The Oil Drum: Analysis of the Hon. John Dingell’s carbon-tax proposal

Rep. John Dingell has a long history of opposing fuel-economy increases and other “green” initiatives. His position as defender of Detroit’s remaining auto industry more or less forces him to support the production of whatever vehicles are still profitable there, regardless of what they do to US energy security, balance of trade or global climate. For the last 20 years or more, this has meant large cars and personal trucks: the “guzzler” segment. Because of this, I was surprised and pleased to learn of a proposal from him for a carbon tax and a petroleum tax, to help move the US away from both fossil fuels in general and petroleum in particular.

Both emotions lasted about as long as it took to read the summary. It does not appear to be a serious basis for initiatives to move away from fossil energy. Instead, it looks like a straw-man proposal designed to fail, while appearing to promote the interests of union labor in the process. My final appraisal is “disappointingly cynical”.

The Oil Drum