Cow Tax
Farmers are up in arms over a Bush admin EPA proposal to levy $175 a year on each dairy cow, 87.50 on beef cattle, and $20 per hog. via Yahoo:
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if a federal proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law.
Farmers so far are turning their noses up at the notion, which is one of several put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases emitted by belching and flatulence amounts to air pollution.
“This is one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do,” said Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, an outspoken opponent of the proposal.
…
EPA spokesman Nick Butterfield said the fee was proposed for farms with livestock operations that emit more than 100 tons of carbon emissions in a year and fall under federal Clean Air Act provisions.
Butterfield said the EPA has not taken a position on any of the proposals. But farmers from across the country have expressed outrage over the idea, both on Internet sites and in opinions sent to EPA during a public comment period that ended last week.
Unfortunately the AP article does a poor job of explaining the genesis of this proposal, the thinking behind it, and how serious the EPA actually is. It sounds a little like it is simply a natural progression, of the EPA following the dictates of Congressional laws and court decisions. You asked for it, you got it. Government by the people, etc.
There is some thinking this is not a serious proposal. I dunno. Makes sense to me. Only the fees should be tripled. Higher taxes, less greenhouse gas. Also, a $5,000 per cylinder tax on all vehicles, though maybe something per liter makes more sense. And a $100 per square foot taxes on all houses that are wired for electricity. Tack on another $50 per square foot if you have natural gas or propane piped in, or an oil tank down cellar. Please tell me you don’t have central air or any window units.
The idea is to encourage people through tax policy to be Vegan, live in shacks, and ride bikes. Because there’s going to be a tax on greenhouse gas-producing horses, as well, and I don’t know where you’re planning on getting that non-sustainable hardwood to build your buggy out of. Walking might be more affordable than biking, though, because of the heavy bicycle tax to address the greenhouse gases produced in manufacturing processes. Barefoot, unless someone figures out how to make shoes that don’t involve petrochemicals or livestock byproducts. Without an iPod, becuase those get hit double with a personal electricity use tax on top of the manufacturing thing.
All income from these levies will be used to combat the effects of global warming, specifically by building a massive dike around the continental United States and all its territories. Because America is a great country, we will also provide aid for dike construction around third-world countries. This massive public works program will stabilize our economy. Also, if we document and employ naturalized illegal aliens to build it, and top it with barbed wire and motion detectors on the Mexican border part, it will also solve the immigration thing.
It may be that the departing Bush admin is already thinking along these lines. But the only way the cow tax makes any sense is as part of a comprehensive program.
One problem. Good news for the ladies, not so good for the laddies. Human flatulence tax. You think 3 billion humans aren’t having an impact?
Here’s another thought. Herd tax. No, it’s not about cattle. Not exactly. It’s designed to influence an particularly insidious and socially harmful herd mentality through tax policy. Here’s how it works. If you think global warming is going to destroy the world, check the box and tax yourself on all of the above.
G’day Conservative Grapevine etal. Always good to see you. Come on in. We’re Hajjing a good time, wish you were here. Plenty of good reading, thanks to some old combat vets.
Topics: impending doom!, pols, warmalism
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:30 am on Sunday, December 7, 2008
6 Responses to “Cow Tax”
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December 7th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Is it possible to be embarrassed now by how you’ll likely be viewed by future generations? Because I think that in the future, this obsession and fear mongering over global warming (er, climate change) will be widely ridiculed, much as we now laugh about the overblown Y2K fears.
December 7th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Unfortunately, the EPA is very serious about this. It’s stupid as he!!, but they are serious. This would not be in the Federal Register otherwise.
December 7th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
[...] Now it appears that there are some nitwits in the EPA that actually take the idea seriously. Jules Crittenden Cow Tax This proposal seems a little far-fetched, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see some bureaucrats [...]
December 7th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
[...] laws and court decisions. You asked for it, you got it. Government by the people, etc. Continue reading . . .(it’s quite funny, [...]
December 7th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Cows and pigs are nothing. When they come for the dogs and cats, that’s when the revolution begins.
December 8th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Jules, you forgot the lead tax for when it starts flying toward Washington D. C.