Proposed carbon tax and free markets

Russell Harland (letter June 30) claims some of us don’t understand basic economics. The proposed carbon tax is not a government subsidy for alternative energy. It is a disincentive to companies polluting the atmosphere with carbon dioxide. And make no mistake about it, carbon dioxide is a pollutant.

When a company is discovered to have unsafe working conditions, it isn’t allowed to just pay a tax and continue subjecting its employees to unsafe conditions. It has to pay to make its workplace safe.

When a company produces an unsafe product, it can’t get away with just paying a tax while continuing to sell its product to consumers. It has to recall the product and fix it. When a company spews toxic waste into a river, it can’t just pay a tax and continue business as usual. It has to clean up its act.

If a company can’t afford to stay in business from those added costs then it doesn’t deserve to survive in a free market competing against companies that can. Carbon polluters are getting a break with the carbon tax. They have another option. They can pay to scrub the carbon from their waste. It’s just the cost of doing business.