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by jedberg 1788 days ago
There's an easy solution to that though. You redistribute all the money from a carbon tax back to the people, either equally to everyone, or better, based on income.

We already know that wealthy people generate the most carbon. If that activity was taxed and then the money was given to poorer people who can't afford to transition to clean energy, it would still be a net win, because it will reduce emissions while making sure it doesn't unfairly affect the poor.
2 comments
bryanlarsen 1788 days ago
That's what they do in Canada. It's awesome but a lot of people hate it because they're being told they should by the usual suspects.
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Clubber 1788 days ago
The US would most likely invest the money, either partially or fully into the war machine.
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jedberg 1788 days ago
People like to rip on the US war machine, but as far as percent of GDP, the US isn't even the biggest spender. Also, the entire world benefits from the US army, which helps protect global trade routes. For example the US patrols for pirates off the coast of Africa, protecting ships that are taking goods from one country to another in which the US has no involvement in any of it.
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Clubber 1788 days ago
>but as far as percent of GDP, the US isn't even the biggest spender

The great thing about statistics is you can maneuver them to support your conclusion. Here's some that support mine: in real numbers, "The United States spends more on national defense than China, India, Russia, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Australia — combined."

https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison

That's a lot of money to fight pirates.

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