Americans don't want a carbon tax, so why do Democrats keep trying?

Americans don't want a carbon tax, so why do Democrats keep trying?

by Abigail Marone

 

December 28, 2018 12:00 AM

Much to the chagrin of carbon tax-pushing swamp dwellers, American voters have consistently rejected the tax and the politicians who support it. But carbon tax lovers won’t quit trying to repackage the same awful policy.
The carbon tax is an all-encompassing tax that will massively expand the tentacles of the federal government while sending the cost of living soaring. Republicans, for their own good and ours, ought to stay away from carbon tax proposals.
Carbon taxes are basically a tax on your daily existence. They make everything more costly and will hit low-income families and small businesses the hardest. On a day-to-day basis, people rely on energy for transportation to work or school, to heat their homes, and to conduct other basic functions of daily life. A carbon tax makes all of that more expensive — in some cases, prohibitively expensive.
For example, a Canadian school district was forced to end school bus service for 400 kids thanks to a carbon tax. It cost the district $3.3 million last year, and the school could no longer afford basic transit for its students: “It’s a bit challenging that we’re in a situation where we’ve had to remove almost 400 students from buses in order to pay for the carbon tax in addition to the other impacts on the organization,” one school official told the Calgary Herald.
If spending more money to get to school and work wasn’t bad enough, a carbon tax will make everything you purchase more expensive. While some people will grit their teeth and pay higher costs, others will be left struggling to afford basic necessities. The truck that carried groceries from the farm to the shipping facility to the grocery store will be taxed, and the cost will be passed on to the consumer.
Recent carbon tax proposals have also sought to significantly increase the power of the IRS and Environmental Protection Agency, ultimately giving Washington more control over individual decisions. Some carbon tax pushers claim this is just fine since a “dividend” payment would be sent out. The government would collect the carbon tax money in D.C., where it would be spent by various agencies, with the leftovers sent to households. And when received by households, the “dividend” is subject to federal and state income taxes. It would require everyone to chase down a new tax form during filing season.
In sum, the government imposes a tax to make everything more expensive and sends the cash to Washington where it is spent by bureaucrats. The remainder is sent to households, where it is then taxed again. Only a swamp denizen disconnected from the real world could push such an idea with a straight face.
The carbon tax bill introduced by Reps. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., and eternal politician Charlie Crist, D-Fla., allows officials to raise taxes in the future without ever having to vote on the proposal. What could go wrong? The bill also gives broad power to government agencies to create new rules and regulations, authorizes carbon tax enforcement agents, and establishes a D.C.-based carbon dividend trust fund that only counts children as half of a person.
If that weren’t enough, the new Chris Coons-Jeff Flake proposal gives the EPA chief the power to impose "monitoring, reporting, and record-keeping requirements" on Americans. The bill also gives the EPA chief power to conduct "investigations" and force "information collection." Surely these powers will not be abused.
Americans have consistently rejected carbon taxes. The for-hire lobbyists and radical green groups who don’t have to face the voting public at the ballot box keep pushing the costly measure. Democrats must realize that no matter how they present or spin a carbon tax, it will still be a tax on the people's way of life.