Sunday, June 25, 2017

Exxon, Stephen Hawking, Greens, and Reagan’s Advisors Agree on a Carbon Tax

Nearly everyone other than science-denying Republican Party leaders understands the importance of a carbon pollution tax.


Survey results showing partisan support for a revenue-neutral carbon tax.  (Illustration Credit: Yale and George Mason Universities) Click to Enlarge.
What do ExxonMobil, Stephen Hawking, the Nature Conservancy, and Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of Treasury and Chief of Staff have in common?   All have signed on as founding members to the Climate Leadership Council, which has met with the White House to propose a revenue-neutral carbon tax policy.

The group started with impeccable conservative credentials, bringing on cabinet members from the last three Republican presidential administrations (Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, and George W Bush), two former Secretaries of State, two former Secretaries of Treasury, and two former chairmen of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors.  It was founded by Ted Halstead, who explained the group’s proposed policy in a TED talk:


Ted Halstead revenue-neutral carbon tax TED talk  (Click to view).


Some of the world’s brightest scientific and economic minds have since become founding members, including Stephen Hawking, Steven Chu, Martin Feldstein, and Lawrence Summers.  So have ExxonMobil, BP, and Shell.  But it’s not just the oil industry joining the call for a carbon tax; GM, Proctor & Gamble, Pepsico, and Johnson & Johnson are among the major companies signing on.  As have environmental groups like the Nature Conservancy.


Citizens’ Climate Lobby, republicEn, the Niskanen Center, and the Weather Channel are among the Climate Leadership Council’s strategic partners.  It’s an impressively diverse and influential group. The proposed policy is similar to that of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, calling for a rising price on carbon pollution with 100% of the revenue being returned to taxpayers via regular rebate checks.  Research has shown that this policy would create jobs and stimulate the economy while quickly and affordably reducing carbon pollution.



It should be a no-brainer for Republican policymakers.  Over the past five months, they’ve exclusively pursued unpopular policies; particularly a health care bill with just 31% support that the GOP crafted in secret because party leaders thought it would be stupid to let Americans see their unpopular plan.

Read more at Exxon, Stephen Hawking, Greens, and Reagan’s Advisors Agree on a Carbon Tax

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