Obama May Levy Carbon Tax to Cut U.S. Deficit, HSBC Says
“Barack Obama may consider introducing a tax on carbon emissions to help cut the U.S. budget deficit after winning a second term as president, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.
“A tax starting at $20 a metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent and rising at about 6 percent a year could raise $154 billion by 2021, Nick Robins, an analyst at the bank in London, said today in an e-mailed research note, citing Congressional Research Service estimates. “Applied to the Congressional Budget Office’s 2012 baseline, this would halve the fiscal deficit by 2022,” Robins said.
“Hurricane Sandy sparked discussion on climate protection in the election after presidential candidates focused on other debates, HSBC said. A continued Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives means Obama’s scope for action will be limited, Robins said. Cap-and-trade legislation stalled in the U.S. Senate after narrowly passing the house in 2009. “
Ref: http://stevemaley.com/2012/11/04/eco-taxes-planned-for-a-second-obama-term/
It’s actually rather cunning. Present a deficit reduction plan that hinges on a carbon tax. He knows the Republicans in the House will never agree to levy a carbon tax, so he has no fear of it actually coming to pass and wrecking the economy (which he has to know it would.) Then, when the Republicans shoot it down, he can blame them (as always) for the deficit not being reduced AND for every storm that damages any home anywhere in the country. And the media, as we know, will lap it all up. (Good, doggies.)