Saturday, May 25, 2013

Why Conservatives Should Support a Carbon Tax by Byron Smith


      Conservativism, as defined by Edmund Bourke, the father of conservatism, is based on the desire to hand on to our children a world that resembles the one we received from our parents, on the assumption that human knowledge and wisdom is incapable of handling too much change all at once.
      On that criteria, today's "conservatives" espouse the most radical position possible: that we should continue to alter radically the chemical composition of the oceans and atmosphere.
       I am a conservative. I wish to pass to my children a world that is still somewhat recognizable. This is not possible with continued use of fossil fuels.
      The idea of a fee and dividend is not slapping a price on a product I don't like. It is simply reflecting the true cost of emitting carbon to ensure that the polluters don't get to dump their waste into the atmosphere causing everyone to suffer as a result. In no other industry are waste products able to be dumped without charge. Charging polluters for their waste is an idea thoroughly compatible with conservative economic assumptions.    

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