TAPPED, the award-winning blog of one of my favorite magazines, The American Prospect, just wrote about an online effort, led by Brandeis’ own Mike Kerns and Jamie Ansorge, to have a national gas/carbon tax. Here’s what they had to say:
Having college kids argue on the Internet in favor of a $1/1 gallon of gas tax is probably not the best way to convince folks that higher prices at the pump won’t unduly hurt the rural poor. But that’s what a new Facebook group is all about:
Amazingly-and counter-intuitively-a tax on gas consumption will not hurt consumers, but rather will be a definitive stroke of government policy that causes America to lead the world into the cost-efficient, environment-friendly, democratizing era of alternative energy. And amazingly still, this is, via probability, as plain as fact!
Simply enough, there will be less of a market for gas, meaning less consumption and less pollution, while there will simultaneously be a new, direct form of funding for alternative energies, which will be demanded more highly relative to gas with the price increase. And, Voila!
And with the communicative power of technology, here it is possible. If 1,000,000 people simply click “join,” we can literally change the world, and, in a deafeningly defining way.
The enthusiastic group was founded by Brandeis student Michael Kerns. He links approvingly to the idea that revenues from a gas tax should be contributed to the Social Security Trust Fund, which would then allow for cuts in payroll taxes. The problem with that, though, is that if the gas tax truly succeeded in decreasing demand for oil, eventually there’d be a shortfall on Social Security contributions.
This as been the latest episode of Brandeis kids do the darndest things.
Facebook Group here, by the way.
Didn’t Friedman trumpet this idea in his class _repeatedly_ last year? I remember facebook groups forming around his words then.
Do we?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dtbn9zBfJSs&feature=related
Thanks for pointing this out Sahar! I’d love to take credit, but it was truly all Mike’s idea. I’ve just assisted by inviting others who might support the cause!
I believe that the slow switch to renewable energy sources is a market failure. The government must act to ensure the public good! This facebook group supports just one of many ways! Ed Markey yelling at oil executives in front of a congressional committee does not accomplish much… we need legislation, and we need it now.