Could taxing carbon emissions actually reduce the overall cost of energy?

Question

"Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., one of three chief sponsors of the bill, disputed both assertions, saying the bill would provide tens of billions of dollars a year in tax breaks for people facing high energy costs and for other measures to ease the transition from oil, coal and other fossil fuels, which are the cause of impending changing climate.

She argued that people actually may end up paying less to fuel their cars because a price on carbon emissions would accelerate the push for more fuel efficient vehicles and alternative fuels."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-climate-politics,0,1881509,full.story

It's too bad many republicans were shortsighted concerning this critical issue which goes far beyond our pocketbooks to our very survival as a species.

It's too bad we have to convince people first this is in their economic interests. Indeed "Money is the root of all kinds of evil."

Answer 1

How can making people pay a tax save them money?  While there may or may not be good reasons for such a tax, saving money certainly cannot be one of them.  If people could save money by buying more fuel efficient cars, they could just do that without being taxed--then they'd not only save that money, they would have saved on paying the tax, too.  While I believe global warming is real and worth addressing, I never find that Barbara Boxer has anything to bring to the table.

Answer 2

You silly person.  You don't care about people having enough food to eat?  So, while you rant about the environment and global whatever,  the price of rice has doubled in places like the Philippines!     For God sakes people,  use your head and not your heart...

Answer 3

even though the demand for gas is down price of gas is still increasing with a crazy rate! the rules of supply and demand doesn't apply here! the only answer is to enforce some type of regulation on oil corporations and prevent them to manipulate the market. i just can't see any other answer. that or a revolution!  peace

Answer 4

I would like to think this is possible.  In one hand, we have to do something to reduce our carbon emissions.  In the other hand, we have to keep our economy from crumbling.  If this can help to achieve both, good, if not, not good.

There isn't enough convincing evidence either way what will happen with cap and trade, but at least someone is trying.

Someone told me though that doing this will only force corporations to continue doing business as usual, it won't reduce carbon emissions at all, instead, they will just pass on the extra costs of doing business to the consumers.  So with that in mind... I really would personally feel better if we really knew what we were getting into here.

A better solution would be for the world governments to offer 'incentives' for cutting down emissions to companies and consumers alike.  Germany has been very successful with this strategy.

Answer 5

It won't reduce the financial cost of energy, but it will accomplish some other things:

1) Reveal the true cost of fossil fuel-based energy by adding the environmental cost to the monetary cost.

2) Fund alternative energies which will allow them to become cost-competetive with fossil fuels.

3) Create new green tech jobs.

4) Encourage people to become more energy efficient which will save them money in the long run.

Claims that a carbon tax or cap will harm our economy are extremely short-sighted.

Answer 6

NO . Why do you think Al Gore owns a carbon credit trading company . Always follow the money .

Answer 7

The problem with taxing carbon emissions, aside from the fact that there is no reason to do so, is that overall prices will rise.  When a tax is added to something, the owner of that product needs more income to pay the tax.

Carbon taxation is an extremist, moronic, and false idiology which - like most other leftist thinking - that can produce no positive outcome.

Answer 8

I think you missed the point. The cost of energy will indeed rise. This in turn will cause other things to rise (any CO2 heavy industries). We will see inflation much worse than even our current inflation caused by higher gas prices (we will have even higher gas, and higher energy costs).

She says costs may go down because she is advocating taking from some people to give to others. Most sane people call this socialism. And history has shown time and time again that socialism does not work.

Answer 9

Taxing is seldom good for economic growth, why should Boxer care she has been on the tax payer pay roll for years.

By the way, money is not the root of all evil,  the actual quote  (the love of money is the  root of all evil) money itself is just a means of exchange.

Answer 10

Sen. Barbara Boxer is a real dummy! Taxes are just my money STOLEN from me and given to someone else! No country in history has ever TAXED their population into PROSPERITY!

Answer 11

"She argued that people actually may end up paying less to fuel their cars because a price on carbon emissions would accelerate the push for more fuel efficient vehicles and alternative fuels."

Translation:  Once we force everyone to purchase $30,000+ vehicles whether they can afford to or not, they'll all save $30-40/month on their gas bill.  This "savings" is relative to the tax-inflated price of gas, since both choices will be much more expensive than current prices.  So what if transfer trucks have to pay an extra $1,000 a tank for fuel....they'll just pass that right along in the cost of the products they ship (that's not classified as an "energy expense" for the consumer).

Answer 12

I don't have enough information to say that it would reduce the overall cost (in dollars) but I agree, in the long run this would definitely be a good thing.  

Developing new technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and fossil fuel dependence is absolutely necessary, but new technology is not cheap.  Companies that are still making tons of money on older technology need incentives like this to move forward.

Answer 13

The price is a basic supply and demand issue.  Taxing does nothing but put money into hands that it doesn't belong so that it can be used for things not intended for in the first place.  Its definitely not a dem/rep thing.  

Cost of energy and more specific, fuel is up because demand has gonne up yet production has not.

Simple economics in our society.