For those of you sick and tired of the candidate pie fight diaries.
Thankfully the problem of Global Climate Change has been at least a topic so far in the campaigns. But personally I don't particularly like the solutions being proposed.
Windfall profit taxes, cap and trade systems, gas tax holidays. I simply don't believe they'll work.
Follow me below the fold for a fresh idea.
Windfall profit taxes. Killed. While I like the idea of oil companies being able to avoid these by investing in renewable energy research, the history and stigma of them leaves them dead at the gate. Been there, tried that.
Gas tax holidays. I don't think I even need to discuss the blatant pandering of this. Is this a solution? Of course not. At best a bandaid that falls off after a day or two. It's simply no solution at all.
Cap and trade systems. A more noteworthy proposal, but one I'm not sure I can support. It's simply another way to tax people into changing their energy consumption habits. Seems a more direct way would be a direct tax on gas or energy. Change the demand and the supply will follow. But it doesn't solve the problem of where the energy comes from.
Currently there are billions of dollars looking for clean alternative energy sources. The solution to mans contribution to GCC resides in an alternative energy source. Just so happens that the solution to "energy independence" (if that's even possible) resides in the same solution. It seems to me that this is where all the focus should be. Kyoto protocals that most countries can't live up to notwithstanding.
Nothing we've tried so far seems to work. How about a different approach?
How about a tax holiday for the company who comes up with the viable alternative energy solution? R&D money flows to those areas with the highest potential returns. What juices returns more than not having to pay income taxes on your profits? I can't imagine anyone crying to loud about no income taxes to the company that provides the country and the world with the viable alternative to oil, gas and coal? We can debate the details all day long. How long should the holiday be for? How do you qualify for it? If we're debating these issues, we've already agreed on the concept.
Maybe I've missed it and this has already been proposed, but I don't think so. Maybe the answer will come from the government, and maybe the answer will come from the market.
Seems to me we should encourage both at this point.