At the end of 2023, Congress had four different pieces of proposed legislation directed at creating a carbon tax; three had bipartisan support. Thus, bookmakers see a rising prospect for some form of carbon tax. We return to unbundling why that’s such a bad idea, and the flaws in claiming that it would unleash “market forces” to create alternatives.

• For a summary of the state of the bad idea see The Carbon Tax Cliff, City Journal, Mark P. Mills, January 3, 2024.