Can the public afford a carbon tax?

A study from the University of Washington tells us, “The amount needed to meet the costs of basic needs increased between 2001 and 2017. … For a family with two adults, one preschooler, and one school-age child, the standard increased on average by 59 percent across the state.”

When I was a kid, I remember seeing the dirt on my shirt collar just from the dirty air. I also spent a few years in the Coast Guard and breathed in the stack gases from the ship’s exhaust as we drifted on station in the North Pacific, which is probably why I have some health problems today. And I worked on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Based on that background I think I have a fairly good idea about the need to reduce air pollution regardless of the form it takes.

But what are the alternatives to a carbon tax?

How about doing away with the land use laws, so we have more mixed-use zoning? That way we can live closer to work and where we shop, which will reduce our need to drive, our use of fossil fuels and auto emissions. Maybe we can end the monopoly the transit agencies have so that the private sector can bring some new ideas to the transportation marketplace. That might help people who can’t afford to keep their cars tuned up.

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Can the public afford a carbon tax?."