How does the world-wide global warming tax scam actually work?

Question

Some people, in answers on these pages, have suggested that global warming, instead of being a well-established scientific fact and a potential threat to the entire world, is in fact some kind of "tax scam". In other words, some sort of politcal elite (greenies, the left, Democrats, all politicians, satan-loving atheistic commies...) have invented the evidence out of whole cloth, and intend to scare people into agreeing to increased taxation, accompanied by political repression.

This does not make sense to me. First, the "conspiracy" must involve a great many people all over the world. Second, the solution need not involve any actual increase in taxes; taxes discouraging carbon use could replace other taxes. Third, the solution need not involve significant diminution of freedoms, aside from the current freedom to (collectively) destroy the world. We don't allow people the freedom to burn down their house, for example. Fourth, it will happen anyway, when the oil runs out.

Answer 1

Well I'll tell you how it works, in three easy steps.

1. You discover strong evidence suggesting that humans can and have been affecting the climate.

2. Then you advise that unless steps are taken to reduce humanity's affect on the climate the results could be disastrous.

3. Profit.

As you can see, the whole process is diabolically clever and has been making scientists obscenely wealthy for years now.

Answer 2

Er, you do realise that SW FL isn't the whole of the globe, right? Sea levels are rising. The only plausible explanations I've found for that are: 1: Ice caps are melting. 2: Thermal expansion of seawater. Both of those point to global warming. I'm yet to see any explanation (plausible or otherwise) for the sea level rise to be caused by anything other than global warming. It may be a cold day where you live, but that doesn't mean the world isn't warming up. ================ ETA: Yes, it's cold where I live. Very cold. Virtually the whole of the UK is covered in snow at the moment. The whole of the UK plus the whole of the USA *still* isn't the whole world. There's also a difference between changes in weather (which can happen from day to day) and a change in climate which happens over a much longer period. I still haven't heard a plausible explanation for the sea level rise other than global warming.

Answer 3

Global warming and global cooling _are_ well established facts. They are both part of the natural climatic cycle and HUMANS CANNOT CHANGE THIS!.
The taxation scam is being brought about by socialistic organizations like the U.N. and socialistic countries. It is aimed at calculating a persons 'carbon footprint' and taxing that person (corporations are technically persons, too) based on these calculations.
For a sample, you can search carbon credit and get to UncleAl's carbon credit company and calculate _your_ 'carbon footprint'. It's fun, but it doesn't mean anything.
There is no conspiracy, there is only greedy people in power finding ways to relieve the common people of the last freedoms and push us into the stone age while _they_ ride around in limos and private jets.

Answer 4

Well, in Canada it would work something like ...

... you are a huge power utility with a lot of oil fired stations which produce CO2. But you have transformers filled with SF6 oil ... which is something like 13000 times worse than CO2 as a greenhouse gas. But it isn't a green house gas, it is just oil sitting there, not being burned.

Yet if you empty all that nasty oil out of your aging transformer on its next scheduled maintenance period and replace with with a different oil you can get millions in tax credits or CO2 credits, whichever you prefer ... yet you haven't done a d*mned thing to improve overall emissions.

Answer 5

Not only would it involve a ton of people, but the vast majority of climate scientists. That in itself is utterly preposterous, as falsifying data is a surefire way for any scientist to lose his job and all credibility in the scientific community. Yet these conspiracy theorists proclaim that thousands of scientists are all falsifying data. It's mind boggling, not to mention offensive as a scientist myself.

Not only that, but the scientists don't benefit from the tax scam. Who does benefit from this conspiracy? It seems like the basis is that liberals just love to tax everyone - that they get a high off it or something. Liberal politicians don't benefit from taxes either!

Besides which, the better solution is to make a carbon cap and trade system.

Parrot - nice underpants gnomes reference!

Answer 6

I am not sure about any "conspiracy" with GLOBAL WARMING but I do think there is a GASOLINE CONSPIRACY, I think that the government(powers that be) have MESSED UP and MISMANAGED all kinds or "normal tax dollars" and they have been running so many FRIVOLOUS operations where they now TAX GASOLINE to pay for their BLUNDERS, and instead of FIXING the SYSTEM they just TAX GAS more to pay for their ongoing FRIVOLOUS ARCHAIC SYSTEM.

I really do not know if that is what is going on but it sure seems like it some times....

Answer 7

There is no "tax scam" for global warming, if you heard this, it's just the propaganda corp america spit out in hopes people won't stop the destruction of our planet..if we don't stop it we're all doomed.
Corp Amer. is the biggest polluter, stop them and we're all better off..but to do that we have to clean house in Congress. ALL of them need to go. Polls state all america believes congress is crooked, but the same poll states their own congressperson ( in their state) is the exception see the issue. Ignorance is blind.

Answer 8

It is the same old story. Steal from the producers and give to the non-producers. Frankly, I wish they would increase taxes on petroleum and reduce it in other areas. That would actually make sense so it won't happen.

Answer 9

Here is a "gentle" IPCC solution, often trumpeted by Bob on Y!A:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,481085,00.html

"By accepting a reduction of just 0.12 percent in global economic growth, we can avoid the worst consequences of global warming, according to the IPCC. The catch? It only works if everyone joins in."

Wow, a growth reduction of a mere 0.12 percent! Sounds good. Wait, what's that about only working if everyone joins in? Sounds kinda like one of those pyramid schemes that only pays off if the ten suckers you find can each find ten more suckers, and those each find 10 more...

...aww, what the heck. As long as it's shared misery for everyone, you can count me in.

"it would mean a reduction in average annual GDP growth rates of up to 0.12 percent in 2050, and a reduction of up to 5.5 percent in total economic\ output."

"Average" annual GDP growth? Hmmm..that may sound good if your country's economy has lackluster growth to be gin with, but that certainly means that those with a healthy, expanding economy will have to bear the bulk of the sacrifice. Still, 0.12 sounds small...how bad could it be?

Uhhhhhh...that sure looks like they said 5.5 percent of total economic output. That certainly means that those country with the highest economic output will need to cut MORE than 5.5 percent to produce that average value. But let's just be irrationally optimistic and see what 5.5% of GDP works out for the US:
For 2007, 5.5% of projected GDP will be $750 billion. Ouch...and that was after I threw out over $2 billion to give us a round number It's sounding pretty close to a TRILLION dollars a year by the time they tag us guys at the top. Maybe there's a way to weasel out of this commitment.

"But such a scenario also requires a global pollution tax per ton of CO2. "If one ton of greenhouse gas would cost between $20 and $50 (€15 and $37), many investments (in low-emission technologies) would already become attractive," says Bert Metz, a member of the climate panel."

Global Pollution Tax? Let's see, for the USA that works out to somewhere between $128 and $320 billion. If you add up all the countries of the world, it's going to end up being a $TRILLION per year. This is the GENTLE solution? There's another word I'm thinking of... uh, just a sec... yeah... EXTORTION!

So, we have the choice of voluntary torture or forced torture? Gee, how did we ever get so lucky? And never mind that they never said who's going to get all that dough...

Well, at least I'm doing something for my children, their children, grandchildren, etc...

"That way, the average warming worldwide could probably be limited to about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the year 2100."

WTF?!? All this, and in a 100 years it wont be ANY better? It'll be twice as bad as the increase over the last century? Why, 100 years ago, the Wright brothers were making airplanes out of bicycle parts! Holeeeee SHEEEET!

Turns out that the "something" I'm doing for my kids is dooming them to a lifetime of misery!