Wednesday, February 06, 2019

Election 2019 and the Con Carbon Tax Deniers



As everybody knows Andrew Scheer and his climate change denying Cons are on a crusade to try to destroy the Liberal government's carbon tax plan.

A tax Scheer blames for everything, and I mean everything.

And he isn't the only Canadian Con leader who feels that way.



So do all of the above, who also spend their time portraying carbon taxes as a deadly threat, instead of the best way to fight climate change, and prepare us for a greener future.

So I'm glad to see some members of Canada's eminently respectable Ecofiscal Commission are trying to set the record straight. 

As a group of economists, we still believe that facts should matter when it comes to making important policy decisions. Unfortunately, not everyone involved in the Canadian climate policy debate appears to agree. Myths and rhetoric are pushing the real facts to the sidelines. The result is a mix of confusion and polarization that is poisoning our public debate, and we are losing patience.

And who can blame them for losing their patience?

When they have to deal with a brutishly ignorant beast like this one...



Ontario Premier Doug Ford recently claimed that carbon pricing will be a “total economic disaster” for the country and cause a “carbon-tax recession." Despite the fact that this claim strongly contradicts almost all of the available empirical evidence on carbon pricing, we’re hearing it repeated more often.

Who of course couldn't be more wrong.

Economists are virtually unanimous in the view that carbon pricing reduces greenhouse-gas emissions at the lowest possible cost to the economy. Other policy approaches – such as intrusive and prescriptive regulations, or generous production or consumption subsidies – will cost the economy far more to achieve the same outcome.

But like his fellow climate change denier Andrew Scheer, seems determined to prevent Canadians from collecting generous rebates.

Under the federal policy that begins this spring, roughly 80 per cent of households will receive rebates that actually exceed the amount they will pay in the carbon tax.

By trying to make them believe that the Liberals are as corrupt and dishonest as they are.



Which of course is laughable.

While the serial liar Scheer likes to claim that some big companies are getting a special break.



When in fact they're not.

The carbon-pricing systems in Canada – including Alberta’s policy, the planned federal backstop and Quebec’s cap-and-trade system – were explicitly designed to protect business competitiveness by reducing costs for large emitters. These policies still create financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – but by improving performance rather than reducing activity or shifting it to other jurisdictions.

Companies still have a powerful economic incentive to reduce emissions because their costs will fall by doing so. That’s the essence of a carbon price.

And it's just another Big Lie.

But then of course it's easy to attack policies when you have none of your own...



And Scheer is counting on ignorance as well as human greed to win the next election.

But I think he's in for an unpleasant surprise.

I believe that the more Canadians are educated about the situation, and the more they see the writing on the wall.  

The more they will realize that Justin Trudeau is on the right side of history...



So that the carbon taxes the Cons thought would destroy him.

Will instead destroy them....

6 comments:

Jackie Blue said...

There's more to the Cons' anti-environmental rage fits than just "Justin is a spoiled prince, waaaa, he doesn't understand regular people." Andy and friends are really, really dirty whether they're aware of it or not.

https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/7xnxpx/the-anti-semitic-roots-of-canadian-conservatives-foreign-funded-radicals-attacks

This is going to get uuuuuuuuugly.

Anonymous said...

sorry Simon but we citizens in bc have not seen rebate cheques in years although big business collects at least 60% and i am assuming the rest goes into general revenue to subsidize big business projects.

Steve said...

The fact is that gas taxes make gas cheaper. People buy smaller cars, consumption goes down, price goes down for gas, supply and demand.

Simon said...

Hi Jackie...I have always believed that if our useless media had investigated Scheer's background properly, he would have had to resign a long time ago. But they didn't and unless somebody does something Scheer might get away with it, and we could end up with the worst prime minister modern Cabadian history....

Simon said...

Hi anon....the federal carbon tax plan is different from the one in B.C. Your province led the way, and I thought that your government was using the money to reduce your taxes rather than send you cheques. You should call your MP and ask how the system works. But what people in BC should proud of is having shown that carbon taxes work, and that they don't damage the economy...

Simon said...

hi Steve...Every time I travel to Britain I am struck by how much smaller most cars are in that country compared to the ones here. They consume less gas and emit less toxic fumes. Meanwhile in this country more and more Canadians are buying monster trucks. Great eh?