Green With Envy

Earlier this week, "the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change" was published. The Review was commissioned by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, in July of last year. The author, Sir Nicholas Stern, is head of the Government Economic Service. In other words, he's a government terrocrat. The media took the bait and immediately started spreading the doom and gloom forecasts from Stern's Review. Almost immediately, all branches of the Conservative-Labour-Liberal-Democrat Party announced support for new "green" taxes. The really bad news is that there is no alternative voice in British politics. The obvious conclusion is that those of us living in the UK are targeted for having more of our wealth stolen by the terrocrats.
It's a standard ploy of power hungry terrocrats to whip up hysteria amongst the public, then offer a "solution," which results in more power for the terrocrats. The terrocrats seem to be employing a two pronged attack. First, there was the Global War on Terror. That wave seemed to spread outward from the United States and be used to justify errosions of civil liberties. Now, we have the climate change hysteria, which seems to be flowing from the UK toward the US, which is being used to justify stealing more wealth. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Propaganda Minister, is known for using the technique of repeating a point until it is taken as the truth. This seems to be the same technique being employed by the terrocrats, now. Everywhere in the media, the claim that humans are causing global warming is repeated, even though this is a disputed point in the scientific community.
Last week, Richmond Borough Council announced that it was considering raising the fee for residential parking permits to three times their current levels, for vehicles with high CO2 emissions. Drivers of electric cars would get 100% discount, while hybrid vehicle drivers would receive a 50% discount. Employing the politics of envy, owners of 4X4s are frequently cited as driving unnecessary vehicles. Nicknamed "Chelsea Tractors," they are frequently ridiculed as producing higher CO2 emissions and wasting fuel. Even if the motives for these new green taxes are pure, they won't have much of an effect on actual CO2 emissions. Many of these vehicles are expensive and if you are rich enough to afford a £50,000, luxury 4X4, you arehardlyy going to be discouraged by an extra charge of £200 per year. On the other end, a poor person, like me, driving an old car, won't be able to afford to buy aexpensiveve, new car. My car is 11 years old and even if the tax on it was tripled, it would still be cheaper for me to pay it and keep driving the car, than to buy a new one. So I will keep driving the old car and keep on emitting CO2.
Another problem with so called, "green taxes" is that the money raised by them will not be spent reducing CO2 in the air. "Green taxes" do not solve global warming, they just put more money and power in the hands of the terrocrats. Is it a coincidence that the Stern review was commissioned by the man who intends to be the next Prime Minister?
Not only won't "green taxesalleviatete climate change, even if they could help, they arunnecessaryry. If consumers want to reduce COemissionsns, then the market and technology will provide the means. Stern claims that "climate change is the greatest market failure the world has seen." He must make this claim in order to avoid the biggest economic objection to what he's advocating. He's advocating centralized economic planning with regards to COemissionsns. As aneconomistst knows, the market is a more efficient system for producing and distributing wealth than centralized economic planning. Those economists corrupt enough, or ignorant enough, to whore themselves out aapologistst for the terrocrats, use the notion "market failure," to try to avoid the argument against centralized economic planning. It's complete bullshit.
"Market failure?" Let me tell you what the market is doing. In a recent news item it was reported that Mazda has developed a version of their rotary engine that runs on hydrogen. A hydrogen burning engine gives off zero CO2. Its emission is water. This is the second manufacturer to make news on this, recently, A couple of months ago, BMW announced its intention to offer hydrogen fueled engines across its entire product range. The market IS developing solutions to CO2 emissionsns. Why isn't this getting as much media attention as the sky is falling pronouncements of terrocrats?
In 1798, Thomas Malthus predicted that world population would increase beyond the food supply, leading to a reduction of the amount of food per person. He predicted this would occur by the mid 19th Century. It didn't. Ever since Malthus, there have been numerous "Malthusian" predictions of over-population, none of which have proved to be correct. They have al failed because they did not take into account changes in technology and increased productivity. The whole sustainability and climate change hysteria is just the latest version of Malthusianism. Calls for Brits to drive smaller cars, which look like the box the car came in, take fewer holidays, stop using the standby mode on their appliances, are unnecessary. The marketplace will respond. Resist the temptation to look upon those who may drive a bigger car than you, or go on an extra holiday abroad, with envy. That mother driving the Chelsea tractor n the school run is paying for it, or her husband is, so leave them alone. If you help create the police state apparatus to micromanage these people's lives, it WILL be turned on you, at some point. "Remember, remember, the 5th of November." Taxation is theft! Freedom's the answer, what's the question?