August 29, 2021
Dear editor;
Our national (and global) climate crisis is becoming more visible now. Some Republican leaders in Congress are shifting their posture amid deadly heat waves, devastating drought and ferocious wildfires that have bludgeoned their districts.
Even senator Rick Scott (R) of Florida said he wants to address climate, but he refuses to consider a carbon tax that most economists agree is the most effective way to curb our carbon emissions fast enough to put us on track to avoid disaster. Instead, he along with some other Republicans, is calling for spending billions to prepare communities to “cope with extreme weather.” I’m sure they are smart enough to realize this doesn’t solve the problem. It just kicks the root cause into the future, and perhaps beyond the point our grandchildren would be able to fix it. When you have an overflowing bathtub, the first thing you need to do is turn off the faucet.
Senator Scott refuses to consider a carbon tax because “I’m not doing anything to raise the cost of living for American families.” Apparently, he and others in Congress are choosing to ignore several bills already introduced calling for a carbon fee and dividend policy that would not “kill the economy.” One such bill is the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 2307) which would impose an annually increasing carbon tax and all those taxes would be returned to Americans in equal-share dividend payments. This revenue-neutral policy avoids massive government spending and gives the revenues back to the people to spend as they choose. About 60% of Americans, especially those with lower incomes, would receive enough in dividends to more than offset their additional costs due to the carbon tax. Consumers will be motivated to spend those dividends on energy conservation and transitions to clean energy which will spur further innovations. Many new clean energy jobs will be created, and we finally will get on a path to avoid the current estimated $800 billion annual costs from environmental and health harms of fossil fuels. Our country (and world) can’t afford not to implement a carbon tax and this pairing of the carbon dividend with the tax will be good for the economy.
Ken Mozingo, Yorkville