Gore says tax pollution, not payrolls

[deadparrot]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore on Monday suggested taxing carbon dioxide emissions instead of employees' pay in a bid to stem global warming.

"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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/environment_gore_dc

[Tellurian]

1. Perfect plank for a Democrat Platform!

who wouldn't VOTE for that?

[msongs]

2. eliminate taxes for everyone, could we exclude rich people :-) ? nt

[quiet.american]

3. Well, he did say "payroll" taxes, so that takes care of that! :) n/t

[Xenotime]

9. The rich need to be taxed more...

if found responsible for the pollution.

[jacklambert]

11. Shareholders own most large polluters,

so those would be the one's most affected. You're talking about labor unions, equity funds and other large institutional investors.

[AlGore-08.com]

4. We have the transcript of Gore's speech up

It's another amazing speech from Gore

http://www.algore.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=416&Itemid=299

[Tellurian]

6. I found this to be a workable link:

http://www.algore.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=78

[GetTheRightVote]

5. I love it, I really like all the quotes from various great individuals

from the past but still ring true today.

:kick:

[gasperc]

7. revolutionary, embraces the seriousness of the issue

the media and energy industry can continue to try and confuse the issue all they want in the hopes that global warming is happening slowly enough for mankind to somehow adapt to it. But clearly, with the Siberian bogs and Greenland glaciers melting at an avalanching rate the seriousness of the issue will rapidly swap all other issues economic and otherwise.

[MysteryToMyself]

8. Here is exactly what Gore said

For the last fourteen years, I have advocated the elimination of all payroll taxes - including those for social security and unemployment compensation - and the replacement of that revenue in the form of pollution taxes - principally on CO2. The overall level of taxation would remain exactly the same. It would be, in other words, a revenue neutral tax swap. But, instead of discouraging businesses from hiring more employees, it would discourage business from producing more pollution."

My take on it is that he needs to tred carefully. I trust Gore more than any politician anywhere, but he needs to study the Social Security laws and how and why FDR set up those programs as part of the New Deal. There are laws written into the Social Security Act that protects it.

It needs to be done gradually. Lower the payroll taxes as the other taxes accumulate. The deficit would probably suck up a lot of those taxes at first.

At this time, we all get a 100% match on what we pay into Social Security and Medicare from our employers. That is considered part of our wages. The taxes should be paid into indivual FICA accounts for each individual like they are now. I suppose the employers can report the wages and salaries and then the taxes outside of payroll would be attributed to each person accordingly. It could work as long as they don't let the laws be destroyed in the process.

No way should the Bush crowd that adds on things after a vote or in the middle of the night be allowed near it. A lock box could be in order.

The problem would be that the higher polluters would leave the country, but maybe we could tax all products of polluters that we import???? The new jobs could come from the production, installation and sales of the energy changes.

Al Gore is the answer.

[jacklambert]

10. This will do little or nothing to stem the tide of CO2 pollution...

but it will do plenty to move our manufacturing jobs overseas where there is no pollution tax. Another case of unintended consequences.

It will only speed up this country's move towards a service-centric employment base. There always has to be payroll to tax, but there doesn't always have to be pollution to tax.

And it is also doubtful that employers would pass the savings onto the employee. Employers may hold down wages knowing that the employees will be bringing home more money via elimination of payroll taxes.

I just see a giant loophole for large manufacturers to jump through. I don't think it will work.

[Odin2005]

12. Exactly. It's stuff like that that makes me want a global government.

The nation-state is obsolete, if they try do rein in multinationals the multinationals will just take the jobs to someplace else, producing a run to the bottom. Only a global government can rein in the multinationals. We have two choices, a global government or rule by the corporations, pick one.