Author Archives: energyprbe

Arthur Cecil Pigou, the celebrated 20th century economist who created a discipline over externalities, has developed a large following over the notion of taxing "bads" such as gasoline, and not just among economists. Environmentalists have taken up the theme over the last decade, and so, too, have many conservatives. Why tax meritorious activities such as earning an income, or purchasing a product, many argue, when taxing activities without merit can instead raise tax revenues?

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Canadians are becoming more and more dependent on the automobile, Stats-Can told us last week, citing figures showing that 74% of Canadians are full-time drivers, up from 70% in 1998 and 68% in 1992. This trend, a natural consequence of suburban sprawl, is only to be expected. Our governments spend billions to promote the use of suburbs.

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Since Maggie Thatcher broke up the United Kingdom’s dysfunctional energy monopolies two decades ago, costs plummeted, as did prices for consumers, as a wave of new entrants into the energy business led to a textbook example of the benefits of competition. Today, the typical household has several thousand options in purchasing power that come to it courtesy of six dozen different licensed merchants. Compare that to the choices your local power monopolist provides you.

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The B.C. government this week introduced what it hails as North America’s first carbon tax, but many will see it mostly as just another hike in the gas tax, and for good reason. The gas tax, rising to 7.24¢ per litre over four years, will do next to nothing apart from increasing the provincial take – Europe with its sky-high gas taxes and ever-increasing auto use demonstrates the ineffectiveness of gas taxes in curbing the car. Continue reading →