Americans fear climate change - and the cost of figuring it out (only 11.29 years left)

Newsday ^ | 10/05/19 | Noah Smith

[Libloather]

Although the wealthy can and should be expected to make larger sacrifices than the middle class, it's vanishingly unlikely that any plan serious enough to slow global warming will leave the bulk of Americans financially untouched.

But if Americans are going to be asked to engage in a war on climate change, they should understand the material and economic sacrifices that will be required of them. The best way to do this is to look at an ambitious, well-crafted climate plan like the one put forward by Washington Governor Jay Inslee.

**SNIP**

Much of this could be financed with taxes on the rich, but it will take a huge amount of labor and other resources to carry out. Those resources will have to be diverted from producing other goods and services, which means prices for consumer items throughout the economy probably will rise. Those higher prices mean that most Americans will become poorer in the short term, though government redistribution can cushion the blow.

[Elsie]

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