I was watching an interview with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg today, and during that interview, he said something that struck home to me. He said that “the public is much smarter than anyone gives them credit for.” Now I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but I think it’s clear that we certainly lack politicians who are willing to lead, and take risks. If we had politicans who believed that the public wasn’t stupid, we would have things like the following happen, from today’s New York Times.
In the article, it talks about how House Congressman John Dingell is going to propose a carbon tax, not because he thinks it’s a good idea, but precisely because he doesn’t think so. (In case you didn’t know, John Dingell, a Democrat, is from Michigan, where because it’s the home of the US auto industry, they have a hard time believing in global warming.)
His logic, as I understand it from the article:
- A carbon tax would increase the cost of activities which emit lots of carbon and affect our energy decisions. (i.e., be a good thing if you believe in global warming)
- John Dingell believes that Americans do not want to pay this price, and that other Democrats are pushing too hard for unrealistic carbon reductions which would hurt the economy, raise taxes, etc.
- John Dingell, by proposing this legislation, which he is sure will fail, will expose the fact that all of our enviornmental talk is bullshit.
In other words, he’s believes that he can force his fellow Democrats to slow down by calling their bluff. This cynical and misguided plan has 2 flawed premises:
1. Americans aren’t willing to do what it takes to stop global warming.
(I sure hope he’s wrong. A recent Pew Research Center study found that 55% of Americans them believe that “global warming requires immediate government action”)
2. The price of reducing carbon emissions is not one we can afford to pay.
(This is the same flawed logic that prevented us from raising the gas tax when we should have. We were told that if gas went up to $3 / gallon, our economy would collapse. Well now gas is $3 / gallon, with all the money going to Saudi Arabia and Exxon, and our economy hasn’t collapsed)
Of course, the conventional wisdom is that Dingell is right, which is why he’s pushing his cynical ploy. But hopefully Mayor Bloomberg is right. We need leaders who realize that, and who are willing to pass the kind of risky but important legislation (like a carbon tax) which will really make a difference.
The company I work for could take a few lessons from our neighbor down the street - Google.
