“‘Whether to do something or nothing’ is quite a retreat from the basic economic principle of realistically comparing costs and benefits. Washington States’ carbon tax proposal is all cost and no benefit. New administrative programs and higher across-the-board energy prices cannot be balanced by virtue signalling.”
“One can only hope that economists would put their game face on and do real analysis–and tell their funders that the right answer is better than the politically correct wrong answer.”
A recent letter-to-the-editor in the Wall Street Journal, “Debating Washington Carbon Tax Initiative,” made a number of points that invite further consideration. The subtitle of the piece was: “The real question in front of Washington voters is whether to do something, or nothing, about the risks of climate change.”
The letter by PhD economist Noah Kaufman of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy is parsed in red; my comments are indented.
“Despite his folky style and positioning to the contrary, [Kevin] Martis is a highly polished, fossil fuel operative with aggressive tactics. The taxpayers of Seneca County and all of Ohio deserve a more honest broker than Kevon Martis.”
– Scott Peterson, Checks and Balances Project, October 25, 2018.
“When is an environmentalist not an environmentalist? … When it comes to wind power.
– an eco-joke
In “Coal-Backed Anti-Wind Guru Barrels into Ohio’s Seneca County to Attack Wind Energy,” Scott Peterson, executive director of Checks and Balances Project, “an investigative blog that seeks to hold government officials, lobbyists and corporate management accountable to the public,” goes after one regular citizen, Kevon Martis.
Citizen Martis is very well respected here at MasterResource, as evidenced by these posts:
And recall his 2013 post “Dear Michigan: Why Wind?…
“Beto knows that climate change is the defining existential threat of our time.”
– O’Rourke Campaign Website
“All campaigns are to some degree an act of public manipulation,” Charles Blow stated recently in his New York Times column, “hopefully to the good, but often to the ill.” The Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke run for US Senate in Texas (against incumbent Republican Ted Cruz) has been a case study in public manipulation, elevating image over substance in a Red state.
The manipulation centers around the Spanish nickname “Beto” by a fourth-generation Irish American, followed by the pitch: fourth generation Texan … family man … civic minded … grass roots campaigner … consensus builder … No money from PACs.
His website evokes a politician for all parties and seasons:
…Beto is traveling to every part of Texas to meet with Texans in their communities.