I wanted to collect some information I’ve seen about climate change action costs. Some of it is right-wing propaganda, some of it is reality-based facts from large-scale studies that have been done. The short answer is what I’ve been writing for a while: it is far cheaper to act than not to act.
Beginning with the right-wing, extremist, denier propaganda:
On the subject of a still-in-the-works cap-and-trade plan, Con-servatives are running around screaming about a $3,128 tax that would befall the American people. As usual, they’re trying to work up their base over … nothing. As usual, they’re misquoting a scientific study by MIT that examined what a potential cap-and-trade plan would do to the “average American”. As usual, they’re promoting a three-word catch-phrase designed to fool people into buying into their b.s. They’re calling the cap-and-trade plan a light-switch tax. What is the true number from the MIT study? $79 per family (based on 2.56 people, just as the Con-servatives did) in 2015. The long-term cost to a household? $215.05. That’s 6.9% of what the Cons are talking about. They’ve boosted the number over 14 times its true cost – purposefully lying to generate fear and anger. As usual, that’s disgusting behavior from the “family-values” crowd.
Reality-based details can be found below.
