[Atlas Sneezed]

130% increases in electric rates are not regressive?

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Please be aware that “regressive” is liberal terminology for “applies equally to all, even though rich people will pay more because they do more of what is being taxed.”

[Sequoyah101]

It is a dumb idea so there is no real point in arguing if it is progressive or regressive but my deeming it regressive is because it is not progressive. The increase in electricity cost as a percentage of total income for the “rich” is less than for the not-rich and is thus Regressive. The situation is much the same as a consumption tax on food which is also Regressive.

Arguably, the rich consume more electricity in absolute units but they can only consume so much and that amount usually results in expenditure of a smaller percentage of total income than for the non-rich.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regressive_tax

A regressive tax is a tax imposed in such a manner that the tax rate decreases as the amount subject to taxation increases. The effective tax, not directly levied to the end user but still passed through in direct proportion to the amount of electricity consumed, is regressive in the sense that electricity consumption is generally a larger portion of the income of the less wealthy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_tax

A progressive tax is a tax by which the tax rate increases as the taxable base amount increases... The carbon tax proposed would apply equally to all end user electric rates... not progressive in effective tax rate as in increasing as more electricity is consumed thus the rate is not progresive it is equally proportional to consumption.

Liberals like Progressive Taxes... conservatives don’t.