Quote:
Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0
So Elon Musk leaves Texas because of taxes and regulations (according to some here), and then he says...
Elon Musk: ‘My top recommendation’ for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a carbon tax
...I’m so confused.
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Nothing confusing here.
[definition] hypocrite: 1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs. 2. see Elon Musk
I'm sure the fact that higher gas taxes would increase Tesla sales has absolutely nothing at all to do with his selfless and purely altruistic views on this.
(For further reading, see: pompous; self-aggrandizing; egomaniacal; self-serving)
Apparently the Great Elon thinks it's OK for him to flee California to escape paying taxes, as long as it's offset by imposing a tax on everyone else but him. Seems fair. After all, the money to pay for government services has to come from somewhere, and as the Goddess Leona Helmsley said,
"Only the little people pay taxes".
Aside from all that, it does seem the only way to move to a renewable energy economy and away from fossil fuels would be by some form of direct government action, such as either paying for and building renewable energy generating plants (solar, wind, tidal, etc.), or some form of carbon tax and hoping the 'market' would 'figure it out'.
The key concept is
paying for. The money to pay for replacing fossil fuel generating stations with renewable sources has to come from somewhere. Since there is no such thing as "government money" - after all, the money any government has comes from us - one way or another,
we will have to pay for this. Which means higher taxes. However it's packaged, higher income tax, carbon use tax, or higher energy costs (if it's left to utility companies), we will have to pay for the construction of new renewable energy plants.
I'll leave it to much smarter economic minds than mine (which means pretty much everyone) to figure out how to do this fairly and efficiently, in ways that don't disproportionately hurt lower income people, and avoiding waste and corruption (oh, that's right - no one has figured out how to do that, at least not in this country).