Shouldn’t the government know what the benefits and costs of the carbon tax are before they make it into law? This is looking awfully like a case of “policy first, justifications later”.
First they promised they won’t do it. Then they do it, and they ask for even more of our money so they can pay PR hacks (introduced to us as scientists and economists) to tell us how fabulous their unwanted plan is — after all, the Climate Change Commission has no purpose other than to advertise the Carbon Tax. Then there’s a $12 million advertising program. But wait, there’s more…
Amazingly, there are now $250,000 grants (how many?*) from the Department of Climate Change to anyone who can persuade the public to accept the carbon tax!
If the government had thought this through, they’d already know why they wanted to bring in the tax. (Or maybe they did think it through, but are afraid to tell us the real reasons?)
As it is, they’re only bringing in the tax because 12% of the voters voted one green member into the House of Reps, and it was the price paid to keep Gillard in power. But for most Australians that’s not quite sufficient reason to fork out hundreds of dollars per person each year. It’s a tough call to “sell” that to the other 88% of the voters.
This is not rule by the people for the people. This is the rule of the elite self-anointed superior beings who “know” what is right for the rest of us.
Where do I apply for a $250,000 grant to teach politicians and teachers the basic laws of logic and reason so that they might protect us from scams, con artists, and schemes to control the weather, issued by witchdoctors who do not even promise to “cool” the world by more than an unmeasurable thousandth of a degree? Can someone point me to that department?
Let’s apply for a further $10 million to make sure all Australian children understand that argument from authority is the mark of totalitarian dictators, and that those who silence dissent (by paying to promote one side of the story, and denigrating critics as Nazi sympathizers) are acting in their own interests to deceive the public.
Thank God for the Internet.
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*UPDATE: Thanks to Dave in comments, apparently there is a $3,000,000 total.
Hat tip to Geoff Derrick Geology. Thanks!