The second paragraph raised my concern since I didn’t see a single republican in support of the discussion draft.

The third paragraph reveals that this is just another regressive and punitive tax that will be used to grow government and in my opinion we have more than enough government now.

1. Comments about first paragraph. I support a Carbon Tax [CT] because I believe it is the most direct and easiest tax to collect and to follow where the money is going. Programs like Cap and Trade or Cap and Tax for example have worked in some instances but many programs are riddled with inefficiencies and waste or favor some group of individuals or industries over others. When you give your dollars to a government agency; you will never receive a 100% return of that money in some form of government services.

2. Second paragraph comments. Things get done in Washington by individuals reaching consensus [agreement] and there hasn’t been a whole bunch of that taking place in the last few years. It is my belief that this discussion draft will end up in someones trash basket unless both parties find ways to compromise.

3. Deficit reduction was listed as a goal of this program by implementing a Carbon Tax. That one statement alone makes me AGAINST this discussion draft. OUR government deficit has grown because WE THE PEOPLE have allowed it to grow. You reduce a deficit by reducing spending or increasing income. There is nothing complex about two column accounting. As the title states, the purpose of a Carbon Tax is to punish those who use carbon to create energy. Coal, oil, natural gas, etc are typical carbon sources. But I didn’t seen anything about WHEN we are going to tax the carbon. Is it at the coal mine, the coal burning power plant or at the electric meter on our homes? Is it at the steel plant or at the car dealership based on the weight of the vehicle we purchase.

Anyway here is my opinion.

1. A Carbon Tax [CT] does not create wealth or help the majority of
the American people. It in fact robs the people of needed
funds by increasing the cost of energy at a time when we should be
doing exactly the opposite.
2. A CT is perceived by many Americans as just another
tax to help create a bigger government and/or to line the pockets of
a select group of individuals or corporations.
3. A CT does not create a larger workforce who pay taxes but does the exact opposite by removing needed capital from the private investment sector which is needed to build the renewable energy systems valued by our President and a majority of the American people and;
4. A CT is not a product; you can’t eat it, the public can’t spend or save
it, you can’t drive it or plant it in the ground and watch it grow.

However, since Congress does not appear to be capable of doing much of anything constructive for our country; I might support a Carbon Tax if the governments TAKE was limited to some reasonable number like 10% of the collected tax. In my opinion, a Carbon Tax should be used to REDUCE CARBON not pay down government debt caused by inappropriate government spending. That’s my opinion and I am sticking to it.

A sizable portion should also go to fund renewable technology. As the market effects of a carbon tax take hold, more individuals and businesses will switch to carbon neutral products and services, and the carbon tax proceeds will slowly shrink as renewable tech grows.