Science magazine’s climate plan is a wealth transfer scheme

Fixing things on a blackboard and fixing things in real life are not the same. A recent article in Science, viewed by many to be the premier scientific journal in the United States (if not the world), presents a depressing example of this distinction.

Purportedly to combat anthropogenic climate change, the 23 authors propose a complex international network of carbon taxes, tariffs, and regulations on heavy industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This proposal is yet another example of economists claiming that corrective taxes can fix “market failures,” leading to optimal outcomes virtually anywhere.