BJ and ROCHE on LuMaye interview:
http://billlumaye.blogspot.com/2010/02/replacing-congressman-price-next-wave.html#comments
BJ pretty much was the underdog in this first “debate”.....and it does not seem (if one really listens to what he says)...it does not seem that he knows what a carbon tax really is - yet he supports a carbon tax and would do away with a federal tax. He claimed carbon tax to be a “consumption tax” but then went on to say that food should not be taxed.
Folks...carbon tax is cap-n-trade - plain and simple. Cap n trade is progressive.
Yes, I heard the Roche-Lawson debate on LuMaye’s show yesterday too. I tried to call in and ask him a pointed question about the carbon tax, but some lady got in first and beat me to it.
I agree - the carbon tax is a VERY bad idea, and I really get the sense that B.J. Lawson doesn’t comprehend exactly what it is that he is advocating.
Let’s think about it - Lawson says that replacing the income tax with a carbon tax will remove the negative drag on jobs, economic growth, etc. This is nonsense.
First of all, in one sense, a tax is a tax is a tax. The more tax, the lower the growth and the fewer the jobs. Especially true if, as Lawson says, we replace the income tax completely with a carbon tax. We will then have a carbon tax that is high enough to bring in replacement revenue (which may or may NOT come with cuts in spending). We could end up with a big huge whopping tax that WE the PEOPLE have to pay.
Think of it - huge tax on our gasoline in our cars. Added transportation costs on every good we buy from a store. Increased cost of living. Paying more to heat our homes. And also - consider this - petroleum, which obviously falls under a “carbon tax,” is a primary feedstock for the polymers industry. Taxing it will add to the cost of each and every consumer good made from plastics that use petroleum as a feedstock. That means the price of everything from Bic pens to automobiles would skyrocket.
In short, BJ Lawson’s carbon tax idea is very, very bad. VERY bad. I’d rather keep the present income tax regimen than switch to this carbon tax - though obviously, I’d much prefer a THIRD option.....