driving traditional cars and ensures all Americans are contributing their fair share to our country’s infrastructure needs;…”.
This is the only way I might seriously consider a carbon tax—if it replaces the gasoline tax, aviation fuel taxes and taxes on my fossil fuel-based utility bill. Also, in exchange for the carbon tax, stop the funding of the WMO/IPCC (which we are supposed to do anyway since they admitted the Palestinians as members), the funding the UN’s Green Climate Fund and the funding of scientists who are toeing the climate alarmist party line (especially their climate models).
Put some of the money towards funding for the R&D for 4th generation nuclear power. If the carbon tax doesn’t completely replace all the revenue lost from fossil fuel and utility taxes that are ended, raise revenue by cutting spending elsewhere to fill the gap. On the flip side, the carbon tax should not cost more than the taxes they replace.
Outlaw the gasoline, aviation fuel and other taxes that the carbon tax replaces. The problem here though is that the politicians (especially on the Left) will leave the door open to reinstate the taxes that the carbon tax replaces, and I am not stupid enough to believe that they won’t try to do it.
I am against any form of direct taxation which gives those in power the right to know everything about you. It is the way to enslave a population.
Market Choice? Yea, sure. Most taxes can be be minimized by 1) not making money, 2) not spending money, or 4 not owning anything, 5) not doing anything. Not much choice there.
What happened to 3)?
It has fallen inside the Schwarzschild radius.
Ex-Congressman
Climate Change, like any other religion, relies on faith.
Dead political career walking.
Curbelo represents the Florida Keys. While the population is not fond of government they tend towards liberal and leftists policies for the rest of the country. Last two presidential elections they voted for Obama and Hillary. Since Curbelo’s proposal really wouldn’t impact them, or so they believe, they probably support it. Though predicting what the folks in the Monroe County will and will not do has always been difficult. They had a outbreak of dengue not long ago, while they wanted the outbreak stopped immediately they then didn’t want mosquito control to do anything to mitigate future outbreaks. They want water quality improved but want the rest of the country to pay for it. Many in the Keys are on “septic tanks,” which due to the geology, actually are cesspools with a near direct connection with the ocean.
You may need to update your knowledge of the “septic tanks”. The implementation of a central sewer system has been going on for a while and it should be close to being finished. I don’t live there so perhaps someone can give a real update.
Thanks for the heads up. I did a google and you are correct. But as I said they wanted the rest of the state to pay and that appear is exactly what happened, about a billion dollars. However, I doubt seriously that everyone is connected and the old “septic tanks” were filled in. Also I wonder what happened to the waste water plants, sewage lines, etc last year after the hurricane.
Rep. Curbelo frequently appears on local TV news broadcasts yammering on about climate change. He gets favorable coverage because he is a MeToo RINO on the subject. He does not receive the same coverage when he goes ‘off topic’ and takes a conservative stand on other issues.
A boneheaded RINO. Hopefully someone will take him behind the woodshed, but that’s prb’ly considered some kind of abuse nowadays….
Another GOP politician joins the list of dead men walking. Toss the bum out in November.
Part of the Progressive war on the poor and middle class.
Exploitive POS.
Just another pandering RINO. “The Market Choice Act,” amazing isn’t it? They always name tax bills with harmless happy names. Real meaning: “We choose to act by taxing carbon in all markets.”
I notice there are two breweries signing the letter. Breweries are CO2 sequestration companies.
They would probably receive carbon credits. Carlos is simply trolling for votes and campaign contributions, he probably realizes there is no chance of such a bill passing Congress.
Since when is taxation a ‘market choice’?
‘The Market’ is We The People. Government has no idea about economy and how a FREE market functions. Regulating it kills the free market because only the BIG ones (those who want regulations) can comply.This is bad for competition so it is bad for the customer. The free market where the customer decides and not ‘government'(those in power) will make things cheaper not more expensive.
This clearly is an excuse to raise money by parasitizing the human-caused-climate-change scam.
Yeah, this scam is great, if it helps US raise funds that we cannot raise through means based on truthful claims.
Use a lie to make ends meet. Such integrity ! (/sarc)
CHEAP ABUNDANT ENERGY IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF SOCIETY. It IS that simple!
Most politicians are so incompetent that they should not even opine about energy matters, let alone set policy. That statement clearly includes Congressman Carlos Curbelo.
Carbon taxes are destructive and imbecilic, because they do no good and cause great harm, by driving up the cost of EVERYTHING.
“When uninformed politicians fool with energy systems, real people suffer and die.”
COLD WEATHER KILLS 20 TIMES AS MANY PEOPLE AS HOT WEATHER
By Joseph D’Aleo and Allan MacRae, September 4, 2015
https://friendsofsciencecalgary.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/cold-weather-kills-macrae-daleo-4sept2015-final.pdf
________________________________________________________________
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/06/18/study-global-warming-wont-reduce-winter-deaths/#comment-1967576
[excerpt]
Excess winter deaths average about 100,000 per year in the USA in the four winter months. That is two 9/11’s per week for 17 weeks EVERY YEAR.
This post is from 2014:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/06/28/canada-pulls-the-plug-on-the-u-s-keystone-pipeline-will-send-oil-to-asia/#comment-1676342
[excerpt]
We knew with confidence over a decade ago that global warming alarmism was technically false, extremist and wasteful.
We also knew with confidence over a decade ago that the green energy schemes proposed to “fight global warming” would not be green nor would they provide much useful (dispatchable) energy.
Since then, there has been no significant global warming.
Since then, trillions of dollars have been squandered on failed green energy schemes that have produced little net energy, but have caused energy costs to soar.
There is no real global warming crisis.
Cheap, abundant, reliable energy IS the lifeblood of society.
Regards, Allan
Allan, have you ever tried to tell this to Minister Catherine MacKenna?
Did you see how she reacted to Ontario’s new government when it was announced that they would cancel the cap and trade?
Hi Sommer,
Catherine McKenna, aka Climate Barbie, is a scientific imbecile.
She holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a law degree from McGill University. She tries to shout down and insult anyone who disagrees with her idiotic opinions on global warming alarmism and climate change.
Realize that neither Law nor Economics are in any way scientific subjects – they are artificial constructs that require little more than memorization of reams of information without a strong requirement for logic or coherence.
If you don’t believe me, spend a few days in Canadian federal courts. I spent six years in court and have never seen such deceit and incompetence in any other field. I would not trust a typical lawyer, Crown prosecutor or federally-appointed Justice to even wash my car.
Economics is perhaps an even softer field, but unlike law, it does have the great advantage of not rewarding the biggest liars in the room.
So in answer to your question, no, I have not tried to communicate with Climate Barbie. In my long life, I have learned that you cannot communicate with zealots and imbeciles – they do not have the intellectual tools to even hear what you are saying.
Regards, Allan