HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle

Is a Carbon Tax Market-Friendly?

Views: 898
The extent of environmental damage from man-made climate change is a debate in and of itself, but President Obama made it clear during his 2013 State of the Union address: there will be some form of government action during his second term. One of the most hotly debated energy proposals in Washington right now is a carbon tax.

"A carbon tax would do exactly what you would want it to do, which is to incorporate the damages to the environment into the prices we pay for all manner of goods and services," says Adele Morris of the Brookings Institution. Morris studies different carbon tax models and says this tax would be better than existing regulations under the Clean Air Act.

Reason magazine's Ronald Bailey agrees that a carefully constructed carbon tax could be beneficial if carbon emissions are affecting private property.

"In an ideal world, if carbon emissions were directly harming someone's property, the government should step in and make sure they get compensated," Bailey says, "the problem is, the transaction cost of getting it through the court system is just too high. So maybe what you need is a carbon tax as a substitute for that process."

Bailey argues that a clean, simple carbon tax as a substitute for another tax might work. The government could also send a check to each household for its share of the tax. However, he fears that the government might end up using the tax to decrease the deficit instead, and that this tax could also negatively effect economic growth.

"It will certainly slow things down in the sense that makes all fuels more expensive," says Bailey.

Food processing plants would be exceptionally hard hit by the tax because they require vast amounts of energy to produce their products. Nick Kastle, director of marketing for the Morning Star tomato processing company, says that this tax would just make everything more expensive for their customers.

"There is no secret bag of money that businesses have stashed away in a drawer. It's business, you're creating value, you're deriving value from your resources," Kastle says, "the more you can limit the use of resources and create value is margin, that margin is the incentive that keeps businesses running effectively and doing everything they can."

So do the pros of a carbon tax outweigh the cons? Or vice versa?

About 7 minutes.

Written and produced by Tracy Oppenheimer. Additional camera by Zach Weissmueller, Josh Swain and Todd Kranin.

Go to http://reason.com/reasontv/2013/03/15/should-libertarians-consider-a-carbon-ta for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notification when new material goes live.
@ReasonVidsfollow
Thumbnail for John Mackey on Whole Foods, Conscious Capitalism, and Life Beyond the Profit Motive44:03
John Mackey on Whole Foods, Conscious Capitalism, and Life Beyond the Profit Motive
ReasonVids
1300 views
Thumbnail for Bootleggers and Baptists: A Conversation with Bruce Yandle7:16
Bootleggers and Baptists: A Conversation with Bruce Yandle
ReasonVids
885 views
Thumbnail for Kennedy, Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch Talk 2012 Presidential Race6:33
Kennedy, Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch Talk 2012 Presidential Race
ReasonVids
782 views
Thumbnail for A vanilla lolocaust joke but you can tell that jew sitting across the room will be seething over it for a loooong, longgg time0:33
A vanilla lolocaust joke but you can tell that jew sitting across the room will be seething over it for a loooong, longgg time
bestofupgoat
31 views
Thumbnail for Why The Future Is Better Than You Think15:33
Why The Future Is Better Than You Think
ReasonVids
981 views
Thumbnail for Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper on Ending the Drug War9:52
Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper on Ending the Drug War
ReasonVids
1055 views
Thumbnail for Whole Foods CEO John Mackey on The Moral Case for Capitalism6:37
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey on The Moral Case for Capitalism
ReasonVids
789 views
Thumbnail for What Should Have Happened at the Facebook Hearing2:28
What Should Have Happened at the Facebook Hearing
ReasonVids
911 views
Thumbnail for Thank You Song (School Version) + More Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs - CoComelon34:38
Thank You Song (School Version) + More Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs - CoComelon
invidious
10 views
Thumbnail for Leaping lemurs 0:06
Leaping lemurs
bestofvoatxyz
333 views
Thumbnail for Independents Day is June 28! Pre-Order Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch's libertarian manifesto today!1:26
Independents Day is June 28! Pre-Order Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch's libertarian manifesto today!
ReasonVids
913 views
Thumbnail for Google Glass: Privacy, Journalism, and the Dawn of Wearable Technology6:53
Google Glass: Privacy, Journalism, and the Dawn of Wearable Technology
ReasonVids
855 views
Thumbnail for Texas School: Better to Burn Kids Than Allow "Toxic" Sunscreen! (Nanny of the Month, 6-14)1:52
Texas School: Better to Burn Kids Than Allow "Toxic" Sunscreen! (Nanny of the Month, 6-14)
ReasonVids
755 views
Thumbnail for Learn the ABCs in Lower-Case: "g" is for gorilla and giraffe | Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes1:05
Learn the ABCs in Lower-Case: "g" is for gorilla and giraffe | Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes
invidious
15 views
Thumbnail for The Fake Argument that School Choice Is Racist1:10:21
The Fake Argument that School Choice Is Racist
ReasonVids
769 views
Thumbnail for George Gilder on "The Israel Test," Obama, the Internet...and the Gays?21:22
George Gilder on "The Israel Test," Obama, the Internet...and the Gays?
ReasonVids
833 views
Thumbnail for Media Manipulation and Unconventional Marketing: Author Ryan Holiday on "Trust Me I'm Lying"7:52
Media Manipulation and Unconventional Marketing: Author Ryan Holiday on "Trust Me I'm Lying"
ReasonVids
803 views
Thumbnail for Banning Bikini Baristas, Big Dogs, and Energy Drinks! (Nanny of the Month, March 2013)1:33
Banning Bikini Baristas, Big Dogs, and Energy Drinks! (Nanny of the Month, March 2013)
ReasonVids
832 views
Thumbnail for POLL: Americans Feel More Violated by Government Data Collection Than Private Data Collection1:09
POLL: Americans Feel More Violated by Government Data Collection Than Private Data Collection
ReasonVids
833 views
Thumbnail for These Doctors Got Fed Up With Insurance. Now They Treat Their Patients Like Valued Customers.6:10
These Doctors Got Fed Up With Insurance. Now They Treat Their Patients Like Valued Customers.
ReasonVids
712 views
Thumbnail for EFF Sues NSA, DOJ Over Secret Surveillance Program8:33
EFF Sues NSA, DOJ Over Secret Surveillance Program
ReasonVids
857 views
Thumbnail for Stossel: No Filming on Farms5:34
Stossel: No Filming on Farms
ReasonVids
885 views
Thumbnail for Puerto Rico's Infrastructure Reniassance  - David Álvarez on Public-Private Investment42:56
Puerto Rico's Infrastructure Reniassance - David Álvarez on Public-Private Investment
ReasonVids
819 views
Thumbnail for How to domestic violence0:16
How to domestic violence
bestofvoatxyz
501 views

points

Permalink
Reply
carbon tax, global warming, climate change, energy policy, reasontv, tracy oppenheimer
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle