Guest essay by Eric Worrall
From the “lets tax our way to prosperity” school of economics; According to Guardian author Greg Jericho, although it might seem like a massive carbon tax would hammer the economic recovery from Covid-19, the stimulus effect of spending all the extra revenue which would be squeezed out of the world’s taxpayers would make the carbon tax a net benefit for the economy.
Acting on climate change can get us out of recession. There are no excuses left
Greg Jericho
Sun 18 Oct 2020 06.00 AEDT…
October is generally not a good month for news on climate change.
…
But acting remains imperative and this week, in its latest world economic outlook, the IMF revealed that acting on climate change will actually help us deal with the recession.
…
Yes, a price on carbon.
The IMF proposes a price that starts at between US$6 and US$20 a ton of CO2 and reaches between US$40 and US$150 in 2050.
For reference, the last year of the carbon price here was $24.15.
The IMF estimates it will knock back annual GDP growth by a touch over 2% by the end of the decade. But here’s the thing, the IMF also suggests environmental measures that will boost economic growth.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/commentisfree/2020/oct/18/acting-climate-change-can-get-us-out-of-recession-there-are-no-excuses-left
The IMF report is available here. Just in case you think Guardian author Greg Jericho is exaggerating, page 89 of the report says “… A green fiscal stimulus would support global GDP and employment during the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and lay the ground for higher carbon prices by boosting productivity in low-carbon sectors. …”.
According to figures published by the IMF, the USA provides 17.44% of the IMF’s available reserve, just under $83 billion.
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Thanks May I copy that please?
Biden’s economic team is also pushing the notion that trillions in new taxes are just what the economy needs to restart growth.
“A $20+ Carbon Tax would Boost Economic Growth”
and by implication $40+ will get us all twice the boost. This economics stuff is so easy like treclicity from Gaia.
They don’t live in the real world…
Carbon tax, wind turbine/blade tax, photovoltaic/cell tax, etc. A $20 reduction in taxes, prices, etc., an increase in productivity, a reduction of democratic dilution, would have a similar effect, less the corruption engendered through redistributive change schemes.
Leftists’ astounding ignorance and stupidity on economics is breathtaking in its scope.
I would like suggest Leftists read Bastiat’s “The Broken Window”, to understand why it’s impossible to irrationally misallocate limited resources to create prosperity, but you can’t fix stupid or religious fanaticism….
Okay, but let’s call it the Diplomat Tax.
The government always does the best job of using other people’s money for it own benefit. SARCASM
The carbon tax would make the public pay increased costs for everything. The total volume of money exchanged would increase for all goods and services sold. The result would be inflation. No one would be better off except the government workers hired to administer and collect the tax.
“…the stimulus effect of spending all the extra revenue which would be squeezed out of the world’s taxpayers would make the carbon tax a net benefit for the economy.”
So, when the neighborhood pool needs more water, all they have to do is syphon water from the deep end to the shallow end and the water level will increase. There’s no need to pay for more water. And, according to The Guardian and the IMF, it works even if you use a leaky government hose to syphon the water. Who knew?
This is from the Zimbabwe School of Economics.
It’s simple: Raising the cost of transportation, which is what a Carbon Dioxide tax does, causes the price of everything in the economy to increase, which takes money out of everyone’s pocket, rich and poor alike, and prevents them from stimulating the economy with the money they would have had but for the tax.
People spend money much more efficiently than government because they are spending in their own self interest.
Government wastes much of the money it spends, so given equal amounts of money to spend, consumer spending will stimulate the economy more than will government spending, and consumer spending does not increase costs across the economy, whereas taxing transportation does increase costs, so we have the double-whammy of government spending being more inefficent than consumer spending and the taxation required so government can do the spending increases the costs of everything, so we get inefficient spending and the price of everything goes up to boot.
Famous movie lines:
Benjy Benjamin: Look! We’ve figured it seventeen different ways, and every time we figured it, it was no good, because no matter how we figured it, somebody don’t like the way we figured it! So now, there’s only one way to figure it. And that is, every man, including the old bag, for himself!
Ding Bell: So good luck, and may the best man win!
Benjy Benjamin: [to Mrs. Marcus] Right! Except you,lady. May you just drop dead!
Lennie Pike: All right, all right, we all agree on that. Now look, let’s be sensible about this thing. There’s money in this for all of us. Right? There’s enough for you, there’s enough for you, and for me, and for you, and there’s enough for…
[they all race to their cars]
“I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” Winston Churchill. He knew a thing or two.