Hi.  I'm Bob Nota*, and I'm running for President.

Frustrated with the same creeps running the show?  Don't want any of those clowns as President?  Ready to give up on the whole process?  I'm your man!  Not even registered to vote?  Gave up the whole show long ago?  Think they're all the same?  Vote for me!

In 2004, between 50 and 60% of the voting age population actually voted.  Since wiki figures include ineligible people (illegal immigrants, prisoners, Paris Hilton), let's just assume it was 60% of eligible citizens.  It may be higher this time, or it may not.  My campaign is aimed at getting those people registered, and getting them to vote.  For none of the above.  The catch phrase from Network, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore", was not something you could do anything with.  With a vote for me,  you can clearly express your dissatisfaction with the arrogant duopoly of the Republicrat Party.  (Party?  Why wasn't I invited?)

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It's been a few weeks since Al Gore give his speech proposing to replace the payroll tax with a pollution tax.  I never did see a clear outline of this idea;  what does "payroll tax" mean, exactly?  And what would the taxes amount to?  So I decided to work out the details.

I assumed that, rather than "payroll taxes", the program should eliminate the entire income tax.  I also took the position that expeditures should be covered, not just receipts; no more deficit.  On the other end of the equation, I chose to go for a single tax, a tax on carbon.  The details are below.  Suffice it to say that it comes to $3.19 per gallon of gas. Or, somewhere between $600 and $1,000 on a ton of coal (depending on how much carbon is in it).  Or, 6.2 cents per cubic foot of natural gas (? - not sure about the calculation).

More below the fold:

The long litany of disaster paraded before us that is e-voting must be terminated. The hearings which the Maryland governor held were, for me, a catalyst for moving away from pointing out problems and proposing fix-it tweaks, to demanding a real solution.  The activity in Maryland is a beginning.  Now is the time to demand that every state eliminate electronic equipment as a certifiable source of voting results.  I want every state to - no, I demand that every state - pass a law to resolve this mess.  Any less is the theft of your vote.  We must have election laws that ensure your vote counts.  Here's how.

I found that thinking about "messages" led me not to careful and verbose analysis, but to bumper stickers  - especially because too many people stop hearing after the first sentence.  I also remember the critical lesson from a class in business writing;  BLUF.  (Bottom Line Up Front).  And many thanks to the recent quote saying what's radical is attacking a country that didn't attack you first.  For me, the word radical is key.  

If you accept the conclusion that global warming is a slow-motion worldwide catastrophe, you'd probably like to do something.  Yet there seem to be many obstacles in the way.  Fossil fuels are cheaper than the alternatives,  and the U.S. government subsidizes fossil fuel production,  in tax law,  in subsidies,  and in wars.  And Congress has flatly rejected the Kyoto Protocol.  Is there something to be done that U.S. citizens would support, to the point of forcing the issue with politicians?  Maybe.  I'm suggesting a "carbon feebate".  It works like this.

1. HIGH tax on carbon which can end up as CO2.  Recommended tax: $76.50/barrel of oil.  (see notes below).  At $76.50/barrel, that's $1.58 more per gallon - if no carbon were expended in the refining process, that is.   And no, the government doesn't get a free ride.
2. Proceeds equally distributed to all legal adult residents
3. All accounting open to the public.
4. Stiff penalties for cheating. (both in calculating carbon consumption, and in identification of adult legal residents)