Our U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin is misguided in his vote to condemn consideration of a carbon tax to fight climate change (House Resolution 119). He is correct that a fee on carbon will be passed on to consumers, increasing the cost of heating oil. However, both the current proposal by the Citizen’s Climate Lobby and the conservative Climate Leadership Council’s alternate solution include a dividend to American households designed to distribute the proceeds of a fee, lessening the impact of higher prices. Cash, in the form of dividends, will also help those households if they choose to make climate-friendly investments in renewable energy.

A well-designed carbon tax has the potential to provide economic stimulus, adding millions of jobs to the economy, protect American companies with a border carbon adjustment when exporting goods and benefit most people by putting more money in their pocket. It can also bring predictability to the cost of energy.

If you are conservative, you should support the predictable, incremental, revenue-neutral and market-driven mitigation of extreme weather. Not to mention the benefits of clean air, water, and stable ecosystems.

Roberta Brezinski, Durham

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