<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:tahoma, new york, times, serif;font-size:10pt"><div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">I think this idea of taxing fuel is going to be more destructive to businesses and the economy than helpful to the Australian environment. One group of people that will go <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-0><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">extinct</SPAN></SPAN> for sure is the Mom and Pop distribution businesses. Up to $6500 in assistance for new machines and "advice" from the government isn't going to help a small business that must use an abundance of fuel. </SPAN></div>
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<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">Many of the families that cannot afford to upgrade and don't get enough assistance, or cannot wait for the assistance from the government, will also be greatly hindered. A $300-$500 tax credit isn't enough to keep up with the increases of needed goods and services, much less buy new <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-1><SPAN>appliances</SPAN></SPAN> the government expects them to. </SPAN></div>
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<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">I still think the best way to fight the carbon pollution is to force the engineering of more fuel <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-2><SPAN>efficient</SPAN></SPAN> systems rather than sucking what little <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-3><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-0><SPAN>resources</SPAN></SPAN> </SPAN>away they have left from those that must use them. </SPAN></div>
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<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">In addition, the equipment western society is engineering and building today, will be the equipment used by developing countries in the future. These countries and <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-4>continents </SPAN>with 100s of millions and even billions are the ones more greatly impacting world <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-5><SPAN>environmental</SPAN></SPAN> conditions. Third world countries follow our <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-6><SPAN>technologies</SPAN></SPAN>, not our social engineering. Depending<VAR id=yui-ie-cursor></VAR> on social <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-7><SPAN>engineering</SPAN></SPAN>, which is what this tax is, to solve the Earth's <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-8><SPAN>environment</SPAN></SPAN> <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-9><SPAN>issues</SPAN></SPAN>, rather than creating only machines that will not destroy the planet,
I think is <SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" id=misspell-10><SPAN>foolhardy</SPAN></SPAN>. Does it not make more sense to not to build the machines that will destroy the Earth in the first place than to build them and try to control human behavior not to abuse them?</SPAN></div>
<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto"></SPAN> </div>
<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">Donovan J. Arnold</SPAN></div>
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<DIV style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 0; MARGIN: 5px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 0px; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class=hr contentEditable=false readonly="true"></DIV><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> Ted Moffett <starbliss@gmail.com><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020@moscow.com> <BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Monday, June 4, 2012 4:10 PM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re: [Vision2020] carbon tax<BR></FONT></DIV><BR>
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<DIV>A carbon tax with tax shifting or other compensation, or a fee and dividend system, would offer relief to consumers of low and middle incomes for the increases in the cost of goods and services. In fact, some economic projections show low and middle income consumers coming out ahead financially, with a carbon tax and tax shifting or other compensation, or fee and dividend systems, to promote a quicker transition away from fossil fuels. </DIV>
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<DIV>This of course would depend on their economic choices. If someone used a lot of coal fired electricity and drove a gas guzzler 100 miles a day to commute, they would see a large increase in the cost of coal and oil energy associated with their lifestyle. But for those who make choices to avoid intensive fossil fuel associated economic decisions, the reduction in their taxes or other compensation or the dividend payments they would receive, could offer the chance to economically benefit from the tax or fee on carbon.</DIV>
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<DIV>Incredible that in this thread, Australia's plan, just now being implemented, though in the works for a long time, to tax carbon and compensate families for the increases in costs, was not mentioned once... </DIV>
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<DIV>Below are sources of information on carbon tax and tax shifting or other compensation, and fee and dividend systems. <A href="http://cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Cleanenergyfuture.gov.au</A> source below claims compensation of 120 percent of the expected increases in costs from the carbon tax:</DIV>
<DIV><BR>Lowering Income Taxes While Raising Pollution Taxes Reaps Great Returns </DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>Lester R. Brown<BR>http://www.earth-policy.org/book_bytes/2010/pb4ch10_ss2</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>-------------------------------</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144bookTitle><A href="http://www.earth-policy.org/books/pb3" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization</A></DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144bookAuthor>Lester R. Brown</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144bookAuthor><FONT>Chapter 13. The Great Mobilization: Shifting Taxes and Subsidies</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>http://www.earth-policy.org/books/pb3/PB3ch13_ss2</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>------------------------------</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>Info on Australia's "Clean Energy Future" plan with a carbon tax:</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/helping-households/who-will-get-assistance/</DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>Over 4 million households get assistance worth 120 per cent of their expected average price impact</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>-----------------------------</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>Info below on a fee and dividend system presented to the US Congress:</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>Carbon Tax and 100% Dividend vs. Tax and Trade</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>Testimony of James E. Hansen<BR>Committee on Ways and Means</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>US House of Representatives</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2009/WaysAndMeans_20090225.pdf</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor> </DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>"...Tax and 100% Dividend--tax carbon emissions, but give all of the money back to the public..."</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor> </DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>NASA climate scientist James Hansen, quoted above, has opposed the cap and trade system that the Obama administration was trying to pass the US Congress, that failed:</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>Cap and Fade</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>By JAMES HANSEN</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>Published: December 6, 2009</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor> </DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/opinion/07hansen.html</DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor> </DIV>
<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor><A href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/opinion/07hansen.html" rel=nofollow target=_blank>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/opinion/07hansen.html</A></DIV>
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<DIV class=yiv1481437144planBAuthor>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett</DIV></DIV><BR>=======================================================<BR>List services made available by First Step Internet,<BR>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<BR> <A href="http://www.fsr.net/" target=_blank>http://www.fsr.net</A><BR> mailto:<A href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com" ymailto="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020@moscow.com</A><BR>=======================================================<BR><BR></DIV></DIV></div></body></html>