Power generators should not be compensated at all for carbon tax

Comments on Dennis Shanahan “Power generator InterGen tells Ross Garnaut to drop 'rhetoric'”, 28/03/2011, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/power-generator-intergen-tells-ross-garnaut-to-drop-rhetoric/story-fn59niix-1226029075815
Why should the power generators be compensated at all, given that the needs for or that talk of reducing emissions have existed for many years now?

Why shouldn't any commercial companies have already factored this in their investment decisions long ago?

It appears that the vested interests have been holding the taxpayers as their hostage and ask for ransoms.

Where are consumer groups in this carbon tax debate? They should stand up for the consumers and personal taxpayers to stop those vested interests to grab more money from taxpayers.

It is appalling for government to give in to powerful vested interest groups at the expenses of ordinary consumers and taxpayers.

Sadly and unfortunately, most governments act like that – highly influenced by special interest groups, and the stronger those groups, the higher the degree governments are influenced.

PS: it is important to note further that power generators, like most trading companies, can pass on most of the costs to users/consumers, while most individual consumers don't have any means to pass on the higher costs due to a carbon tax, or an ETS, but to absorb them and adjust their consumption bundle to minimise the impact.


This point needs to be clear and brought into any debate on carbon.

Respect consumers' preferences

Comments on Peter A. Petri “Let growth engines drive the recovery”, 12/10/2009, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2009/10/12/let-growth-engines-drive-the-recovery/

While the new engines of growth sound nice, there might be some significant risks in government policy generated products that so not match consumers' preferences and demand.

If the two go out of steps, there will be potential for huge waste.

Economists, businesses and governments need to study consumer preferences. Unless there are market failures, governments should refrain from intervention.

For example, in terms of savings and consumptions, as long as intertemporal budget constraints are satisfied, consumers’ preferences should be respected.

That is just one point in the current debate of international imbalances many people have got it wrong, or attributed to the wrong causes. Many arguments are simply red herring.