Carbon tax will create government monster

In the hysteria to save the earth from over-emissions of carbon, which is not a pollutant and is essential to life on earth, a proposal has been floated about to impose a carbon tax to “incentivize” carbon emitters to cut back. Proponents of this massive tax increased include some ivory tower Republicans who have never had much commitment to smaller government or lower tax burdens, such as Howard Baker and George Schultz. They claim a carbon tax will be “revenue neutral” and won’t grow government. Carbon emitters — mostly business, industry and farmers — would pay a tax based on the amount of carbon they put out. In exchange for this massive tax load, which will raise living costs of all Americans, those generous carbon-taxers will grant “dividends” to every household in America.

The believers in such a scheme who say this will not increase government are either knaves or naïve.

The very idea of a new tax implies an army of enforcers. Is that more government or not? The enforcement regime will boost the volume and power of the IRS, or it will be a parallel tax-gathering monster. Assessors will be needed to set carbon values, much like property appraisers. Sleuths, monitors and detectives will have to be hired to make sure the emitters are honestly reporting their effluence and recommend prosecution of false-reporters, which lawyers will handle. Accountants will be necessary to keep tabs on the carbon numbers and disbursements of largesse from the public trough. One might wonder if non-citizen families will be “entitled” to the carbon dividend. But that would be a foolish wondering because some federal judge somewhere will order that all occupants squatting on America soil are entitled to the stipend.

Over this army of tax-eaters there will be supervisors, administrators, and directors. Each congressional district will be headed by a carbon tax district director. Over several of them will be a regional director. Every state will have a state carbon tax executive.

The whole leviathan will be overseen by a commissioner of carbon tax appointed by the president. All the administrators and executives will be served by one or many “associates.” Every position will be housed in an office or suite of offices, and a multi-billion dollar headquarters building will rise in Washington, D.C. Every office will require lease payments, janitorial services, executive secretaries, assistant secretaries. The list of positions could reach to the moon. Before any “dividend” goes to Americans this bureaucratic octopus will be paid out of whatever revenue the tax generates. The carbon tax horde will be rampant with unpunished fraud in granting favors to politically-preferred businesses and extorting donations for leftist causes and politicians.

But suppose that after a decent testing period of some 100 years of the climate continuing to change, as it always has, earth’s carbon load appears to have stabilized and the climate fear-mongers claim victory. Will the carbon tax agency go away? Dream on!

GERALD HOLLAND

Bentonville