Mar 31, 2021 09:14 PM
https://theweek.com/articles/974929/bide...-seriously
EXCERPTS: President Biden has released the details of his infrastructure plan. It's a big bill — priced at roughly $2.8 trillion over a decade, with tons of money for repairs, maintenance, trains, green investment, and more (as well as a lot of other stuff). It would be paid for with hikes in income and corporate tax rates.
A main objective of the plan is supposed to be tackling climate change. Judging by the standards of American politics, it is quite aggressive. But judged by the standards of Biden's campaign platform, and more importantly, by the standards of what is needed to combat climate change, the proposal falls far short of the mark. America will need bolder action than this to do its part in the global fight to preserve a livable climate. [...] in terms of climate, this proposal is a substantial downgrade from Biden's campaign pledge — the overall size is about the same, but the priorities are different.
At bottom, it isn't really a climate bill — it's a grab bag of some infrastructure stuff, some climate stuff, and some elder care stuff. Despite the large headline price, it isn't that big either — just one percent of GDP.
Neither does Biden address the biggest missing element of his campaign's climate plan — international cooperation. Climate change is a global problem, and the U.S. is not even close to the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world now. China emits fully twice as much as the U.S., and India emits nearly as much as the entire European Union. The key tasks for global climate policy will be to help or coax China into slashing its emissions, and to prevent the rest of the developing world from following China's coal-powered model.
It's a striking absence given that Biden also proposes to revolutionize international corporate taxation. He would institute a 21 percent minimum tax on American corporate taxes, and close many loopholes that allow U.S. companies to book their profits in low-tax foreign countries. More importantly, he proposes to set up a global minimum corporate tax through international agreements. As economist Gabriel Zucman points out, if Biden could get this done (and the U.S. has many ways to pressure other nations to agree, especially given that it would be in their interest anyway), it would end the scourge of beggar-thy-neighbor tax havens which have driven a race to the bottom in corporate tax rates. That's an excellent idea — but it doesn't have anything directly to do with climate... (MORE - details)
EXCERPTS: President Biden has released the details of his infrastructure plan. It's a big bill — priced at roughly $2.8 trillion over a decade, with tons of money for repairs, maintenance, trains, green investment, and more (as well as a lot of other stuff). It would be paid for with hikes in income and corporate tax rates.
A main objective of the plan is supposed to be tackling climate change. Judging by the standards of American politics, it is quite aggressive. But judged by the standards of Biden's campaign platform, and more importantly, by the standards of what is needed to combat climate change, the proposal falls far short of the mark. America will need bolder action than this to do its part in the global fight to preserve a livable climate. [...] in terms of climate, this proposal is a substantial downgrade from Biden's campaign pledge — the overall size is about the same, but the priorities are different.
At bottom, it isn't really a climate bill — it's a grab bag of some infrastructure stuff, some climate stuff, and some elder care stuff. Despite the large headline price, it isn't that big either — just one percent of GDP.
Neither does Biden address the biggest missing element of his campaign's climate plan — international cooperation. Climate change is a global problem, and the U.S. is not even close to the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world now. China emits fully twice as much as the U.S., and India emits nearly as much as the entire European Union. The key tasks for global climate policy will be to help or coax China into slashing its emissions, and to prevent the rest of the developing world from following China's coal-powered model.
It's a striking absence given that Biden also proposes to revolutionize international corporate taxation. He would institute a 21 percent minimum tax on American corporate taxes, and close many loopholes that allow U.S. companies to book their profits in low-tax foreign countries. More importantly, he proposes to set up a global minimum corporate tax through international agreements. As economist Gabriel Zucman points out, if Biden could get this done (and the U.S. has many ways to pressure other nations to agree, especially given that it would be in their interest anyway), it would end the scourge of beggar-thy-neighbor tax havens which have driven a race to the bottom in corporate tax rates. That's an excellent idea — but it doesn't have anything directly to do with climate... (MORE - details)