April 7, 2021
TAX WHAT YOU DON'T WANT:
Fossil fuels get too many government handouts. Biden wants to cut them off. (Lili Pikelili, Apr 5, 2021, Vox)
One of the great ironies of climate politics is that America continues to subsidize -- to the tune of billions of dollars a year -- the very industries that are most responsible for the warming of the planet. Biden wants to put an end to that.His American Jobs Plan, released last week, recognizes that if the US wants to hit decarbonization targets, and get climate change under control, cutting off government support for fossil fuels is a logical first step. The proposal takes aim at tax preferences, loopholes, and laws that allow fossil fuel companies to dodge costs and avoid cleaning up their pollution.As part of the tax reform section of the plan, removing preferential treatment for oil, gas, and coal corporations would also free up federal dollars to support dozens of other climate initiatives, for which Biden has proposed around $1 trillion in investment.
But let markets choose the alternatives, not subsidies.
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 7, 2021 7:26 AM