California bureaucrats have announced a new 1 percent tax on restaurant goers meant to help in the fight against climate change.
By Eric Eisenhammer writing at Energy Chronicle
The San Francisco Chronicle reported this “optional” tax is an initiative of the California Air Resources Board, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and a Bay Area non-profit. The tax has already been embraced by several high-end Bay Area restaurants.
Money from the tax is supposed to go to reduce agricultural climate change emissions.
Such plans are not new for California. In 2016, the state announced its war on cow flatulence. This idea recently gaining national attention for its inclusion in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s Green New Deal.
While the liberals who frequent snooty Bay Area restaurants may like the idea of showing their commitment to environmentalism, whether they will actually pay the tax remains to be seen.
Regardless, how long will it be before liberals in the Legislature make this optional tax mandatory?
Shouldn’t that be YGTBFKM (with a “T”)? Or if we’re going to be really hip, YG2BFKM.
Christopher, YGB… = You’ve Gotta Be…
Regards,
Bob
Back to Mel Brook’s “High Anxiety”. See ya.
I was thinking the same thing as Christopher. I was reading the emphasis on got, as in “You’ve GOT to be …”
Diff’rent strokes, I guess.
A very underrated film !!!
Perhaps TANSTAAFL, too? 😉
R.I.P., Robert Heinlein.
Burn all the incense you can at the altar of Fineline, God of engineers.
Just be sure to save a few sticks for Zeemoff, God of automation and building contractors, and
M’Affrey, Goddess of dragons.
We need all the help they can give us.
I see co2 from the human out-breath an untapped revenue resource….
C’mon bureaucrats, keep up!
Be careful what you wish for.
Taxes on breathing and farting are coming.
That would cost me a lot.
Finally this Carl Barks’ idea comes true. 🙂 http://images.tcj.com/2015/02/fig-25.jpg
Follow the Money. It answers most questions of stupidity.
Climate alarmism is the new “too big to fail” business.
I highly recommend a 1% tax on all those people who write dire stories about human-caused climate change.
You are going to need a bigger tax.
Interesting…
Then place those stories behind a 1% paywall, with all money raised going towards warm water swimming lessons for polar bears… or something.
Reasonably logical. The people who read said stories are clearly the most concerned and by extension willing to donate ‘less than a cup of coffee’ (or whatever the guilt exchange rate currently is) so the warm fuzzy glow they will receive will put a spring in their step and a shine in their coat.
Remember, we were told the other day that reducing your personal emissions counts for nothing and effort is best spent writing letters. Writing and Reading are closely linked, so as long as all these people are reading someone else’s letters then their job is done… all for less than the cost of a cup of coffee.
Win/Win
there’s not enough money in the world to pay that tax…
You’ll either collect from a lot of “journalists” or a lot of “scientists” (but either way a good selection from both) depending on if you mean “dire stories” as in the stories are written terribly or “dire stories” as in stories that predict terrible results.
Michael April 25. A very good book from the late Bob Carter and
others . Its about Australia, but applicable to the rest of the world . Its called “”Taxing Air””. Highly recommended.
This is just another form of a “Carbon Tax”, perhaps the reaction should be to either eat at home, and let the eateries protest, or take to the streets as in Paris.
Are their any more hidden Carbon Taxes other than the subsidies for the renewable, in the USA. Once long ago when we received our electricity bills, we could tick a box if we wanted to pay more for Green electricity. No more, guess not enough boxes got ticked.
MJE VK5ELL
But Carbon is the lighter of the 2 elements in the molecule. Perhaps it should be called an Oxygen Tax.
Carbon is 12.011 (12) (though isotopes are 13 and 14) while Oxygen weighs 15.999 (16)
“Take Or Pay” for Green (intermittent, unreliable) Energy is a subsidy.
Total insanity
I see that you are not crazy about the idea.
LOL. It’s a “optional” tax? If it’s optional, it ain’t a tax. Of course, the virtue signaling leftist elites of San Francisco will be happy to pay this… and brag to everyone how virtuous they are.
They could just as easily donate to some “Save the LGBT Whales for Jesus” foundation and publish the fact to all their pretentious friends.
A great pall of smug is forming over Frisco.
They could just as easily donate to some “Save the LGBT Whales for Jesus” foundation
They would never donate to any “for Jesus” organization. A “Save the LGBT Whales for people of color” foundation, on the other hand would be right up their alley.
As an optional tax it really becomes a vote on whether you think climate change is important or not. It would be interesting to see the consensus of diners who think so; 97%? maybe in the Bay area but how about in cities with real problems? Try an optional 5%, 10%, a great experiment in virtue signalling and determining the apathy of restaurant going voters.
The plan is not complete. If the tax is optional, then I should be able to claim a discount on my meal if I am in favour of the obvious benefits of rising CO2. I am in favour of more forests, plants, ocean nutrients, overall biomass on Earth, better crop yields, less hunger, improved lives for those in the poorest nations, more drought tolerant plants, and I also have a fondness for all of the comforts that energy has brought to my life. I also feel the less of the landscape scarred by solar and winds installations the better. Where do I go for my refund?
Libs think taxes are the answer to all problems, so of course they would brace this. Now the annual credit I get from PG&E to *fight* climate change is baffling…how is giving me back money supposed to help climate change? These people are such drones.
Not just taxes, but taxes that someone else is expected to pay.
Not certain of this, WR2, but the annual credit you are getting may be your share of the rebate from California’s cap-and-trade revenues. The ratepayers are bribed with part of the revenues, to gain support for the program. While you realize it, many (if not most) won’t realize that they are paying for the rebate through their utility bills.
Hey, it is the IRS model on a local scale.
While you realize it, many (if not most) won’t realize that they are paying for the rebate through their utility bills.
Nor do most realize that once they’ve got everyone use to the stick of the higher utility bills, the lefties will phase out the carrot of the rebate while leaving the hike in the utility bills as is (or even make it higher).
Well personally I think giving me their money to fight climate change is a great idea. Even Environment Attribute Certificates will do if there’s needy types like Atlassian CEOs around.
Libs think taxes are the answer to all problems
Cons think Prohibition works.
They are addicted to money and following the socialist model; spend everyone else’s money.
I wonder how they will implement this? Automatically added to the bill with an opt-out, or a cashier/waitress-initiated opt-in?
The monumental stupidity of California politicians on full display.
Since the California drought has “changed” to non-drought:
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
and the desert valleys were blooming this Spring, taxing folks to fight against
Climate Change is going to be a tough sell.
This is especially true if California utilities are allowed to pass along their
“costs” to their customers for faulty past, present and future line maintenance/ tree
and brush clearance.
OK…Checking my calendar. It is not April 1…?
Is this a joke? The world is becoming so surreal that I cannot tell anymore.
With the leftist greens every day is April 1st.
It’s an opt out. I will wear my opt out badge with honor and if I hear the word denier spoken by any server I will be honoring that title by denying any tip too.
Or better yet – just boycott any restaurant participating, and see how fast it disappears.
Democrats never met a tax they didn’t like.
– Haley Barbour
When I started college,I bought a farm and leased the land to a sharecropper. I filled out 26 pages of paperwork and the gubment sent me a letter declaring I was a farmer. Many years they sent a checkfor $1.34 to not plant rye. I never thought of planting rye. We raised wheat which takes 17,000 pounds of CO2 per acre from the air and gives city people who can’t produce O2 their breath. We have never been paid for the CO2.
SanFrancisco likes their artisan breads and sour dough bread ………….which generates a lot of CO2. before it is served.
The Asian menus there are rice intensive which rice paddies crank out the most CH4 Methane.
The climate driven paganism WILL eventually be used to cull human emissions by culling humans. How convenient that the greenies themselves, who have paid their indulgence taxes (to themselves) will be exempted from carbon culling. It will be those they have nominated (WUWT viewers) that get culled.
The optional will of course become mandatory with time.
From the link: “Leibowitz said. “It’s directly funding carbon farming.”
WTF is “carbon farming”? Producing food, perhaps?
I have just wasted 45 minutes digging into the background of this nonsense. Leibowitz is a restaurateur, writer, and activist and Myint, having graduated in economics and east Asian studies, is a cook. From the gobbledegook on their PFI website, I suspect that neither of them have the slightest idea about farming and how farmers operate.
True. Their abuse of the language never ends.
Like ‘agricultural climate change emissions.’
I have no idea what that means. I’m sure they don’t either. But no one will ever confront them; they can say whatever they want.
farting cows
Just ban restaurants and force people to eat at home. Would save transportation emissions and reduce food waste. All the unemployed restaurant workers would then be available to hoe weeds and pick bugs off veggie and fruit crops. Just organic as hell. Win win for all. ☺ JK ☺
Yeah, I am kidding but just WTF do these morons thinks they will accomplish?
CAS
Clive Schaupmeyer … WTF do these morons thinks they will accomplish?
It’s a political power play. They are demonstrating that they can tell you what to do. Just ask Kate Smith.
1%?
When we last visited the States all the restaurant bills had a tip component – optional (but not really optional ), with advice on whether it should be 15, 20 or 30%. 1% is just noise on that signal.
This is an aside, but the tipping culture in the US is one reason I will not visite the country.
Melvyn,
Don’t tip unless they deserve it … it’s that simple.
Or do what I do … ask for the guy that cooked your food (not “the” cook) and give him the 15% (ask him to share with other kitchen staff).
He gets just over minimum wage for his 8 hours & the servers, depending on the restaurant, end up with 2 to 3 times that much for their 4 or 5 hour shift.
I have several family members who work in the restaurants. It’s common practice in most establishments to require the servers to “tip out” the kitchen staff and bus boys.
The climate change we have been experiencing is caused by the sun and the oceans over which mankind has no control. Even if they shut down all agricultural activities in California and forced everyone to vacate the state, the efforts would have no effect on climate.
… but if we all stop eating hot dogs and sausage (as well as shutting down california) we would, um …
… have uh, ya know …
never mind.
“Farmers and ranchers have long been on the forefront of the battle against climate change,” Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross said in a statement.”
Oh really? News to me. Probably news to them as well.
This is an aside, but the tipping culture in the US is one reason I will not visite the country.
Climate Change has always been about taxes.
Not only taxes. More than that. Power. Central planning. Govt control over biz and us.
If restaurants are imposing the “tax” without legislative authority, it is not a tax, but merely an increase one pays for the meal which can remain in the establishment’s pocket.
If the government wants to impose additional taxes how about a politicians tax to paid by the politicians
political party say $1,000,000 per senator, $500,000 per representative, $10,000,000 for a president and $5,000,000 for vice president. Similar amounts to be paid for UK politicians.
payroll tax on all govt employees.
2%, with the funds going very limited and strictly defined economic development.
That 1% is just the foot in the door. When the Federal income tax was legalized by the 16th amendment in 1913 the top rate was only 7%. But 6 years later the top rate was over 70% and even the lowest bracket was 4%. https://files.taxfoundation.org/legacy/docs/fed_individual_rate_history_nominal.pdf
Once the government gets their crooked foot in the door the sky is the limit. So whenever they put that foot in the door we should slam the door on their foot… really hard. And vote the crooks out of office!
The best thing that humans could do for Life on this planet is restore sequestered CO2 to the atmosphere. Only the left could turn something so good into a crisis!
Next up, taxing human breathing. Scientist recently discovered human breathing causes global warming. Humans actually breath in oxygen, which is good for the environment and slows global warming. Yet after breathing in, it was found humans now needed to exhale what was in their lungs, and this is OMG Carbon Dioxide! The stuff that causes global warming. The stuff that will kill us all in just 12 years! A 2 cent tax on in-breaths for using up oxygen and 3 cent tax on out breaths for creating CO2 was proposed. A nickel a breath should not be to much to save the planet. Support the Breathing Tax, Vote yes! (sarc)/