This is regarding a carbon tax and dividend program. The earth has been changing its temperature all the time it has been here. There are many factors that influence the earth’s temperature (biggest is solar activity) and to assume that you can control the temperature by changing one of hundreds of factors is a bit unrealistic.

Taxing carbon emissions will increase the cost of everything you do and everything you buy — everything you buy comes by truck and increased fuel costs will be passed on in higher prices. Does anyone remember what $4 per gallon fuel did for your budget and the economy? What if you tax carbon emissions enough so that it achieves the desired reduction, it destroys the economy, and the global temperature continues to rise? Then what?

The idea that a carbon tax and dividend program would be “revenue neutral” and actually create jobs is smoke and mirrors. The only jobs it is likely to create are government jobs to administer the program. Anybody who thinks the government is going to take money out of one of your pockets and put money back in your other pocket and you will end up with the same amount of money has no understanding of how government works.

In general, efforts to clean up our environment are a good idea, but a carbon tax is not a good idea unless you like paying $4 a gallon for fuel to heat your home and like being unemployed because the economy is trashed.

M. Gerald Small

West Gardiner


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