Consumption taxes--offset by breaks elsewhere--will force folks to do what they think they ought to.

Ooooh. More social engineering. This time sin taxes imposed by the Established Church of Gaia. For things that last week weren't sins, and next week will be swept under the rug as the Church finds even more sins to tax.

Raoul,

If you think the "education apartheid" of our awful property tax-based schools aren't "social engineering," then you aren't paying attention.

The same goes for our awful income tax system, and just about everything else. Social Engineering became written in stone the moment we got a representative form of government.

Getting rid of taxes on wealth and productivity and replacing them with taxes on consumption and waste are good ideas - engineering or not.

All taxes are social engineering. You favor punishing income. We favor punishing carbon consumption.

"Fewer than half of those questioned were prepared to make more lifestyle changes such as taking steps to reduce their use of domestic water..."

Somewhat ironically, I was sitting in a meeting in Dubai last year watching out the window a gardener hosing the dust off the hotel green landscaping and listening to an Englishman talk about turning the water off back home while brushing his teeth.

carbon consumption

You make my point exactly. Here's a sin that was invented just a few months ago, and social engineers suddenly want to make it the basis for the entire tax system. And then what happens when the number of "sins" decreases, along with your revenue? What new sins will they invent, or promote (see state lotteries), to keep the money coming in?

You favor punishing income

I never said anything about income taxes, or any other taxes. I object to this mad rush to tax whatever fad the eco-prudes object to this week. For one thing, I know, from experience, that the social engineers will never voluntarily give up any existing taxes, but will just keep adding new ones, which is why your orginal comment ("offset by breaks elsewhere") is so funny.

You, like the GOP, keep wanting to make a deals with people who've never kept a deal in their life. People who are proud that they've never kept a deal. No wonder it's called The Stupid Party.

I, too, am leary of added taxes with the promise of offsets on other taxes, simply because I don't believe the offsets would be forthcoming.

Government believes more in the "set" part of taxes and less in the "off" part.

In my perfect world, all taxes would be consumption based and income, investment and capital gains taxes would be gone. Ditto on property taxes. If we want more industry, investment and home ownership, we'd quit taxing them.

Except that untrustworthy Washington just keeps lowering the tax burden, to its lowest since the 50s now.

Ah, the notion that men will run out of sins they're committing is always humorous.