The greater American public is starting to realize how much the system is structured to favor the rich and starting to push back. If this awakening continues then we might see something like a consumption tax, but not in the next two years.

You can’t give states total control over social programs. Some will simply refuse to provide any and the people who really need help will migrate to states which provide help. That puts too much strain on the “good” states.

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. Whether we like it or not, nothing is as certain as death and taxes. We as a society need taxes in order to have a functioning government. There is a lot to be said about the way government spends our money, but that is another blog. For now let’s agree that unless we want to live in a country with no functioning government, we need taxes. If you do not agree, you can move to Somalia. No government, no taxes, no schools, no police, no basic services of any kind.

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. In economics 101 you learn that a tax on any activity increases the price and reduces the demand of that activity. The government has three main taxes. Let’s look at them one by one:

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. Income equals a tax on work and productivity, and reducing productivity is a bad idea. The only good thing about this particular tax is that it can be applied progressively, where the rich pay not only a higher tax, but a higher percentage of their income as tax. There is some justice in that. Sales tax is a tax on consumption, which makes more sense but is hard to apply progressively. And a tax on property is a tax on real estate wealth, and eventually on housing.

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. Now we have a possibility for a fourth tax: a tax on pollution. To me this makes a lot of sense since high income individuals tend to pollute more, much more, than the budget constrained. Bigger homes, bigger cars, or even SUVs, more air travel etc. It all leads to a more energy intensive lifestyle.

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. This tax would be great as long as the carbon tax is accompanied by a reduction on income tax. I do not want to give the government more money to waste; but I want them to tax this, not that. It is also imperative that the income tax reduction is by an equal amount per tax payer, as opposed to an equal percentage. Otherwise it will be just another tax break for the rich.

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. Our current scheme of federal tax credits for photovoltaic IS a tax break for the rich. Taxes get collected from an individual who, by need or by choice, simply opens the windows at night. This tax revenue goes to pay for his boss’s PV arrays so he can run his air conditioner twenty-four-seven. It is unfair.

. Those that are environmentally responsible would not pay much carbon tax, and would see their income tax reduced by a bigger amount. This way, if you are an “under-polluter” you can even come out ahead financially.