Pennies Per Pound - An Energy Stamp & CO2 Tax Idea

Pennies Per Pound - An Energy Stamp and CO2 Tax Program that Creates Jobs, Rescues Our Economy and Saves our Planet

Pennies Per Pound is an easy to understand tax on energy consumption based on carbon dioxide emissions coupled with an energy stamp program, like food stamps, to assist those in need.  This federal tax on energy would begin at 1¢ per pound of CO2 emissions and ramp up to 10 pennies per pound of C02 emissions over 10 years.

Pennies Per Pound would help by:

• Unleashing market forces to find the best solutions to saving energy
• Generating demand for Green Jobs, Green Technology and Green Businesses in the United States.
• Reducing our nation's dependence on foreign energy sources therefore also reducing our national debt.
• Raising revenues by $126 billion in the first year.
• Creating a healthier planet through reduced emissions leading to lower future healthcare costs.

Read on for more details or if you already support the idea, please join and sign the petition.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Why is Pennies Per Pound a better carbon tax than Cap & Trade?
• Who would pay the Pennies Per Pound Tax?
• Wouldn't any tax on energy make the US less competitive?
• How would Pennies Per Pound Create Jobs?
• Wouldn't this be hard to implement?

Addition blog posts explain more about Pennies Per Pound:

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Why is Pennies Per Pound a better Carbon Tax than Cap & Trade?

Pennies Per Pound is simple and therefore significantly easier for people and business to understand and predict.  Pennies Per Pound would apply to everyone, not just major polluters, so everyone would be invested in saving energy and money.

Even more about why Pennies Per Pound is better than Cap & Trade...

Who would pay the Pennies Per Pound Tax?

The tax would apply to all energy consumption in the US that produces CO2 emissions meaning individuals and businesses would pay the tax based on the amount of energy they consume.

For example, the Pennies Per Pound tax for gasoline would be 19.4¢/gallon because burning a gallon of gasoline in your car emits 19.4 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. The Pennies Per Pound tax would also be assessed for consumption of electricity, natural gas, heating oil, propane etc. More details on what the expected annual cost from Pennies Per Pound for a average American family are described below. Return to FAQ.

Wouldn't any tax on energy make the US less competitive?

Even with the full 10¢/pound tax in place, the cost of gasoline in the United States would still be less than that in any other developed nation.  Consuming a gallon of gasoline in a car emits 19.4 pounds of CO2. Consuming a gallon of diesel emits 22.2 pounds of CO2.

Return to FAQ.

How Much would Pennies Per Pound Cost Me?

The annual cost to a typical US family per penny per pound would be:

• $115 more per car or light truck
• $148 more for electricity
• $95 more for heating with natural gas or $114 if heating with heating oil

For some this would be a significant burden, which is why the associated energy stamp program, which would work much like food stamps or heating oil discounts, is so important.
Return to FAQ.

How would Pennies Per Pound Create Jobs?

A consumption tax on energy, even with its small annual impact, will increase demand for efficiency measures at all levels which in turn will help spawn new companies forming around things like SmartGrids, highly efficient transportation, energy efficient homes and more.  Rather than picking specific technologies or solutions we would be unleashing market forces to find the best and most cost effective solutions to savings energy, improving our economy, adding jobs and making the planet healthier for generations to come.

To encourage even faster job growth and greater energy savings, revenues from the Pennies Per Pound Tax would fund federal incentives for energy efficiency renovations of residential and commercial spaces. This would lower the overall consumption of energy and save even more energy going forward. These types of renovations support the American workers as they must be done locally using local contractors therefore adding numerous green jobs every year.  Building insulation is widely regarded as the most cost effective way to reduce energy consumption
Return to FAQ.

Wouldn't this be hard to implement?

Pennies Per Pound would be straight forward and easier to implement than many other carbon based taxes.  For liquid fuels like gasoline or diesel, the tax would be applied at the pump much like the current federal gasoline tax is today.  For natural gas and heating oil would be applied on your utility bill per therm (natural gas) or gallon (heating oil) just like legislated taxes.

Electricity is a little more complicated because amount of CO2 emitted depends on the mix of fuel used to generate it.  Fortunately, power companies already track and report the fuel mixture and CO2 emissions today, so an appropriate formula could be calculated based on regional information available in eGridWeb today (see Estimating CO2 Emissions in What Impact Does 1 Watt Have?).  The range for CO2 emissions for electricity generation in the United States is between 0.50 - 1.96 pounds CO2 per kWh meaning half to just under two cents per kWh for Pennies Per Pound in the first year.


Help move this idea forward by signing the petition and sending it to your United States Senators and Representatives.