It is hard to imagine the effects such a policy would have: first and foremost, on the poor, disabled, and elderly.
These people, who are least able to afford any increase in their costs, would be left behind. They would be unable to keep their lights on, unable to have air conditioning in the summer to avoid heat stroke, and unable to afford heat in the winter.
How brutal it would be to institute a so-called carbon tax that will in effect kill people, all in the name of “punishing” the energy companies. (I have to wonder if our author would even care; maybe he views the death of human beings as a plus for the environment? I certainly hope not.)
As to his linking major storms such as Hurricane Irene to energy companies, it is simply not so; history shows that major storms have happened before and will happen again.
Further, the energy improvements to municipal buildings and homes are already happening across the country without a so-called carbon tax. The only ones who benefit from a carbon tax are the so-called green companies and the banks willing to back them.
A carbon tax simply changes which banks and CEOs reap benefits while the end result is increased costs and, by extension, increased suffering by those not wealthy enough to absorb the increased costs.
The so-called tax cuts and rebates for low-income individuals are a part of the author's fantasy and not a reality. Increased energy and fuel costs will be passed on in many more ways; there will not be rebates for goods and services that will consequently cost more.
What a relief that most of America - and, I suspect, most of Vermont - would never accept such a brutal plan.