How exciting a week we have ahead of us while the world leaders come together to discuss our Earth's future. At least for the duration of this week, we will be asked to ignore real threats to our security so that those at the Paris summit can feel self righteous and important. In their morally superior intellect bubble, this is probably the only way they know how to make a lasting impact on the big bad USA. While we have an unsecured border, a shrinking middle class, terrorists who aren't being taken seriously and allowed to do whatever they please, and we keep spending money that isn't ours. Those are just a small sample of issues I would think we would want solved, especially the terrorist thing. But with an open mind, and me putting aside my anger at this idiocy, let's play along with Obama and the world that climate change is the biggest threat to us at this very moment.
The Earth is a complicated place. In 2015 there are still underdeveloped nations, aka Third World Nations, whose people barely make an average of $1 US dollar per day. If we were to look at these underdeveloped nations, we will typically see grandiose government corruption, a people who are generally not educated, life expectancy is usually low, and the governing body has an equally corrupt "law enforcement" group. How is it even possible with a corrupt group of leaders these Third World nations can the people get to a point of living beyond just day-to-day? It won't happen, despite being told that if we cease climate change we can save everyone and bring about world peace. All this is a bunch of nonsense.
One of the issues we need to talk about is this idea of a carbon tax. An idea of "taxing/charge a company/individual by the amount of carbon they put into the environment." Does this sound familiar? Look back in history when indulgences were used to help absolve one of sin, it goes along the same way of thinking. What this carbon tax is is something that is going to be used just as easily by the rich. Wealthy corporations will pass along the fees to their consumers, just like we saw with increased fuel prices. When fuel prices increased, the price of everything from cheese to shoes increased to off-set the rising cost of fuel. Nothing was improved with these products, there was just an increased charge on the business and their bottom line was affected. While the larger corporations can handle that by offsetting to their customers, small businesses cannot. Small businesses will not be able to survive such a thing. Shoppers will see that if they go to another store they could get the same or equal product for less, and enjoy their savings.
A carbon tax will also stifle innovation. Think of this, at one point ALL large companies we know today were once small; Starbuck's, Ben and Jerry's, WalMart, Amazon, Apple, Google, the list goes on and on. If anything had happened to stifle the imagination of these people, we would not be where we are now as a society. That's because the theory of "laissez faire" works. When people are allowed to do what they were born to do, we have amazing breakthroughs with technology and the human condition.
What the "leaders" in Paris should examine is how to reward those who don't put out as much carbon, and end this cycle of punishment with the purposed carbon tax. Just like training a puppy, positive reinforcement is the best method. Also, it's time for these environmentalists to put up or shut up. How many of these people are completely off grid right now? How many of them currently have solar panels on their homes? Here's one better, bring me Al Gore and his electric bill. I would LOVE to measure his carbon footprint. All of these "green" products are fabulous, but with money being tight with the majority of people, and in third world nations where there is not enough money to go around, the average person cannot afford these items. For me, examining the green movement and the carbon tax boils down to the government wanting to find a way to collect more money from its citizens. Money that most governments don't know how to properly manage to begin with.
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