Whether or not dead people vote in significant numbers may be an open question, but dead policies are flourishing in DC right now. For example, in his extensive list of Inauguration Day executive orders, President Biden brought back the interagency working group for the social cost of carbon (SCC). The mandate has been expanded to include two other greenhouse gasses, but carbon dioxide (shortened to the sootier-sounding “carbon”) is the main target.
The unknown and virtually unknowable SCC is based on compelling theory and generated with very sophisticated analysis. However, this sophisticated analysis employs inputs that are so arbitrary, that it is not even clear whether CO2 emissions should be taxed or subsidized.
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