Argument: A carbon tax would be more efficient

Support

“Is It Time for a New Tax on Energy?”. Wall Street Journal. 8 Feb, 2007: “A majority of economists polled by the Wall Street Journal during Feb. 2-7, 2007: The government should encourage development of alternatives to fossil fuels, economists said in a WSJ.com survey. But most say the best way to do that isn’t in President Bush’s energy proposals: a new tax on fossil fuels. Forty of 47 economists who answered the question said the government should help champion alternative fuels. ‘Economists generally are in favor of free-market solutions, but there are times when you need to intervene,’ said David Wyss at Standard & Poor’s Corp. ‘We’re already in the danger zone’ because of the outlook for oil supplies and concerns about climate change, he said. A majority of the economists said a tax on fossil fuels would be the most economically sound way to encourage alternatives. A tax would raise the price of fossil fuels and make alternatives, which today often are more costly to produce, more competitive in the consumer market. ‘A tax puts pressure on the market, rather than forcing an artificial solution on it,’ said Mr. Wyss.”