Washington DC Conservative R Street Institute Promotes Carbon Tax
The R Street Institute is a new Washington DC based insurance-funded think tank which, among other things, supports a carbon tax. It was founded by Eli Lehrer, who bolted from the Heartless Heartland Institute during their meltdown last year.
There’s a debate in DC this week in which they will advocate for a carbon tax against the likes of James Taylor (the nasty one, not the folksinger).
…The terms of the debate seem structured in favor of the “inside” position.
The debate itself may not matter much, though: this is very “inside-the-beltway”. I think the carbon tax will not sell to the Republican base until they understand the risks and constraints much better than they do. So I’m still holding on to a supposedly refuted “information deficit paradigm”. Good information does not guarantee good decisions, but bad information pretty much guarantees bad decisions, doesn’t it?
Still, this is good news. The fact that somebody with the right plumage is coming out in favor of a tax is certainly a sign of progress.
