Carbon Tax: the myths vs reality!

First of all we should mention here that the idea of Carbon Tax is not a Labor party idea or project. It is pure Greens party idea and initiative. The Labor political immaturity makes them defend the tax as if it was in the heart of their policy. The Greens, on the other side, keep low profile on their initiative as part of their opportunistic policy for the last decade. The Greens are watching: If the tax generates disastrous outcomes, they will keep low profile on it and leave Labor to struggle with its impacts. If it will generate good outcome (highly unlikely), they will come forward and claim full responsibility.

From listening to both the Greens and Labor on the reasons for the tax and expected outcome, we can outline few unrealistic myths that the tax was based on for its introduction:
1- Australia is polluting more than any other nation on this planet, and so Australian government needs to act to reduce this pollution.
2- The tax will penalise big polluters and so make them pay for their pollution to clean the mess and enforce them to reduce such pollution.
3- The tax will revolutionarise Australian way of life into embracing sustainable energy and abandoning the traditional sources from fossil fuel.

Well let us talk precisely on each point before going into any conclusion.

Maybe Australia is classified as the “highest pollution nation” but “per capita”. This means that “Each Australian pollutes more than Each Indian or Malaysian or Jordanian”. But taking into account that the numbers of Australians are very limited to less than 22 millions, the pollution they make is very limited if compared to other nations. In fact Australians pollution is very insignificant if compared to huge nations like China, India, USA, Brazil, Nigeria or Indonesia.

So any suggestion that Australian government action to curb pollution will significantly impact on the global warming devastation is no more than exaggeration for political reasons. This does not mean that we do not want Australians to reduce their pollution. But we want to put everything into factual context.

The Greens (and Labor) insistence to act locally on this issue is something very strange and does not make any sense. We are talking about GLOBAL warming where there are no borders in the sky. Australians do not live in closed compartments that can control emissions and impacts. Without Global approach to the issue, the efforts are fruitless.

I support any action on reducing emissions as a gesture and to lead other nations. But without international frame work, nothing will be changed.

The second lie/myth the Greens (and Labor) manufactured to justify this tax is that it will penalise ONLY the big polluters and enforce them to reduce their pollution. This is the biggest lie in the debate.

Yes, the biggest polluters will be taxed. But then they will have one of three options to deal with this tax:
1- Pass the full cost of the tax (and maybe even more) onto customers.
2- If passing the tax on customers will make them uncompetitive, they will close down businesses and take them to India, China, Indonesia or wherever there is less taxes and cheaper working forces.
3- Divide the burden on customer and their profit margin.

In the current globalisation atmosphere, there is no border for businesses to relocate their factories/shops/means of production to make profits. If it is not profitable in Australia, capital can migrate easily overseas and then import ready products to Australia. This means more unemployed people in Australia, less tax revenue for budget and more environmental pollution (as other developing countries will have less environmental safeguards for business establishment).

And if the business decided to pass the tax cost (fully or partially) onto customers, the Australian butlers will be the main losers. We have already seen how increased energy bills made these butlers life-style deteriorated. Recently, we have witnessed how people sacrificed basic needs as they cannot afford them anymore. With this tax, the sacrifice will be more.

Talking about the last myth, we do not know how the tax will revolutionarise Australian way of life into embracing sustainable energy and abandoning the traditional sources from fossil fuel. Beside steps like start using charcoal as heaters (with big dangerous of fires and suffocations), reduce using heaters and instead use blankets and increased criminal activities to afford increased cost of living, we cannot think of other alternatives available for Australians currently.

We understand that theoretically, Australians should start using energy generated by wind or solar system. But practically these means are beyond butlers’ availability at the moment. And the government has enough taxes and wealth to start generating such clean sustainable energy, without the need to destroy people’s life-style.

For the last 16 years I was living in this country, every government was promising Australians of “Paradise life” after introducing each tax or selling each public asset to fund this paradise life. But after introduction of these taxes or selling these assets, we will discover that our life-style in fact deteriorated. The Carbon tax will not be exemption.

We understand that the Greens party is no more than a machine to manufacture lies and deceptions. At the end of the day, ALL Greens politicians are very rich and will not be affected by increases to energy bill.

One would assume that any preacher should embrace their preach before asking others to do so. The Greens are exemption to this rule (mainly because they are naturally liars and opportunists).

The Greens are champions in embracing and calling for Australians to use public transport. But NO Greens politician start his/her working day with ride on public transport. They are calling for reduction in using fossil fuel energy, but all of them are using (heavily) electricity generated by coal. And of course they will not need to reduce the quality and quantity of their food after introducing carbon tax. I understand that their food is mainly heavily subsidised on tax-payers money.

The Greens politicians can afford to continue their luxurious life after the introduction of carbon tax.... But will you, as a butler, afford this increase?