Was Gordon Campbell's Carbon Tax a Success?

"And who would have thought despite the carbon tax train ridership has pretty much stayed the same at 12% as trains are not about the money they are about the ride. "

I don't understand this.
Do you mean buses or Sky Train instead of trains?

Do you mean trains are running at 12% of capacity?

Or that 12% of the trips taken by people are taken by train. 12% seems incredibily high. 

It could be that the trains are operating at capacity at peak hours therefore, except during the non peak hours, there is simply no ability to increase the use of trains, except with more trains. 

Ya, like people in northern BC, paying at least a 1/3 more for hydro because of the tax. Whereas people on the coast and VIsland are not as unduly affected.

Because if you use more hydro than what is considered "normal", then you get penalized again on top of the tax for being a high consumer.

Pkus lower income families are not going to have brand new energy efficient homes to keep their consumption for heating lower. This tax has SFA to do with gas consumption and everything to do with further  marginalizing poor people.

Twenty years ago, BC Hydro offered cheap rates as an incentive for people to switch their heat to electricity under a program called electric plus or something like that.  I  bought my house a few years ago and one of the selling features was that this house is on the program.

Now, they are phasing out the program.  On top of that, the punitive rate structure (anyone who uses more than 1350 kWh per two month period pays a higher rate) virtually guarantees everyone who heats their home with electricity will be doing so at the highest rate.  In many cases, they will be penalizing the very people they lured into electic heat in the first place.

Did anyone actually read the article?

Using Smyth's logic, the government could invoke x% tax to generate x billion$ (say a 10% tax on milk). Then, it would be 'unrealistic' to revoke that tax because the gov't would then be losing out on all of that extra revenue. Then again, why expect any differently from Michael Smyth?

Gas crept over $1.00/litre in Vancouver and Burnaby recently. Perhaps people will start the feel the pinch a bit more and remember how Gordon's been gouging them at the pumps.

As for the original article, I really wish more people looked at themselves at part of the nature cycle, and didn't treat the Earth like a vending machine. (take take take). I always admired the old Native ways (take what you need, and give back to the land), in contrast to the Scortched Earth ways of our European ancestors (clear cutting, etc). Don't expect people to give up their comfortable lifestyles any day soon. I know I'd have a hard time with it

Couldn't locate the Smyth article so found this.... it's from 2008 but it sheds some light. Revenue neutral, sounds to me they are depending on it?

Quote:

The Campbell government estimates the carbon tax will bring in $1.8 billion over three years. That means the feds will collect an additional $92 million by charging GST on the carbon tax.

Some businesses will be able to recover the GST on their tax returns, but individual consumers will not. Universities, hospitals, charities and non-profit organizations will also get hit with the double-whammy.

The bottom line: The Harper government will reap more than $30 million in profit during the first three years of the B.C. carbon tax -- all while Harper's Tories are campaigning against it, according to accounting firm BDO Dunwoody in a recent analysis.

Michael Smyth: Feds making a fortune off our carbon tax