First Name | Jordan |
---|---|
Last Name | Lang |
Email Address | langvors@ix.netcom.com |
Affiliation | none |
Subject | Climate Change Scoping Plan |
Comment | Dear ARB: I'm concerned that your plan is missing an important opportunity to harness the power of consumers and markets by relying so heavily on bureaucratic decisionmaking. I believe a much simpler and efficient way to achieve the carbon reductions and enery efficiencies that we all want is by immediately setting a carbon tax (on the hundreds of suppliers introducing carbon fuels into our economy, rather than on the thousands of carbon-pollution emitters). This tax will cause the prices of carbon based fuels to increase with the harshest effects on low- and middle-income households. Therefore, coupled to the tax must be a provision to immediately, equally, and directly return the revenues collected from the tax to those households, with several immediate and beneficial effects: 1) mitigating the regressive effect of higher fuel prices, 2) putting dollars in the hands of those families most likely to spend them immediately and thereby boost our stagnant economy, and 3)providing funds for more strongly incentivized consumer spending for efficient vehicles and other energy technologies. I fear that the approach laid out in your plan will take years to design and implement because it has so many decisions that need to be made with input from so many stakeholders. Instead, let's make it quick and simple: 1) send a strong price signal to consumers to move away from carbon-based fuels, and 2) give those consumers the ability to select in the marketplace new, efficient, and noncarbon based technologies (e.g. autos, mass transit, foods, packaging materials, etc. etc.). Thanks for your efforts. Please see www.capanddividend.org for info about how such measures can work. |
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Date and Time Comment Was Submitted | 2008-12-09 17:28:48 |
If you have any questions or comments please contact Clerk of the Board at (916) 322-5594.