We wanted to share this exciting news and invite you to join this effort, initiated by Sylvester Johnson, one of the members of our group. Please let possible advocates beyond Ithaca know about this initiative by sending the following text (or your revised version) to appropriate email lists. Links to local news stories and the new federalcarbontax.org website are listed in the text.
Common Council passed the Resolution Wednesday night 9-0 ( 1 abstention) Thanks, Climate Change Action Group Jeanne Advocates are being sought nationwide for this Initiative for local governments’ resolutions in support of a federal carbon tax. Both conservatives and liberals should consider this Initiative, because emissions trading acts like a disguised tax, but trading is more expensive and at the same time less effective, and more readily abused than an actual tax. Whether the next President is Republican or Democrat, legislation is likely to get enacted to reduce fossil fuel emissions. Here’s a model for making a federal carbon tax politically possible: A resolution in support was drafted in Dec. 2007. In Jan. 2008 the resolution passed the Planning Committee of the City of Ithaca, NY (Ithaca joins nationwide debate on carbon tax, cap and trade). On 02/06/2008 the resolution passed Ithaca’s Council, only two months after the resolution was drafted (Common Council votes to endorse carbon tax). Copies of the resolution were sent to elected officials representing Ithaca at state and national levels, as well as to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, sending a signal that a carbon tax is politically possible. As the number of local governments that pass such resolutions increases nationwide in a matter of months, the magnitude of the news will increase with ever greater publicity. This Initiative does not require money or much time, only an average of an hour a week to contact elected officials to get the resolution on the agenda until it comes up for a vote. The only training required is reading the background information at www.federalcarbontax.org. After passage, the resolution requires no further commitment on the part of advocates or the local government. Yet this relatively easy political action publicizes the benefits of a federal carbon tax. The debate between a tax and emissions trading may seem remote from daily life, but the outcome will affect citizens for decades. Many economists both conservative and liberal support a federal carbon tax. The reasons for this broad-based support for a tax are that emissions trading acts like a disguised tax as the costs disperse throughout the economy. In addition, trading is more expensive due to traders extracting fees, and at the same time less effective because of trading away the responsibility to reduce pollution. Furthermore due to problems with quantification and verification trading is more readily abused than an actual tax. To keep emissions trading from making energy costs extremely volatile, a maximum permit “stop” price has been proposed. However with such a stop price in the federal legislation, governmental sales of extra permits to pollute blow away the regulatory cap, resulting in a critical failure. Yet without this maximum permit stop price, trading increases the volatility of energy costs, making it more difficult to justify investments in energy conservation and renewable energy. Both results are counterproductive for the goal of reducing heat-trapping emissions. In summary, an actual federal carbon tax is better for the economy because the majority of revenues get refunded. A tax is less expensive because of simpler administration, more effective because it’s more consistent, as well as more equitable than the disguised tax of trading. To find out further reasons to support a new tax, please see the non-profit Initiative for a federal carbon tax at www.federalcarbontax.org. Also available from that page is a free sample resolution with enough points included so that it’s self-explanatory, as well as detailed background information, examples and analysis. The resolution could be modified as desired with little time commitment. Could you volunteer an hour a week to work with a city or county government on this Initiative for a few months? Do you know anyone who might? Check out www.federalcarbontax.org or forward this email. The Coordinator of the Initiative, Sylvester Johnson, Ph.D. Applied Physics, can be contacted via the website for free phone consultation. ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://webmail.aol.com _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
