Political Quotes

“Mr. President, judging by the deafening silence of Senate Republicans, you would think there was no conservative support in this country for even the most measured response to climate change. However, many prominent Republicans are actually clamoring for climate action. They are just not doing it here in Mammon Hall. See, for example, the January 16 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal is not exactly a progressive lefty rag. The opening line of the Wall Street Journal op-ed is: ``Global climate change is a serious problem calling for immediate national action.'' I agree. The op-ed is signed by 27 winners of the Nobel Prize in economics, four former Federal Reserve Chairs, 12 past Chairs of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, and two former Treasury Secretaries. Many were appointed by Republican Presidents. Let's look at what this bipartisan group of experts and economists is proposing. Here is the first policy recommendation: A carbon tax offers the most cost-effective lever to reduce carbon emissions at the scale and speed that is necessary. By correcting a well-known market failure, a carbon tax will send a powerful price signal that harnesses the invisible hand of the marketplace to steer economic actors towards a low-carbon future. Again, I agree. We must make the price of fossil energy reflect the costs of carbon pollution. That is Econ 101. We have to do it if we are to reduce emissions as much and as quickly as we need to.…”