No Concept of Irony

The National Review's David Freddoso has been apoplectic over Congress' decision to do, well, anything on energy policy (see previous entries- here and here), as this surely will result in the destruction of America and apple pie. In his latest rant, he resigns himself to the use of energy-efficient light bulbs... but, gosh, he wish Congress hadn't interfered in people's free choice to use the wasteful, inefficient ones. Jerks!

He goes on to argue that none of the current proposals to combat global warming-- if such a mythical creature even exists-- will have a serious impact (well, he may have a point there). He then begins to wonder "what would happen if we scrap the income tax and go to an energy consumption tax". He fantasizes-

"The benefits? Big energy users like Al Gore would pay tons in taxes, and normal people would pay very little. It would not distort markets as badly as our current tax code (almost nothing could). It would also be superior to a cap n' trade system designed solely to benefit large corporations. The possibility is tempting because it could bring a lot of support from the Left as well.

Perhaps just a pipe-dream — but no harm in dreaming."

Nope. There is not. In fact, I believe another translation is in order-

"What would happen if we adopted a more progressive tax system...

...The benefits? Millionaires/billionaires would pay tons in taxes, and normal people would pay very little. It would not distort economic parity as badly as our current tax code (almost nothing could). It would also be superior to a system of endless tax cuts and breaks designed solely to benefit large corporations. The possibility is tempting because it could bring a lot of support from the Right as well."

Now that would be a Fair Tax I could sign on for. Keep those posts comin', Dave!