“Green taxes” seem to be the in thing these days. The idea is that you tax things that supposedly damage the environment while reducing taxes on other things. Al Gore is the latest to advocate such an approach:

“Penalizing pollution instead of penalizing employment will work to reduce that pollution,” Gore said in a speech at New York University School of Law.
The pollution tax would replace all payroll taxes, including those for Social Security and unemployment compensation, Gore said. He said the overall level of taxation, would remain the same.
“Instead of discouraging businesses from hiring more employees it would discourage business from producing more pollution,” Gore said.

So people have more money to spend, which means they can spend more on buying those large SUVs that move their families around safely and can afford to travel more? Oh. So Al has to be talking about huuuuuge tax increases on gas, large autos and air travel to offset that effect. And let’s not forget the very real blood for oil effect of any policy that forces people into smaller cars. These “green taxes” kill.

That hasn’t stopped the Liberal Democrats in the UK promoting more fleshed-out green taxes as an integral part of their platform. They include the predictable punitive tax on SUVs, despite the fact that an SUV in, say, Chelsea, that is driven a small amount round a city may well emit less carbon dioxide in toto than a smaller car that is simply driven more. The fair green tax is actually one that will increase the price of gas, not of the cars. But that is a bit of a hot potato in the UK. The tabloids, always a good indicator of likely popular reaction over there, poured scorn on the new policies, with The Sun exclaiming “Potty Libs in Tax Grab.”

As for David Cameron, the following statement says it all:

“We will put economic stability and fiscal responsibility ahead of promises to cut taxes. Protecting the environment and tackling climate change will be given equal prominence to public services and the economy.”

So an incoming Cameron government will presumably refuse to build new schools and hospitals unless they are carbon-neutral. What this inevitably means is fewer schools and hospitals for the taxpayer’s money. That’s a vote-winner.

Thank God for John Howard.